June 9 (Reuters) – Democratic challenger Randy Villegas, an educator, was projected to advance to the November general election after Tuesday’s open primary for California’s closely watched 22nd congressional district race, U.S. media said on Tuesday.
The Democrat will face incumbent Republican Representative David Valadao, who on election night was projected to go through to the November ballot.
Political analysts see Valadao as one of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents in the November 3 general election with partisan control of the U.S. House of Representatives at stake. The district map in the agricultural Central Valley was redrawn to be more favorable to Democrats under the voter-approved redistricting initiative Proposition 50.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California;)
