2024 Election Results: Ken Calvert vs. Will Rollins for California’s 41st congressional district
Early unofficial election results show Democrat Will Rollins leading Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, in the race for California's 41st Congressional District.
Calvert and Rollins fought for the right to represent California's 41st Congressional District, which encompasses cities in the Coachella Valley, Calimesa, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Norco, Wildomar and parts of Corona, Eastvale and Riverside.
According to early unofficial election results posted by the Riverside County Registrar of Voters at 8:22 p.m., Rollins was leading the race with 52.09% of the vote. Calvert had 47.91% of the vote.
ee a chart of the latest vote counts
The race became one of the nation's most closely watched . Its fate, along with a smattering of congressional districts, nationwide, could determine which party controls the House of Representatives for at least the next two years.
It's also one of the nation's most expensive House races , with both candidates raising more than $17 million combined — a figure that doesn't include spending by super PACs and other groups aligned with Republicans and Democrats.
The 41st is competitive because of its slim voter registration gap. As of September, 36.99% of the 41st's voters were registered Republicans while 36.38% were registered Democrats, state records show .
First elected in the early 1990s, Calvert is accustomed to easily winning reelection in safe Republican districts. This time around, he found himself fighting for his political life against Rollins, who outraised his opponent and got additional help from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
As was the case in 2022, when Calvert narrowly beat Rollins, the campaign became a personal, nasty slugfest. Pro-Calvert ads called Rollins a habitual liar with scant ties to the district who inflated his accomplishments as a federal prosecutor.
Calvert also tried tying Rollins to former House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Gov. Gavin Newsom — both villains to the right — in an effort to boost conservative turnout.
Rollins, in turn, promoted an image of Calvert as a corrupt congressmember who he alleged steered federal funds in a way that bolstered his real estate investments . Calvert, Rollins said, is a far-right extremist beholden to Donald Trump who has done nothing to lower the cost of living.
To avoid losing to Calvert like he did two years ago, Rollins will have to rack up votes in the Coachella Valley, home to a Democratic stronghold in Palm Springs.
The western part of the 41st includes GOP-friendly cities such as Norco, Canyon Lake and Menifee, as well as cities with slight Democratic pluralities in Corona, Eastvale and Lake Elsinore.
Rollins will have to do well in the light blue cities and, at the very least, limit his losses in the red cities to beat Calvert, the Inland Empire's longest-serving congressmember.
It likely will be days if not weeks before a winner emerges in the 41st. In 2022, Rollins led Calvert in early returns before Calvert surged ahead.
The Associated Press declared Calvert the winner on Nov. 14, 2022, more than a week after Election Day.
