WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. David Valadao won reelection to a U.S. House seat representing California on Tuesday, defeating Democrat Rudy Salas. Valadao has long been able to outrun the partisanship of his district, which Democrat Joe Biden carried by double digits in 2020. He is also one of two House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection who managed to keep his seat after the 2022 election. Democrats had hoped that Salas, who narrowly lost the 22nd Congressional District seat to Valadao in 2022, could ride higher turnout in a presidential year to flip the seat. The Associated Press declared Valadao the winner at 9:36 p.m. EST.

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