He returned to the San Joaquin Valley to work in the produce industry before opening his own cherry farm outside Hanford in 1997.

[1] In the 2010 midterm elections, Vidak announced his candidacy for Congress in California's 20th congressional district, challenging longtime incumbent Democrat Jim Costa.

Following the sudden resignation of incumbent Democrat Michael Rubio on February 22, 2013, the 16th State Senate seat was left vacant and a special election was called.

Vidak's main challenger in the election was Leticia Perez, a former criminal defense attorney and supervisor from Kern County's 5th district.

[7] He faced three Democratic challengers: Sanger city councilwoman Melissa Hurtado, Earlimart school board president Abigail Solis, and Ruben Macareno from Farmersville, who previously ran for California's 26th State Assembly district in 2016.

On October 16, 2013, Vidak joined fellow Senator Anthony Cannella of the 12th district in calling for an investigation into the California Employment Development Department after it ceased providing unemployment benefits to over 150,000 Californians and closed several offices in Turlock and Los Banos.

[14] Vidak also wrote a letter to President Barack Obama asking for support,[15] and was interviewed by Lou Dobbs on the Fox Business Network to further explain the crisis, its causes, and ways to solve it.

[20] Later that same month, Vidak was credited with saving a woman's life by directing traffic away from a sycamore tree with a breaking branch about half a mile from the Capitol, after he could hear the sound of the wood cracking.

"[21] In July 2017, Vidak spoke out against AB 398, an extension of the state's efforts to combat climate change known as "cap-and-trade," which included such measures as tax hikes.

[citation needed] In December 2017, Vidak drafted a resolution calling for the expulsion of Democratic state senator Tony Mendoza due to sexual harassment allegations.

[22] The State Senate eventually voted to suspend Mendoza for 60 days in January 2018, and he resigned in late February.