32nd Assembly District

Rep. Cox was born in Walnut Creek, California and grew up in the Central Valley, the son of immigrants. He is the incumbent, having served in this position since 2019. According to campaign materials he is running to keep his seat to continue serving the working families of the Central Valley. 

In his first term in Congress, Rep. Cox has worked to secure funds for essential water infrastructure improvements in the Central Valley, to improve healthcare delivery and asthma treatment in rural communities, and to extend clean energy tax credits for business owners. He has also proposed legislation that could help dozens of cities in his district achieve safe drinking water standards, working closely with cities and environmental justice groups across the Valley to draft the bill. Rep. Cox currently chairs a subcommittee of the House Committee on Natural Resources. Prior to his election to Congress, Rep. Cox was an engineer and also created the Central Valley Fund, which raises money for projects located in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods throughout the Central Valley.

Rep. Cox has shown strong support for farmers, rural communities, and veterans in Congress. That said, he has at times voted in support of amendments that have the effect of weakening progressive legislation. 

Unfortunately, Rep. Cox isn’t without complications. His eyebrow-raising business history and practices have come under scrutiny and lawsuits have surfaced accusing Rep. Cox of committing fraud and owing money to investors.

Rep. Cox is being challenged by David Valadao (R), who he bested in 2018 by less than 1,000 votes (and has his own questionable financial history). He is also challenged by Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente (R) and Ricardo De La Fuente (D). According to recent election results, it's rare that Democrats win this seat as Rep. Cox did in 2018. His track record of fighting for Central Valley families and his strong base in a recently flipped district makes him the strongest choice in this race.
 

Bobby Bliatout is the son of Hmong refugees who moved to the Central Valley when he was four years old. Bliatout grew up in the Central Valley and attended Cal State Bakersfield. According to campaign materials he is running to represent District 22 in Congress because he believes middle class and working families are being left behind, while the wealthy and powerful continue enriching themselves. He pledges to focus on solving issues important to Valley families, including health care coverage, the homelessness crisis, and climate change-related threats to farmlands, water, and air pollution.

Bliatout is the Chief Executive Officer of two community clinic networks operating in the greater Fresno and Sacramento areas, which together provide medical and dental services to more than 100,000 patients and employ nearly 300 people. Bliatout has also worked as a farmer in the Central Valley, an experience that left him with a deep understanding of the challenges experienced by many Central Valley families connected to agriculture. 

Bliatout is running against Representative Devin Nunes (R) who is the incumbent and has held the seat since 2003. Nunes is one of President Trump’s strongest allies in Congress, holding a seat as the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee and the No. 2 Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee. In addition to his extreme right-wing legislative agenda, there is strong and compelling evidence that Rep. Nunes is centrally involved in the Ukraine scandal at the center of the impeachment of President Donald Trump. Other challengers in this race include Phil Arballo (D), Dary Rezvani (D), and Eric Garcia (NPP). Arballo has been able to produce superior fundraising totals to Bliatout at this point, however, we have great confidence that whichever Democrat advances to the general will receive sufficient fundraising support, given Nunes’ trail of misdeeds. 

According to recent election results, it is challenging for a Democrat to win this district. However, in 2018, Democratic challenger Andrew Janz lost by a much narrower margin than usual, suggesting that it is possible for a strong challenger to win this seat in a presidential election year, as turnout will increase for Democrats across the board. Bliatout is the progressive choice because he has a comprehensive progressive policy agenda, emphasizes a community-based approach to governance, and has key supporters that can help him win the district.

According to our analysis, Bobby Bliatout is the strongest choice for progressive leadership in office and deserves your vote.
 

Kim Mangone, a veteran, is from Lancaster, CA. According to campaign materials, Mangone is running for congress because she understands the leadership her district needs and is confident that her problem-solving skills will allow her to advance policies to benefit her community.

Kim Mangone is a United States Air Force veteran, aircraft mechanic, and retired systems engineer. While serving her country, Mangone developed innovative solutions to the problems she encountered and said she would apply those skills if elected. Mangone, a single parent, put herself through school while working full-time. The experience of balancing school, work, and child care has given her insight into the issues that many in her community experience and is what motivates her to become the district’s next representative.

Kim Mangone is running against Representative Kevin McCarthy (R), who is the incumbent and has been in congress since 2007. Mangone is the best progressive choice because of her vision to enact policies that help us achieve universal healthcare and her pledge to protect programs like social security from GOP attacks.

According to our analysis, Mangone is the strongest choice for progressive leadership in office.

Rudy Salas is the Democratic incumbent, having served as the Representative for Assembly District 32 since 2012. 

In the State Assembly Salas is currently the chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee and serves on the Agriculture, Governmental Organization, Veterans Affairs and Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committees. He is also the chair of the Select Committee on Early Childhood Development. 

Salas has supported improving access to healthcare in rural areas, voted for overtime wages for farmworkers, and supported resolutions calling out deceptive practices being used by ICE. He also voted for SB 54, California Values Act, which barred state and local data and resources from being used to assist federal immigration enforcement. 

That said, Salas has a poor track record on issues relating to environmental protection and climate change. He has also opposed criminal justice reform efforts, including efforts to give judges more say over sentencing and drug sentencing reform. 

While Assemblymember Salas has a poor track record on progressive issues, and only scored 12 out of 100 on this year’s Courage Score, he is running against a Republican, Todd Cotta, in the primary. While we disagree with Salas on his lack of support on the issues mentioned above, Salas is the most progressive choice in this race. That said, we encourage more progressive candidates, that will better reflect this community’s needs, to run in future cycles.