Angel Lara, a former aide to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D–Calif.) and Bakersfield resident, announced that he would abandon his bid to challenge newly-returned Rep. David Valadao (R–Hanford) in the 2022 election.
Lara was one of a handful of Democrats vying to oust Valadao one election removed from his return to Washington.
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Valadao, who held the heavily Hispanic south Valley seat for three terms, was ousted from Congress in 2018 after a razor-thin 862-vote defeat to Fresno Democrat TJ Cox.
In a 2020 rematch, Valadao bested Cox by 1,522 votes.
In a statement, Lara said he was committed to defeating Valadao, just not as a candidate.
“While it’s bittersweet to end my campaign for Congress, I remain committed to doing everything I can to help Democrats flip this seat in 2022,” he said in a statement.
“This campaign was always about taking back our district from Trump’s Republican party, and I’m so grateful to everyone who supported me over the past few months. As a gay son of Mexican immigrants, my story is the story of the American Dream.”
In a single, full financial quarter, Lara managed to raise $56,311.24, which ranked second among a field of three active Democratic candidates at the time.
But another millennial Democrat was leading the field: 25-year-old Delano Mayor Bryan Osorio, who hauled in $60,313.31 to lead the pack of Democrats for the second-straight quarter.
Following the close of the October 1 quarterly fundraising deadline, Kern County heavyweight Asm. Rudy Salas (D–Bakersfield) announced his candidacy.
