BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Months after the November presidential election, we’re getting new insight into how Californians voted, including breakdowns by cities, congressional districts and more.
The results show that in Kern County, Republican messaging appealed greatly to voters, regardless of party.
This is a reflection of the nationwide trouble Democrats had in reaching their target base.
“Kern County was overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. It doesn’t surprise people to think of us as a red county, but we’re not that red,” said Central Valley Political Analyst, Tracy Leach.
After every election, California’s Secretary of State offers a detailed breakdown of how voters voted.
California may vote blue, but President Donald Trump won Kern County with nearly 60% of the vote.
Democratic opponent Kamala Harris received 38%.
“There were a lot of [Democrats] and Independents who chose to vote for Donald Trump, because he beat the registration here,” noted Leach.
From the election in November to now, voter registration in Kern increased — as did GOP registration.
This all matters because how a county votes for president often indicates how down ballot races will go — for Congress, State Legislature, County Supervisors, City Council.
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Take the 22nd Congressional District, represented by David Valadao, who was just reelected.
It leans Democrat and is majority Latino, yet a Republican holds the seat.
This voter base went for Hillary Clinton — by about 15 points — in 2016 and Joe Biden — by about 10 points — in 2020.
Despite all that in 2024, Trump won CD-22 by about 6%.
“It is a tell that again that Democrats nationally, the kinds of ads they’re running, the kind of issues they’re focusing on just do not resonate with most average people,” said Leach.
In recent weeks, Democrats have criticized Valadao for voting for a GOP budget aimed at cutting federal spending, which could include cuts to programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
“He can’t always go with the Republican majority. He needs to get some accommodation from them because his district is different,” Leach pointed out.
Valadao and 11 other House Republicans on Wednesday signed yet another letter to House leadership — writing that as Members of Congress who helped to deliver a Republican Majority, they “cannot and will not support a final reconciliation bill that includes any reduction in Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations.”
Leach further noted that given the unique nature of CD-22, Valadao, “has not been and cannot be your typical Trump republican.”
CD-22 is so competitive — the battle to flip it blue in 2026 is already underway.
Progressive Democrat Randy Villegas announced his campaign.
In addition to the county, President Trump won Bakersfield.
“But the city of Bakersfield, even when you break it down granularly, went for Trump,” Leach pointed out.
Bakersfield voter registration also has leaned more Republican in recent months.
Trump won all county supervisorial districts, other than District 5, represented by the only Democratic and Latino supervisor Leticia Perez.
Kern County has Democratic lawmakers at the state level too — State Senator Melissa Hurtado and Assemblywoman Dr. Jasmeet Bains.
Yet, Trump won Hurtado’s district by nearly 9 percent… and Harris won Bains’ district by just 0.4 percent.
“Very interesting trends,” added Leach, while saying that because politics changes on a dime, we’ll have to see which candidates present themselves come 2026.
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