Bernie-Backed Randy Villegas Pushed DEI and Activism in California 22 Toss-Up
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 15
Bernie-Backed Randy Villegas Pushed DEI and Activism in California 22 Toss-Up
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 15
Summary
Randy Villegas, the Democrat challenging Rep. David Valadao in California’s 22nd District, described DEI as a “social justice-driven duty” and cast activism as part of an educator’s role in his academic writings.
A 2022 paper Villegas co-authored said community college teaching centers on diversity, equity and inclusion, while his UC Santa Cruz dissertation argued activism can strengthen research rather than compromise objectivity.
Villegas also helped lead the 2018 Central Valley Freedom Summer program, which linked students to voter outreach and organizing on LGBTQ rights, immigration, environmental justice and racial inequality.
The scrutiny lands in a race Democrats see as a top pickup chance: Cook rates the district a toss-up, and the seat carries a narrow D+1 partisan lean.
Villegas did not answer questions about calling educators “social activists”; his campaign instead attacked Valadao over Trump’s tax-and-spending bill, which included about $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts.