Mike Pence Campaigns For California Republican Who Faced Censure For Voting to Impeach Trump After Jan. 6

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Former Vice President Mike Pence joined Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) on the campaign trail this week as the incumbent Republican battles to stay in office in the deeply divided California swing district.

Valadao is one of only two GOP House members who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump over his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol that is up for reelection in November, the other eight either lost primaries or chose to retire.

“California and America need David Valadao back in a Republican majority in the United States House of Representatives, and I’m proud to give him my full support in his re-election effort,” Pence said of the dairy farmer.

Valadao faced censure from the California GOP in early 2022 for his vote to impeach Trump. While a resolution to censure the moderate Republican was raised during the February California Republican Convention, the delegates voted against carrying it forward and most of the convention focused around recalling Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), which eventually failed by a wide margin.

Reporters pressed Pence on Valadao’s vote to impeach Trump during a question-and-answer session after his remarks. “Jan. 6 was a tragic day in the life of our nation’s capitol and in our national life. I’ll always believe that I did my duty that day under the Constitution and the laws of the United States,” Pence said, according to the Sacramento Bee.

“But elections are about the future.… I think the reason why David Valadao is going to be re-elected is because the people of this district, and people all across America, want to focus on the challenges of today and not yesterday. They want to focus on the opportunities for tomorrow,” the former vice president concluded.

Valadao is locked in a tight race against state Assemblymember Rudy Salas from Bakersfield. Salas advanced to the general election with 45.2% of the vote in California’s June primary, which are open elections. Valadao received only 25.6% of the vote in the primary split between multiple candidates.

Pence’s public embrace of Valadao marks a public departure in strategy with Trump, who has openly targetted GOP members who opposed him or voted for his impeachment for defeat. Valadao has had a complex relationship with Trump over the years, he initially endorsed Trump in 2016 as the GOP nominee for president only to rescind that support in June 2016.