Calvert advances in California 40th Congressional District primary battle
Orange County Republicans Ken Calvert and Young Kim are competing to win the top two spots in California’s redesigned 40th Congressional District, where they are expected to face a Democratic challenger in the general election. Calvert was declared first after Tuesday night, leading with 36.1% (41,082 votes) as votes counted reached about 52%. Kim has not been officially certified as second yet, but was ahead with 21.6% (24,605 votes), while Democrat Esther Kim-Varet trailed at 15.6% (17,792 votes).
Both candidates have emphasized loyalty to President Donald Trump as their key campaign message, and it remains unclear whether their tone will change before the Nov. 3 election. The race is particularly high-stakes because Proposition 50-supported by California Democrats-could further reduce Republican representation, potentially costing the November loser one more GOP seat in the next Congress.
The contest also reflects how the 40th District was reshaped to become safer for Republicans by packing it with conservative voters. Calvert, the longest-serving Republican in California’s House delegation, argues he is the most genuine Trump conservative, while Kim, backed by strong fundraising, contends it is time to end Calvert’s long tenure.
LOS ANGELES — Orange County Reps. Ken Calvert (R-CA) and Young Kim (R-CA), whose districts were carved up under California’s new congressional map, are vying for the top two positions in the race for the state’s 40th Congressional District. Calvert was officially declared as one of the winners on Tuesday night. With 52% of the votes counted as of early Wednesday morning, Calvert was at 36.1% and 41,082 votes, according to the Associated Press.
Kim has not yet been officially declared the second-place winner, but currently has a sizable lead over Democrat Esther Kim-Varet. The most updated results show Kim at 21.6% and 24,605 votes, and Kim-Varet at 15.6% and 17,792 votes. The campaign for the state’s 40th Congressional District has been a bruising, and at times, deeply personal primary. If Kim holds off the Democratic challenger, two Republicans would head into the general election to determine which incumbent keeps their seat in Congress.
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Both candidates staked their political survival on proving unwavering loyalty to President Donald Trump in the primary. It is unclear if their stance will soften leading up to the Nov. 3 general election.
If Kim holds on to her lead, the loser of the intraparty clash in November will become one of the Republican casualties of California voters’ passage of Proposition 50, a 2025 ballot measure backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and state Democrats that aimed to further shrink GOP representation in an already deep-blue state. Democrats currently dominate California’s U.S. House delegation 43-9, and under district lines taking effect in the 2026 cycle, they could plausibly expand that advantage to 48 seats.
The winners of Tuesday’s primary in California’s 40th Congressional District are fighting to represent the newly configured District 40, a sprawling region southeast of Los Angeles that stretches across Orange County suburbs, parts of Riverside County, and mountain communities along the Santa Ana range. Once considered competitive territory, the district was transformed into safe Republican ground after Democratic mapmakers packed it with conservative voters siphoned from neighboring GOP seats.
Calvert, 72, is the longest-serving Republican in California’s congressional delegation. He has spent 33 years in Congress, survived two rounds of redistricting, and says he is not intimidated by another political fight, especially against Kim.
“I’m the only real, true Trump conservative,” he told the Washington Examiner. “I’ve been endorsed twice by the president. I work with him, and not only that, I’ve done more in bringing federal dollars back to California than any member of Congress, I think, in history.”
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But Kim, 63, has made clear she has no intention of leaving Congress after nearly six years in office. Backed by strong fundraising, she argues it is time for Calvert’s decadeslong tenure to end.
“How many more decades does he need to get things done?” Kim told the Washington Examiner. “The reality is that Calvert has had enough time to prove himself, and after 30 years, he simply has not.”
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