{"id":5883,"date":"2026-06-06T04:31:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T04:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T04:31:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T04:31:24","slug":"progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Progressive Villegas widens lead in critical Central Valley congressional race"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Progressive Randy Villegas continues to widen his lead over fellow Democrat Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains in California\u2019s 22nd Congressional District \u2014 though thousands of votes remain uncounted.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/see-smoke-it-could-be-from-prescribed-burns-at-sacramento-county-parks-during-june\/\">See smoke? It could be from prescribed burns at Sacramento County parks during June<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>As of 4:30 p.m. Friday, Villegas had captured 30.4% of votes compared to Bains\u2019 26.2%. About 61% of the votes have been counted, according to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>If the results hold, Villegas will advance to face longtime Republican Rep. David Valadao in November. The 22nd District, which encompasses parts of five Central Valley counties, is among the closely watched background races in the country and could determine which political party controls the House.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A Villegas victory would be a blow to national Democrats, some of whom threw their support behind Bains because of her medical background and moderate streak. Villegas, a college professor and school board trustee, has embraced progressive policy positions and built a strong grassroots following in the heavily Latino, working class district.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>His advantage over Bains has grown with every vote update. Villegas is also winning in four of the district\u2019s five counties.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/davis-measure-v-too-close-supporters-gained-ground-but-village-farms-vote-still-trailing\/\">Davis\u2019 Measure V too close \u2014 supporters gained ground but Village Farms vote still trailing<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>More results are expected Monday afternoon from Kern County, which makes up the bulk of the district\u2019s electorate and is Bains\u2019 home base. Villegas currently has a slim advantage in the county.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Fresno and Kings counties\u2019 next updates are Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Madera County posted its latest election results on Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Valadao, who was first elected to Congress in 2012, would likely enter the general election as the favorite. He has won six out of the last seven elections despite the district\u2019s Democratic registration advantage.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Still, Democrats view him as particularly vulnerable this cycle amid President Donald Trump\u2019s declining popularity and Valadao\u2019s key vote last year to cut Medicaid spending.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/pritchard-maintains-lead-as-yolo-countys-3rd-district-supervisors-race-tightens\/\">Pritchard maintains lead as Yolo County\u2019s 3rd District supervisors race tightens<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><\/p>\n<p>This story was originally published <span>June 5, 2026 at 5:05 PM<span>.<\/span><\/span><!-- --><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Progressive Randy Villegas extends his lead over Jasmeet Bains in California&#39;s 22nd District as thousands of votes remain uncounted across Kern and Fresno counties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-capitol-alert"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Progressive Villegas widens lead in critical Central Valley congressional race - San Diego Relocation News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Progressive Villegas widens lead in critical Central Valley congressional race - San Diego Relocation News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Progressive Randy Villegas extends his lead over Jasmeet Bains in California&#039;s 22nd District as thousands of votes remain uncounted across Kern and Fresno counties.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"San Diego Relocation News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-06T04:31:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/06\\\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/06\\\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/39a645eab67a60386560a5271220d58c\"},\"headline\":\"Progressive Villegas widens lead in critical Central Valley congressional race\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-06T04:31:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/06\\\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":350,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/06\\\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ccd37aa046c732d90885a225094787d1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Capitol Alert\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/06\\\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/06\\\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/06\\\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\\\/\",\"name\":\"Progressive Villegas widens lead in critical Central Valley congressional race - San Diego Relocation News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/06\\\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/06\\\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ccd37aa046c732d90885a225094787d1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-06T04:31:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/39a645eab67a60386560a5271220d58c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/06\\\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/06\\\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/06\\\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ccd37aa046c732d90885a225094787d1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ccd37aa046c732d90885a225094787d1.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/06\\\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Progressive Villegas widens lead in critical Central Valley congressional race\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"San Diego Relocation News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/39a645eab67a60386560a5271220d58c\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Progressive Villegas widens lead in critical Central Valley congressional race - San Diego Relocation News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Progressive Villegas widens lead in critical Central Valley congressional race - San Diego Relocation News","og_description":"Progressive Randy Villegas extends his lead over Jasmeet Bains in California&#39;s 22nd District as thousands of votes remain uncounted across Kern and Fresno counties.","og_url":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/","og_site_name":"San Diego Relocation News","article_published_time":"2026-06-06T04:31:24+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/39a645eab67a60386560a5271220d58c"},"headline":"Progressive Villegas widens lead in critical Central Valley congressional race","datePublished":"2026-06-06T04:31:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/"},"wordCount":350,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ccd37aa046c732d90885a225094787d1.jpg","articleSection":["Capitol Alert"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/","url":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/","name":"Progressive Villegas widens lead in critical Central Valley congressional race - San Diego Relocation News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ccd37aa046c732d90885a225094787d1.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-06T04:31:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/39a645eab67a60386560a5271220d58c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ccd37aa046c732d90885a225094787d1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ccd37aa046c732d90885a225094787d1.jpg","width":1200,"height":674},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/progressive-villegas-widens-lead-in-critical-central-valley-congressional-race-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Progressive Villegas widens lead in critical Central Valley congressional race"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/","name":"San Diego Relocation News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/39a645eab67a60386560a5271220d58c","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}