Victory won’t come cheap in the race for a Riverside County congressional seat.
With California’s 2024 primary still roughly seven months away, Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, and Democrat Will Rollins each announced that they’ve raised nearly $1 million in their bids to represent California’s 41st Congressional District.
The Rollins campaign on Monday, July 10, announced it had raised more than $875,000 in the six weeks since Rollins launched his 2024 bid in May.
“No congressional challenger in California history to launch a campaign in the off-year has ever raised this much money in their first quarter,” read a campaign news release. That’s based on a 10-year review of federal campaign finance data, Coby Eiss of the Rollins campaign said via email.
Also Monday, Calvert’s campaign said it raised more than $900,000 between April and June of this year. Calvert has raised more than $1.9 million in 2023, the campaign announced in a news release.
While it’s not unusual for candidates in high-profile House races, like several battleground districts in Orange County, to raise this much money this far out from the primary, Calvert’s and Rollins’ fundraising hauls are especially notable for the Inland Empire, where most of the House districts aren’t considered to be competitive.
The candidates’ flush coffers foreshadow a costly local fight in the larger battle for control of the House of Representatives, which currently has a razor-thin GOP majority. More money means more ads that could fill voters’ mailboxes, TV and radio airwaves and social media between now and November 2024.
“Just a few districts could make all the difference, and this is one of them,” Jack Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College, said via email. “Expect lots of money and lots of visits from Democratic and Republican politicians.”
By raising large sums on their own, Calvert and Rollins could draw attention and money from outside groups, like super PACs, looking for competitive seats to flip or defend.
“Congressional challengers need to show party leaders that they can raise the kinds of sums needed to be competitive,” Marcia Godwin, a professor of public administration at the University of La Verne, said via email.
Drawn through 2021 political redistricting, the 41st represents Calimesa, Canyon Lake, Indian Wells, Lake Elsinore, La Quinta, Menifee, Norco, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Wildomar and parts of Corona, Eastvale and Riverside.
Calvert, the Inland Empire’s longest-serving member of Congress, hasn’t lost a race since he was first elected in 1992. He defeated Rollins, 52.3% to 47.7%, in 2022.
Democrat and Lake Elsinore Councilmember Tim Sheridan planned to run in the 41st but has since suspended his campaign, while the other Democrat who announced for the seat — San Jacinto Councilmember Brian Hawkins — was arrested this month and faces two misdemeanor counts of child endangerment.
Despite losing to Calvert, Rollins, a former federal prosecutor, matched the 30-year incumbent’s fundraising prowess. Unlike the GOP-friendly districts that Calvert previously represented, the 41st has a near-even voter registration split between Republicans and Democrats.
“There are so few competitive districts nationwide that expensive California and New York will have a large proportion of the House battleground seats,” Godwin said.
“Democrats are going to bet that presidential election year turnout will be enough to flip districts like the 41st that had a relatively close race in 2022.”
