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All eyes turn to Rep. Ken Calvert and Will Rollins in highly-anticipated race for CA's 41st District

Race for CA 41st Congressional District
Race for CA 41st Congressional District 02:49

A Congressional race in the Inland Empire has the entire country watching, with some believing it could determine if Republicans or Democrats control Congress this fall. 

Republican Rep. Ken Calvert is being challenged by Democrat Will Rollins. The two opponents, who also squared off in 2022, were vying for California's 41st District in Riverside County this Super Tuesday. 

The highly-anticipated race Is expected to be close due to a 2021 re-districting that changed the landscape of voters in the Inland Empire. The 41st District now stretches from Corona down to Lake Elsinore, and all the way to include Palm Springs and La Quinta. 

During the 2022 election, Calvert won the race by 11,100 votes.

Rollins bills himself as a public servant and a former prosecutor focused on growing the economy while protecting the environment. 

"He's the kind of prosecutor you don't want," Calvert told KCAL News Tuesday. "The kind of prosecutor that lets criminals go. That's why I've been endorsed by our county prosecutor, our county district attorney, and our county sheriff." 

Calvert, first elected in 1992, is the longest-serving Republican in the California congressional delegation.

"This is someone who joined the lawsuits seeking to overturn Roe v. Wade," Rollins told KCAL News Tuesday. "He previously voted for a national abortion ban with no exception, so I think most families in Southern California believe the government shouldn't have a role in your personal healthcare." 

Political experts believe a lot will ride on the undecided voters in the district. 

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