Will Rollins is challenging Rep. Ken Calvert again, but with more money and name recognition

“It’s déjà vu all over again in cities like Corona, Menifee, Lake Elsinore and Palm Springs, all of which are part of Congressional District 41.”

“Do you feel fired up. “Are you ready to fire Ken Calvert?” said Democrat Will Rollins.

Rollins’ campaign to defeat Republican Rep. Ken Calvert is now in its third year after failing to win in the 2022 midterm elections. But this time it feels different, Rollins says.

“I stand for change. We’ve had this guy for 32 years and we need new blood in Washington DC in both parties, but that’s never going to happen if we keep sending the same people back there that have been in Congress since I was eight years old,” Rollins said.

ABC7 caught up with Rollins at a campaign rally in Corona on the same day House Speaker Mike Johnson campaigned for Calvert in the Inland Empire. It’s a sign of how competitive this race is and how important the seat is to control of the House of Representatives in Washington DC. Both candidates have raised millions, more than Calvert has ever raised, and money is pouring in from outside the district.

In 2022, Calvert defeated Rollins by 11,000 votes, but in that election Rollins was unknown. He is now well known and could also be helped by the fact that traditionally more people vote when there is a presidential election.

“His campaign is the same underlying theme that I’m corrupt and that I’ve been around too long and that there needs to be a change, except it’s on steroids. The same thing with a lot of money in advertising. But I was a “I’m a businessman who’s been running against me on the same issues for a long time, but I know he wants to raise small business taxes and the gas tax,” Calvert said.

“My opponent voted against the largest bipartisan infrastructure bill in the history of the United States. $300 million in funding to Riverside County as a result of this bill. Instead, he brings with him the Speaker of the House, a man who co-sponsored a “That’s what Ken Calvert advocates. “He voted to penalize doctors and nurses for providing women’s reproductive health care,” Rollins said.

We interviewed Calvert at an event in Lake Elsinore, where he received the endorsement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Calvert believes the most important issue in this race is the economy and that his party is stronger on the issue.

“People pay too much for food. Too much for gas. Too much for their insurance. Too much for their utilities. We have to turn this economy around,” Calvert said.