Antiestablishment candidate Randy Villegas is testing the conventional wisdom about what it would take to unseat Rep. David G. Valadao in California.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wants to hold a conspicuously early vote on a short-term funding bill next week — more than two months before the government runs out of money. Why it matters: Johnson may be setting himself up to win in September by losing in July. - A failed vote on a short-term spending stopgap could potentially strengthen the GOP leader's hand in another difficult challenge: securing $67 billion for the Pentagon to replenish its munitions through the reconciliation process , according to conservative lawmakers. An early defeat on a continuing resolution would give Johnson a pretext to shoehorn a spending stopgap bill into a September reconciliation package. - Call it Reconciliation 3.0 Plus. - "The Dems know,…
Randy Villegas will face the incumbent, David Valadao, a Republican who has survived numerous challenges in a competitive district.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC ) is facing behind-the-scenes fury and demands for a course-correction after spending $135,000 on what appears to be a failed effort to boost their favored candidate in a Democratic primary. Why it matters: Some lawmakers are threatening to withhold their dues to the House Democratic campaign arm if it doesn't change its ways. - "People think the DCCC doesn't care about them other than their dues," a senior House Democrat told Axios. "They have no say where they go, they don't help [safe-seat] incumbents." - Said Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.): "It frustrates me and it's just deeply disappointing that the DCCC tried to tip the scales in a very competitive Democratic primary." Driving…
The California primaries were supposed to be the first major triumph of younger Democrats' campaign to oust aging House incumbents . That's not how it's shaking out. Why it matters: The old guard is proving they still have some fight, defying a "generational change" year for the party grassroots. - Rep. Brad Sherman's (D-Calif.) campaign crowed that the results in his district were a "direct repudiation of Sherman's opponents' claims that voters ... value 'generational change' over experience and results." - "We always know that primarying incumbents is really, really hard," said Amanda Litman, founder of Run for Something. "The incumbents are almost always going to win." Driving the news: Sherman, 71, and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.),…
House Democrats are looking to Tuesday's primaries in California as a major test of the anti-incumbency sentiment among their voters. Why it matters: This will be the first time in the 2026 election when multiple House Democrats in their 70s and 80s face off against primary insurgents who have hammered them for their lengthy tenures. - California Democratic Reps. Mike Thompson, Doris Matsui and Brad Sherman — all 70 or older — are among those facing tough primary fights with younger Democratic challengers. - Their Democratic colleagues are watching "all of them closely," one senior House Democrat said, as well as the LA mayor's race and the state's gubernatorial election. - "Just to see the anti-incumbent sentiment," another senior…
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC ) is employing an unusual tactic to blunt what they say is Republican meddling in their primaries: - They have teamed up with the candidates they see as the "strongest" in key battleground districts, launching joint ad buys to squeeze out their Democratic primary opponents. Why it matters: This practice has infuriated parts of the party, particularly the progressive wing. - "If DCCC were a good judge of electability, then we wouldn't be in the mess we're in," said Ravi Mangla, a spokesperson for the progressive Working Families Party, in a statement to Axios. - DCCC spokesperson Viet Shelton said in a statement that "the stakes are incredibly high for the midterms" and it is…