• Congressman David ValadaoRepublican, incumbent

Valadao is defending his seat in a heavily agricultural district. He was one of 10 House Republicans who voted in 2021 to impeach former President Trump for his role as a “driving force” in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Valadao was first elected to Congress in 2012 after serving one term in the state Legislature. He served three consecutive terms in Congress until losing re-election in 2018. However, he returned to Congress in 2020 and was re-elected in 2022, defeating Democratic challenger Rudy Salas by a 3% margin.

• Rudy Salas Democratic Party, Former state legislator

Saras challenges Valadao again. The son of a farm worker, in 2010 he became the first Latina elected to the Bakersfield City Council. Mr. Salas served five terms in the House of Representatives. He has the support of the California Democratic Party, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the United Farm Workers Union. Salas told the Times he is running to “continue to serve Valley families.”

• melissa hurtado Democratic Party, State Senator

Hurtado announced his intention to run in August and prepared a competitive primary election. Hurtado claims to be part of a new generation of Latino political leaders. In 2018, at age 30, she became the youngest woman ever elected to the state Senate. She previously served on the Sanger City Council.

• chris matisse Republican, former Fresno City Council member

Mr. Mattis also disagrees with Mr. Valadao, arguing that he is more to the political right than the congressman. The cattle rancher told the Times he is running because he believes Valadao “betrayed his voters” when he voted to impeach Trump. He said, “I will fight for conservative values ​​and always put Americans first.”

Under California's top-two primary election system, the two candidates who receive the most votes in the March primary, regardless of party, advance to the November general election.