Expanded campaign to include focus on CA GOP candidates Mike Garcia (CA-27), Ken Calvert (CA-41), Young Kim (CA-40), Michelle Steel (CA-45), and David Valadao (CA-22)
Visit the Dime Con Quién Andas/Show Me Your Friends website with content available in both English and Spanish
Washington, DC – In this election cycle, Republicans are trying to walk an impossibly thin line between claiming they are making inroads with Latino voters while also embracing white nationalist conspiracy theories that have inspired hate-filled mass violence. Exposing this contradiction and holding Republican candidates accountable for the extremism that many in the GOP have embraced is the driving idea behind America’s Voice bilingual, Dime Con Quién Andas/Show Me Your Friends campaign.
The campaign launched in June, targeting the six battleground districts along the southern border. Now, America’s Voice is adding five additional California Republicans to the campaign: Mike Garcia (CA-27), Ken Calvert (CA-41), Young Kim (CA-40), Michelle Steel (CA-45), and David Valadao (CA-22). These battleground races are key in deciding who controls the House, but these Republican have remained silent as their Republican friends have lied about the 2020 election and echoed the same white nationalist “invasion” and “white replacement” conspiracy theories that inspired domestic terrorists who committed massacres in cities like Buffalo, El Paso, and Pittsburgh.
Importantly, we want voters to understand that a vote for a Republican House candidate means the voter gets all of the House GOP. In fact, the first vote every member takes is for the Speaker. So a vote for a Republican likely means a vote for Kevin McCarthy as Speaker, who vowed there would be no pro-immigration legislation even considered if he is Speaker of the House. It also means putting the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene in power.
- Visit the Dime Con Quién Andas/Show Me Your Friends website with content available in both English and Spanish: https://showmeyourfriends.org/
- Watch the explanatory video about the campaign HERE
- Watch the individual videos highlighting each of the five Republican candidates, Garcia Calvert, Kim, Steel, and Valadao.
According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Deputy Director for America’s Voice:
“California voters should realize that a vote for these five California House Republicans is a vote for Republican control of the House and making fellow California Republican Kevin McCarthy speaker. Rep. McCarthy has already been clear about where he stands and has pledged a GOP-controlled Congress won’t deliver pro-immigrant legislation, including citizenship for Dreamers, farmworkers, and other long-time residents of the state. Meanwhile, other GOP leaders are pushing the ‘invasion’ rhetoric and ‘replacement’ theory that emanated from white nationalists and has yet to be condemned by these five Republican candidates who are the new ‘Dime Con Quien Andas’ campaign focal points in California.”
Additional Background on California Dime Expansion Targets
- Mike Garcia (CA-27): After redistricting, Republican Mike Garcia is hoping to retain a seat in Congress representing the district north of Los Angele. Garcia has echoed the same racist “invasion” conspiracies as the racist mass murderer who attacked El Paso in 2019 and Buffalo in May. After first winning a special election in May 2020, he voted against certifying the election despite the violent attack on the Capital and the complete lack of evidence of fraud. He also voted against the Dream and Promise Act in 2021, which would have put Dreamers and farmworkers on a pathway to citizenship. Garcia has been a rubber stamp for the Republican agenda and their failed chaos and cruelty approach to the border. He offers no real solutions to address the concerns at the border while he and his friends embrace dangerous conspiracy theories, jeopardizing all our safety. Garica has accepted thousands of dollars from Kevin McCarthy, Brain Babin, and an Arizona Senate candidate, Jim Lamon, who made the racist “invasion” lies a centerpiece of his campaign.
- Ken Calvert (CA-41): Rep. Ken Calvert has been in Congress since 1993 and is looking to hold on to this puzzle piece-shaped district in southern California. Calvert voted against certifying the election despite the violent attack on the Capital and the complete lack of evidence of fraud. He also voted against the Dream and Promise Act in 2021, which would have put Dreamers and farmworkers on a pathway to citizenship. Calvert has been a rubber stamp for the Republican agenda and their failed chaos and cruelty approach to the border. He offers no real solutions to address the concerns at the border while he and his friends embrace dangerous conspiracy theories, jeopardizing all our safety. Calvert has accepted thousands of dollars from Kevin McCarthy and Texas Rep. Jodey Arrington, who has been a central figure in moving the GOP to embrace the racist “invasion” conspiracies.
- Young Kim (CA-40): Rep. Young Kim is looking to return to Congress in a district that is south of Los Angeles and surrounds the area east of Irvine. In 2020, Kim welcomed the endorsement from Elise Stefanik, who has echoed the same racist conspiracy theories as the racist mass murderer who attacked El Paso in 2019 and Buffalo in May. Since then, Kim hasn’t spoken up to challenge this dangerous rhetoric. She also voted against the Dream and Promise Act in 2021, which would have put Dreamers and farmworkers on a pathway to citizenship. Kevin McCarthy’s SuperPAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund, spent $700,000 on Kim’s 2022 primary.
- Michelle Steel (CA-45): Rep. Michelle Steel is looking to return to Congress in a district that represents northwestern Orange County. Steel welcomed the endorsement from Elise Stefanik who has echoed the same racist conspiracy theories as the racist mass murderer who attacked El Paso in 2019 and Buffalo in May. Since then, Steel hasn’t spoken up to challenge this dangerous rhetoric. She also voted against the Dream and Promise Act in 2021, which would have put Dreamers and farmworkers on a pathway to citizenship. Steel accepted thousands of dollars from her friend Brian Babin and $10,000 from Elise Stefanik’s superPAC.
- David Valadao (CA-22): In 2020, David Valadao won back a Congressional seat in the San Joaquin Valley around Kern County, after losing in 2018. He did so campaigning as a different sort of Republican, featuring Dreamers in his campaign ads and talking about the need for immigration reform. And in 2021 voted with Democrats for the Dream and Promise Act which would have put Dreamers and farmworkers on a pathway to citizenship. However, Rep. Valadao has been largely silent as his party has embraced dangerous, racist conspiracies and lies about the election.
