California Republican Ken Calvert holds off Dem challenge in Palm Springs area

Republican Rep. Ken Calvert has withstood the toughest reelection fight of his 32-year career on Capitol Hill, eking out a victory in his Southern California House district despite being massively outspent by Democrats.

Calvert defeated Democrat Will Rollins, a former federal prosecutor, according to a projection by The Associated Press. The contest was a rematch after Calvert narrowly defeated Rollins in 2022 in one of the most closely-watched swing contests this cycle. Former President Donald Trump even traveled to the region to hold a rally with Calvert in the final weeks of the race.

Republicans have a slight registration advantage in the district, which spans a large area east of Los Angeles, from suburban Riverside County to deep-blue Palm Springs. Democrats had hoped to flip the seat by casting Calvert as a career politician who has used his office to enrich himself and an opponent of LGBTQ+ rights, a liability with voters in his district’s gay retirement mecca.

But Calvert pushed back on Democrats’ onslaught of negative ads by emphasizing how he’s used his position on the House Appropriations Committee to secure earmarks for road and water projects in the district. He also criticized Democrats for California’s high gas prices and concerns about public safety, portraying Rollins as a soft-on-crime liberal.