Human Rights Campaign PAC Endorses Pro-Equality Champion Randy Villegas for U.S. House

WASHINGTON, D.C. —  Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) PAC — the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization — proudly endorsed small business owner, educator, and school board trustee, Randy Villegas for U.S. House in California’s 22nd District. Villegas is challenging Republican Rep. David Valadao in one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country. 

Born and raised in California’s Central Valley, Villegas is the son of Mexican immigrants and the first in his family to earn a doctoral degree. A product of Bakersfield public schools, Villegas grew up in a working-class family that, like many of his neighbors, relied on Medi-Cal and WIC to make ends meet. Those experiences gave him a firsthand understanding of the barriers working families face just to get by and shaped his unapologetic advocacy for working people. Now, Villegas is running to bring that fight to Congress to deliver the leadership Central Valley families deserve after years of an incumbent selling out to corporate interests and voting to gut Medicaid and other critical programs for working people. 

“Randy Villegas knows what it means when politicians put powerful interests ahead of working people because he grew up in a community that has paid the price,” said Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson. “From the classroom to the school board to his family’s autoshop, Villegas has built his life in the Central Valley and dedicated it to making his community stronger. At a moment when our communities are under attack and too many families are struggling to make ends meet, Villegas will be the kind of leader who believes no matter where you are from or who you are, you deserve a fair shot. A leader who will stand up for LGBTQ+ people. Villegas won’t forget who sent him to Congress and he won’t sell out his community to corporate interests. HRC is proud to endorse Randy Villegas and stand with him in the fight for California’s 22nd District.”

“I am honored to receive the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign PAC,” said Congressional Candidate Randy Villegas. “As a school board member I always stood up for the dignity and safety of all of our LGBTQ students, staff and community. With his votes in Washington, David Valado has made life harder and more expensive for the people of the Central Valley by cutting healthcare for nearly 70,000 people and gutting $90 million dollars in federal funding for our hospitals in exchange for tax breaks for his billionaire donors. In Congress I’ll work with anyone and everyone to restore healthcare access, lower costs, and defend the rights and freedoms of people across the Valley.” 

In Congress, Villegas will fight to lower costs for working people, protect and expand health care, strengthen public education and workers’ rights, protect immigrant communities, defend clean air and water, and safeguard the hardfought freedoms of LGBTQ+ people and all Americans. He will take on corporate influence in Washington and deliver for the people of the Central Valley because they deserve a representative accountable to them, not corporations and billionaires. 

A Clear Choice in California’s 22nd District 

While roughly two-thirds of residents in the district rely on Medi-Cal, David Valadao voted for legislation that cut funding for Medicaid and other crucial programs relied upon by working families. He has enabled the Trump Administration’s cruel immigration enforcement, detentions, and deportation tactics, which have created deep fear and uncertainty for families across the Central Valley. 

At a time when politicians are attacking LGBTQ+ people, immigrant communities, access to health care, and the basic economic security of working families, California’s 22nd District needs a representative who understands that these fights are connected. Randy Villegas is a son of the Central Valley and is ready to bring its families and their priorities with him to Congress. 

HRC’s Commitment to California

Equality Voters — including the more than 10 million in California — are a powerful and diverse voting bloc united by support for LGBTQ+ equality. Equality Voters are younger, more racially diverse, and more female than the general electorate, and they recognize and trust the HRC brand. HRC PAC has made significant investments in California over the years, working to elect pro-equality champions up and down the ballot. Today, HRC PAC continues to build on this legacy by mobilizing Equality Voters and supporting leaders, like Randy Villegas, who are committed to ensuring every Californian can live free from discrimination and with full dignity under the law.

Paid for by Human Rights Campaign PAC, www.hrc.org, and authorized by Randy Villegas for Congress