Pro-Trump conservative to challenge Valadao, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach

A pro-Trump Republican will challenge one of the two GOP House members who voted to impeach the former president and returned to Congress after 2022.

Conservative Chris Mathys will challenge Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, again for his House seat in 2024.

Mathys, who ran against Valadao in California’s 22nd Congressional District last year, is an ardent Donald Trump supporter and often criticizes Valadao’s vote to impeach the former president over the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Valadao was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump in 2021. He is one of only two who decided to run again for Congress and won.

“I would not have voted to impeach a Republican president,” Mathys said in a video launching his campaign.

Mathys, a businessman, owns Mercey Ranch in Firebaugh, Calif., and operates Oro Financial of California Inc. in Fresno. He previously served on the Fresno City Council.

Mathys, 66, fell short by about 1,200 votes to Valadao, 46, in the 2022 primary election.

Voters in California’s 22nd, a stretch of farmland from Hanford to Shafter, picked President Joe Biden by 13 percentage points over Trump in 2020. There are more Democrats registered there than Republicans.

Mathys supports the House’s impeachment inquiry into Biden over his son’s business dealings. Impeachment experts say it’s the weakest presidential inquiry in history.

Republicans want to look into whether Biden has benefited from the foreign business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden. Hunter has been under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and was indicted in September on federal firearms charges.

Among his fiscal priorities, Mathys mentioned curbing government spending and addressing inflation and gas prices. He criticized Congress for sending aid to Ukraine, a bipartisan effort, while San Joaquin Valley voters struggle with high grocery and gas prices.

“We’re not taking care of Americans,” Mathys said.

Democratic challengers

Mathys joins two well-known Democrats challenging Valadao.

In 2022, Valadao won the left-leaning 22nd by a 3% margin over former Bakersfield Assemblyman Rudy Salas.

Election analysts predict another close race between Republicans and Democrats. Nonpartisan forecasters say the race would either be a toss-up or lean in Valadao’s favor.

Salas is running again in 2024. State Sen. Melissa Hurtado of Fresno is also running. So far, Salas has far outraised Hurtado, according to the most recent campaign finance reports.

Salas had almost $158,000 on hand at the beginning of October. Hurtado had just over $33,000 but had $27,000 in debt.

Valadao, meanwhile, had a $1.2 million war chest. Mathys had $500.

Valadao has won many tough races. The Hanford dairy farmer, first elected to Congress in 2013, narrowly lost his seat to Democrat T.J. Cox in 2020 and won it back two years later. Cox now faces federal fraud charges, including an alleged illegal campaign contribution.