House Republican who voted to impeach Trump loses reelection

Washington —  GOP Rep. David Valadao lost his reelection bid in California's 22nd District, CBS News projected. 

Valadao's loss against Democrat Randy Villegas makes him the last of the House Republicans who voted to impeach President Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol to lose reelection or announce their retirement. 

Valadao was first elected in 2012, but lost in 2018 when Democrats flipped more than 40 seats and won back control of the House. He won the seat back from Democrats in 2020, and went on to become one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Mr. Trump. Only two remain in Congress — Valadao and Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington, who is retiring. 

Villegas, a progressive, edged out a moderate Democrat in the top-two nonpartisan primary to advance to the general election alongside Valadao. Villegas' primary win was an embarrassing defeat for establishment Democrats, who intervened in the Central Valley contest to boost the moderate candidate. 

The intraparty primary feud played out in a district that is heavily Hispanic — a key constituency that shifted away from Democrats in 2024 — and came amid a broader debate within the Democratic Party over how well progressives could perform in competitive races. But polls leading up to the midterms showed Mr. Trump's approval ratings with Latino voters were cratering. 

California's congressional map was also redrawn last year in response to Republicans' mid-decade redistricting push in Texas, making it more favorable to Democrats than in 2024. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who represents Louisiana, campaigned with Valadao in September, calling the contest one of the "top three or four races in America" in terms of its importance to Republicans keeping the House majority.