In a southern California Congressional district (the state’s 41st), Democratic candidate Will Rollins is officially on track to face incumbent Republican Ken Calvert in general elections later this year. The race will pit a former federal prosecutor who was involved in prosecutions related to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol against a Republican known as an election denier, Ken Calvert.
Calvert was among the House Republicans who voted against the full certification of the electoral votes won by now President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race. Calvert is also a supporter of Donald Trump as the former president makes another run for the White House amid which he’s expected to secure Republicans’ nomination for the general election — again.
“It’s official, Riverside County. My name is Will Rollins, and I am your Democratic nominee to take back California’s 41st and defeat our state’s longest serving election-denier. Spread the word–on November 5th we are going to flip #CA41 from red to blue,” a post from Rollins on X (formerly called Twitter) said following him prevailing in primaries this week.
California’s primaries group candidates together and send the top two finishers to the general election months later. Calvert finished with more votes than Rollins in the combined primary, but Democratic support was split between Rollins and another Democrat. Calvert also faced Rollins as a general election challenger in 2022, when the Republican prevailed by nearly five percentage points.
Elsewhere in California, Rep. Adam Schiff (D) looks likely on his way to a Senate position ultimately replacing Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat who passed away in 2023. Schiff will be facing a Republican named Steve Garvey in the general election, but California’s frequently Democratic lean suggests Schiff will have a higher chance of success than the scenario in which he faced a fellow Democrat like Rep. Katie Porter (Calif.) instead. California’s methods of conducting its primary elections mean such was possible.
