Incumbent David Valadao (R), Jasmeet Bains (D), Eric Garcia (D), Rudy Salas (D), and Randy Villegas (D) are running in the top-two primary for California's 22nd Congressional District on June 2, 2026. As of March 2026, Valadao, Bains, and Villegas led in endorsements, fundraising, and local media attention.

The election is taking place in the context of redistricting, which changed the district lines from those used in 2024. Inside Elections' Nathaniel Rakich said the new lines "would make it easier for Democrats to dislodge Valadao, who has frustrated them for years by overperforming the top of the ticket. But this district, too, is trending Republican...Expect this district to remain a battleground in 2026 regardless of the map."

CalMatters' Maya C. Moore said the primary "embodies the larger tug-of-war within the party over how Democrats can win back the voters they lost in 2024 — by playing to the middle, as successful gubernatorial candidates did in New Jersey and Virginia last fall, or by adopting a progressive brand of economic populism, which fueled Zohran Mamdani’s rise to the New York City mayor’s office."

Valadao was first elected to the House in 2012. He lost re-election to TJ Cox (D) in 2018 and defeated Cox in 2020. Valadao is a dairy farmer. Valadao says he is running "to be an independent member of Congress who will stand up to the divisive partisanship in Washington D.C., get things done to grow our local economy, and deliver more water for our farmers and communities."

Bains is a physician and the chief medical officer for the Central Valley on the California Medical Assistance Team. Bains was elected to the California Assembly in 2022. Bains says she is running because "we deserve better than broken promises and backroom deals...Valadao just voted to gut Medi-Cal that provides 68% of the affordable healthcare in our community."

Villegas is a professor of political science at College of the Sequoias. Villegas was appointed to the Visalia Unified Board of Education in 2021. Villegas says he is running because "[t]his is a fight for the soul of the Democratic Party...We have to ask ourselves: Are we going to be a party for the billionaires, or are we going to be a party for the working class?"

In a top-two primary, all candidates for a particular office appear on the same ballot. The top two finishers—regardless of partisan affiliation—advance to the general election. The Democratic Party of California voted not to endorse any candidate. As of March 2026, the Republican Party of California had not endorsed any candidate.

As of March 2026, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball each rated the general election Toss-up, while Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales rated it Tilt Republican. Valadao defeated Salas 53.4%–46.6% in 2024 and 51.5%–48.5% in 2022.