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California physician Jasmeet Bains launches congressional bid
Bains, the first Sikh American elected to the state legislature, will seek to unseat Republican incumbent David Valadao.
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Malvika Choudhary - Wed, 16, Jul 2025
- 13:13 EDT
- 22
Jasmeet Bains / X (@DrJasmeetBains)
Indian American physician and California Assemblymember, Jasmeet Bains on July 16 announced her candidacy for Congress in California’s 22nd district.
“I’m a doctor, not a career politician — and I’ve spent my life on the frontlines, listening to Valley families and fighting for their health, their safety, and their future,” the Democrat who was the first Sikh American elected to the state legislature, said in her announcement video.
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“I’m running for Congress because we deserve better than broken promises and backroom deals, and our communities are tired of getting left behind. We deserve a representative who will actually show up, and stand up, for the Valley.”
Taking aim at Valadao for his vote in favor of the House GOP’s federal budget proposal, Bains said it would cut healthcare and food assistance programs that are critical to Valley residents. “David Valadao doesn’t work for us — he works for the donors and D.C. insiders who drive up drug prices and fund his campaigns as families here are rationing care,” she said.
“While our communities struggle to afford care, food, or clean water, Valadao just voted to gut Medi-Cal that provides 68 percent of the affordable healthcare in our community, jack up prescription drug prices, and cut off food assistance for thousands of hardworking folks. That’s not leadership — that’s betrayal,” she added.
Bains has represented California’s 35th Assembly District since 2022 and is considered one of the most moderate Democrats in the chamber. Her work in the Assembly has focused on rural healthcare access, emergency response, and workforce development.
Born in Delano to Punjabi Sikh immigrants from India, Bains grew up working at her father’s auto dealership in Taft. She decided to pursue medicine after witnessing the collapse of local healthcare services during the Great Recession. She earned her Bachelor of Science in biology from the Illinois Institute of Technology and a Doctor of Medicine from the American University of Antigua.
Before entering public office, Bains served as a resident physician at Clinica Sierra Vista and later practiced at Omni Family Health. She has also worked with the California Emergency Medical Services Authority and was appointed to the California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission by former Governor Jerry Brown in 2017.
Now running for Congress, Bains said her candidacy is rooted in her professional background and community ties. “Caring for patients in rural communities, deploying to treat firefighters at wildfires — I’m there when people need me most,” she said. “That’s why I’m running for Congress.”
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