While Republican Party led Congress is set to initiative investigations into corruptions and crimes of Hunter Biden and other members of the Biden family, including US President Joe Biden, its size of majority in the Congress has further widened as Republicans picked up another win on November 22, 2022, giving the party a wider majority in the House. Reports noted that Rep. David Valadao is officially the winner in California’s 22nd Congressional District, making him one of just a handful of GOP lawmakers in the Golden State’s Democrat-heavy delegation.
He defeated Democrat Rudy Salas by 3,358 votes (51,777-48,419), winning by a 3.6-point margin (51.68 percent-48.32 percent), Newsmax reported.
His victory gives Republicans 220 seats to 212 for Democrats, a eight-seat advantage, which is still considered a narrow margin but enough to move some legislation. Also, any majority hands control of the chamber over to the GOP. Democrats may get one more seat in Alaska, while Republicans will surely get two more – California District 3 and California District 13.
Valadao’s race “took almost two weeks to be decided due to California’s mass mail-in balloting and legalized ballot harvesting laws,” the outlet reported.
Valadao was one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump after the January 6 Capitol riot. He is one of two GOP lawmakers who remain in Congress following their vote, the other being Rep. Dan Newhouse in Washington state.
Trump announced shortly after the midterm elections on November 8 that he would once again seek the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.
“America’s comeback starts right now”, Trump said to a room full of supporters at Mar-a-Lago last week. “Unlike other presidents, I kept my promises”.
“The world was at peace, America was prospering, and our country was on track for an amazing future— because I made big promises to the American People and, unlike other Presidents, I kept my promises,” he said. “Under our leadership, we were a great and glorious nation, something you haven’t heard for quite a long period of time. We were a strong nation, and importantly we were a free nation. Now, we are a nation in decline. We are a failing nation”.
Trump declared: “I am tonight again announcing my candidacy for President of the United States”.
When asked by reporters who he would pick as his running mate, Trump said, “I’ll let you know very soon”.
No other Republican has declared their 2024 presidential candidacy, but one name did surface to the top last weekend – Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who finished second behind Trump in 2016.
Cruz said that he plans to run for reelection in the Lone Star state in two years, but he is still keeping his presidential ambitions open less than a week after Trump announced his intent to seek the nomination.
Ted Cruz, who was reportedly well received at the event, made his remarks at the annual conference of the Republican Jewish Coalition, which traditionally has marked the beginning of the GOP nomination process. The announcement came four days after Trump said he would run again.
He finished his speech by discussing his tough 2018 reelection battle and sought donations for his 2024 reelection bid, the Washington Examiner reported.
In a press conference following his speech, Cruz reiterated that he would seek a third Senate term.
“I’m running for reelection in the Senate. I’m focused on the battles in the United States Senate,” Cruz told reporters. “We need to stand and fight against these policies that are inflicting so much harm on Americans across this country”.
But at the same time, he did not entirely rule out a presidential run.
“You can consider whatever you like”, Cruz said after a reporter asked if running for reelection means he shouldn’t be considered a presidential contender any longer. “There will be plenty of time to discuss 2024 presidential. I get that that is a lot of fun in the media to do. There will be plenty of time for that”.
