Kern County leaders address 2024 mistakes, share changes in messaging for 2026 Midterm election
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — If you think it's too early to talk about the 2026 Midterm Election, it's not — at least not for our local electeds.
Kern County Democrats returned from a weekend in Anaheim, meeting with fellow party leaders and voters to discuss directions for the 2026 Midterms.
It was a weekend of passion and like-mindedness at the California Democratic Party State Convention in Orange County.
It was a convention of 4,000 Democrats, but why should all voters care?
This convention sets the stage for 2026 — who may be running and what issues, like the economy, could be front and center.
'Will you stand up to Donald Trump?' said an energetic Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), one of the speakers over the weekend.
In an interview with 17 News reflecting on the convention, Kern Democratic Party Chair Christian Romo stated, 'This go around was really a come to Jesus moment. We came together not just as friends, but also to say, what did we do wrong?'
The mass gathering was a reflection on the 2024 Presidential Election and a determined gearing up for the 2026 Midterm Election.
At center stage, a change in messaging.
'And how do we drive down the costs while also making sure that the deficit doesn't go higher? And making sure that all Californians have the right to thrive,' Romo noted.
Civil rights activist and local Democratic leader Dolores Huerta agreed.
'Sometimes people voted and not because of the political party, but they voted on these what we call the cultural issues,' she began.
'You have to think about your bread-and-butter issues, the things that are going to affect your family economically, things that are going to affect your family when it comes to their health. [The focus is] not whether someone wants to have an abortion, not whether somebody happens to be gay or transgender. These are the important issues. Economic issues are the important issues.'
Christian Romo and Dolores Huerta both said messaging in 2024 — like on healthcare and abortion — may not have appealed to the local voter base, albeit important topics nationally.
Take the always-contentious, could-go-either-way 22nd Congressional District race.
David Valadao, the Republican incumbent, has been reelected time and time again, despite the majority Latino, Democratic leaning district he represents.
Democratic challenger Rudy Salas has been unsuccessful twice in a row.
'And we lost it by a lot,' Romo said of that race's 2024 results. 'That's no secret about that.'
Democrats have not ruled out Salas for a third run.
'We'll see what Mr. Rudy Salas decides to do, and then we'll go from there,' Huerta said when asked about the race.
'All I can say about CD-22 is there's no permanent enemies in politics and there's no permanent friends. So, anything's at play,' Romo hinted.
Here's where the more progressive members of the party come into play.
Like Randy Villegas, the only candidate so far to have announced a run against Valadao. JH: Neel Sannappa a senior organizer with the progressive Working Families Party says change is coming — perhaps more unity between the progressives and moderates of the party.
'[The convention] was an acknowledgment of the fact that the party has gone kind of far away from the working class, kind of far away from the base,' said Sannappa. 'And we have a different view of how to approach politics. We want to stay with working families.'
Of party unity heading into the election, especially as Democrats will have to make endorsements of candidates, Sannappa stated, 'My goal right now is to bring the party together and to make sure that we can rally behind similar candidates and not have such an internal fight.'
Seats Democrats will have to defend in 2026 include Bakersfield City Council Ward 1, held by Eric Arias, as well as Ward 7, held by Manpreet Kaur.
State Senator Melissa Hurtado has filed an intent to run for reelection in 2026.
'Obviously, the Central Valley's always in play. It's a very moderate district, although solidly Dem for CD-22 and city and state and assembly races,' Romo explained of voter demographics. 'It's still a tossup because it's very moderate. It's very conservative leaning and very Latino.'
The 2026 primary will be on June 2nd.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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