Longtime Rep. Ken Calvert survived a bitter re-election battle against fellow Republican Young Kim to represent a new Southern California congressional district.
The Associated Press declared Calvert the winner of a closely divided race Monday evening, a week after the Nov. 3 election. Calvert declared victory Thursday, but Kim did not concede.
The two men fought for one of the last “safe” Republican areas in the state, a red district covering Orange and Riverside counties. Both supporters of President Trump, they were considered friendly allies before the race.
The district was redrawn under Proposition 50, the voter-backed initiative to increase the Democratic Party’s numbers in the U.S. House of Representatives, after Trump persuaded Texas to create more Republican-friendly districts. Reconfigured congressional districts under Proposition 50, placed on the ballot by the Democratic-led state Legislature, placed Calvert and Kim in the same district, ensuring that one of them would be eliminated. Calvert is from Corona and Kim is from Anaheim Hills.
Calvert, 73, retained about half of his voters in the redrawn district, giving him an advantage. Kim, 64, kept about a third of his family.
Calvert was first elected to Congress in 1992, making him the longest-serving Republican member of California’s congressional delegation. He is the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee and chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
Kim, a prolific fundraiser who defeated Democratic Rep. Gil Cisneros in 2020 after losing to him two years earlier, outspent Calvert in the race, amassing a massive war chest of $10 million to Calvert’s $7 million.
Americans 4 Security PAC spent more than $6 million to get Calvert re-elected, including sending fliers to Democratic voters linking Kim and Trump. Although both candidates supported Trump, the fliers sought to dissuade Democrats from supporting Kim.
Among the PAC’s donors are two executives from Miami-based Palantir, whose software is used by the U.S. military.
The 40th District stretches from Mission Viejo in Orange County to Woodcrest, Menifee and Murrieta in Riverside County.
Registered Republicans make up less than 40% of registered voters in the redrawn district. According to statistics from the California Secretary of State’s office, another 21 percent are voters with no party preference. Democratic voters make up about 31% of the district.
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