California’s 21st District House Race 2026

The Trump administration has warned California election officials that processing ballots cast by suspected noncitizen voters could expose them to criminal investigation and prosecution. A letter from acting deputy attorney general Trent McCotter called noncitizen voting a federal crime and said officials who knowingly facilitate it risk being treated as aiders and abettors. The DOJ sued California after it missed a 48-hour deadline to cross-check a federal list of roughly 20,000 flagged names; federal prosecutors have since charged 28 green-card holders across California, 11 arrested, saying all appeared on that list. Secretary of State Shirley Weber called the demand unprecedented and said officials provided too little information to verify names. Governor Newsom calls the suit voter suppression; the dispute looms over competitive California House races in the midterms.

Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) faces progressive Democrat Randy Villegas in California's 22nd Congressional District, one of the most closely watched House races in the country and a potential factor in the battle for control of Congress. Valadao has won the Central Valley swing district in six of the last seven elections despite a Democratic voter registration edge, but faces added pressure this cycle after Proposition 50 redistricting slightly increased the district's Democratic lean. He has also drawn criticism for his deciding vote on H.R. 1, a federal policy bill expected to strip healthcare coverage from millions, and for his ties to President Trump.

Villegas, a college professor and school board trustee backed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, defeated moderate Democrat Jasmeet Bains in the primary. He rejects corporate PAC money and campaigns on Medicare for All and affordability issues. Valadao holds a larger overall fundraising and cash advantage, though Villegas has out-raised him in recent filing periods. Analysts are split, with Inside Elections rating the seat "tilt Republican" and Sabato's Crystal Ball calling it "leans Democratic."

Incumbent Rep. Doris Matsui, 81, faces the toughest reelection fight of her 21-year House tenure from progressive Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, 41, in California's redrawn 7th Congressional District. Vang narrowly led the June primary with about 31.2% of the vote to Matsui's 29.1%, edging out Republican Zachariah Wooden for the second runoff spot in the solidly Democratic seat.

Redrawn under Proposition 50, the district now stretches from El Dorado Hills and Placerville south to Lodi and Linden, absorbing more GOP-leaning El Dorado County suburbs while losing West Sacramento and other areas. Matsui, who succeeded her late husband Robert in the seat, has secured backing from Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Alex Padilla and Nancy Pelosi, and holds a large fundraising and cash-on-hand advantage. Vang, a Hmong refugees' daughter and council progressive known for shifting police funding toward youth and homeless services, has built her campaign on Medicare-For-All, affordable housing and rejecting corporate PAC money, drawing support from outside progressive groups.

A new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, finds Trump's approval among California Republicans has fallen to 76%, down from 83% last year, with only 44% saying they "strongly" support his performance, down from 57% in August 2025. Pollster Mark DiCamillo said the softer numbers could reduce Republican turnout in the state's few competitive congressional races, while UC Berkeley's G. Cristina Mora suggested Trump's efforts to nationalize the midterms could instead galvanize Democratic voters.

The decline comes as California's redrawn congressional map, approved by voters last year at Gov. Gavin Newsom's urging, leaves Republicans with just four safe seats out of 52. Cook Political Report rates only one true toss-up: the 22nd District held by Rep. David Valadao, who faces progressive Democrat Randy Villegas. Two other GOP-held or contested seats, the 48th and 13th Districts, lean Democratic. The poll also found 70% of California voters disapprove of Trump's Iran policy and believe his immigration approach hurts the state's economy, including roughly one in five Republicans on each measure.

A Los Angeles-area state Senate race between labor-backed West Hollywood City Councilmember John Erickson and business-supported media consultant Brian Goldsmith has become California's most expensive state Senate general election contest this cycle, driven by heavy outside spending. The district, covering Malibu, Santa Monica, the Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, carries a 12-year term limit as both seek to succeed termed-out Sen. Ben Allen.

Business groups have targeted Erickson with attack spending, while tech-linked donors and Goldsmith's own personal funds have boosted his campaign; labor groups opposing Goldsmith have spent far less. Nancy Pelosi recently endorsed Goldsmith. Ads focus on affordability, housing, public safety and partisan loyalty, reflecting a broader business-labor struggle over California Democratic Party direction.

California's High-Speed Rail Authority secured only one of the several legislative priorities it said were needed to keep the Merced-to-Bakersfield rail segment on schedule. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1425, letting the authority issue permits to utilities, local governments and developers on authority-controlled land, but broader proposals—faster environmental reviews, expedited court dispute resolution, sales tax exemptions on construction materials, and new authority to tap local tax revenue near the rail line—stalled or were never formally introduced. Local officials strongly opposed the tax-revenue idea, calling it a raid on funds needed for services and road repairs.

A separate bill from Sen. Henry Stern to let the authority spend more state climate funds outside the Central Valley segment died in committee, as did a utility-relocation bill from Sen. Scott Wiener. The authority and lawmakers traded blame over the losses. The project, now estimated to cost $126-231 billion with full buildout by 2040, depends on $1 billion in annual state carbon-auction funding that could shrink under pending climate rule changes, adding further uncertainty to its timeline.

A printing vendor error caused nearly 7,800 voters in Tulare County to receive duplicate vote-by-mail ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 election, prompting confused calls to the registrar's office. ProVote Solutions, the county's longtime ballot printer, accepted responsibility and mailed correction notices instructing voters to destroy extra ballots. A similar mailing error affected 160 confidential voters in Imperial County. Officials say existing safeguards — barcode tracking, signature verification, and duplicate-vote flagging — prevent double counting. The incidents, in a competitive Central Valley congressional district, quickly drew conspiracy claims on social media amid heightened distrust of mail voting fueled by President Trump's unproven fraud allegations and his blocked effort to restrict mail-in ballots.

A 2-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the leg over the weekend at a home in Pixley, a small Tulare County community in California's Central Valley, after an adult in the house was cleaning a firearm, according to the Tulare County Sheriff's Office. Deputies responded to the home shortly before 11:30 a.m. Sunday, administered emergency aid and had the child transported to a hospital; his condition has not been confirmed.

The Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information to come forward. Federal data cited alongside the report shows that from 2003 to 2021, the CDC recorded 1,262 unintentional firearm deaths among children, with nearly a third of victims under age 5 and about 7% of cases involving a gun being loaded, unloaded, or cleaned at the time.