Medicaid Cuts Vote Helps Topple California Congressman Valadao

In an NPR broadcast report from KFF Health News, reporter Jackie Fortiér describes how Democrat Randy Villegas defeated longtime Republican Rep. David Valadao in California's Central Valley, a district where roughly 6 in 10 residents are on Medicaid. Analysts cited in the report point to Valadao's vote for a federal budget bill cutting Medicaid spending by more than $900 billion over several years, along with a redrawn congressional map, national political conditions and inflation, as factors in his loss. A Bakersfield Medicaid recipient said the program's coverage of his wheelchair repairs drove his vote for Villegas. Villegas said after winning that he would co-sponsor Medicare for All legislation.

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