Who is Randy Villegas? The mechanic, son of Mexican immigrants, who took a seat from Republicans in California

Latino mechanic and educator Randy Villegas won the election for the United States House of Representatives for California's 22nd district, snatching a seat from Republicans that had been held by Congressman David Valadao, according to projections by AP and NBC.

The 31-year-old Democrat, the son of Mexican migrants, defeated the Republican who had represented the district since 2013, although its boundaries were modified following the recent electoral redistricting authorized by voters in 2025.

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Villegas, who has defined himself as a populist candidate, built his campaign by presenting himself as an alternative to traditional Congressional aspirants and as a voice for working families facing issues such as inflation, a lack of housing, and difficulties accessing healthcare.

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"I grew up in a family that was always working; I worked every Sunday at the market with my family and in the auto repair shop that I own today, and I understand the needs that are suffered," the politician, whose parents emigrated from the Mexican states of Michoacán and Guerrero, told EFE in a recent interview.

Villegas has defended public programs that, as he has recounted, allowed him to become the first in his family to attend university and earn a doctorate in political science. In addition to working as an educator, he maintains his connection to mechanics at the shop he shares with his father.

Backed by Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Villegas identifies with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. He will represent a district in California's Central Valley with a large Latino presence, where nearly three-quarters of its approximately 780,000 inhabitants belong to this community.