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Subject: K000397
Source: GDELT news · original
Published: Friday, May 22, 2026

Rep. Ken Calvert, the longest serving Republican in the state’s House delegation, is running ads calling rival Rep. Young Kim a “traitor” to President Donald Trump and “a liberal and a liar.” His ads resurface past video clips of her criticizing Trump.

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CORONA, Calif. (AP) — No one would call California Trump country. But a vicious U.S. House primary is playing out southeast of Los Angeles where two Republican incumbents wedged into the same district are fighting over their MAGA bona fides and loyalty to the president.
Rep. Ken Calvert, the longest serving Republican in the state’s House delegation, is running ads calling rival Rep. Young Kim a “traitor” to President Donald Trump and “a liberal and a liar.” His ads resurface past video clips of her criticizing Trump.
After once stressing her independence from the White House, Kim has dubbed herself a “Trump Republican” and aired spots accusing Calvert of “sabotaging President Trump’s agenda” and only “serving himself.” She claimed that he has been in “lockstep with Nancy Pelosi,” the former Democratic House speaker widely reviled by Republicans.
The acidic tone of the advertising in heavy media rotation from two House members who previously were friendly colleagues underscores the stakes in a race neither of them wanted. The June 2 primary is the first since Gov. Gavin Newsom pushed to redraw the California&#8217;s congressional map as part of a national redistricting fight, with the goal of winning Democrats five more House seats in the state.
The Republican-versus-Republican contest in one of the few conservative districts left in liberal-leaning California is one example of how the electoral landscape has been reshaped across the country.
The race stands out nationally: Calvert and Kim are the only Republican House incumbents facing each other in the 2026 primaries. In Texas, Democratic Reps. Al Green and Christine Menefee are also facing each other due to redistricting.
The contest is displaying how many Republicans still embrace the president even as his popularity has slipped amid the war in Iran and climbing consumer prices.
Democrats nationally have been encouraged by a string of election results in advance of the midterms, which typically favor the party not holding the presidency. Trump, meanwhile, has reinforced his continuing party clout by ousting several incumbents who ran afoul of the White House. Republicans hold a fragile 217-212 majority in the House, with one independent and five vacancies.
At a recent weekend barbecue hosted by conservative activists in Calvert’s hometown of Corona, retiree and Trump supporter Mike Rutland said he remained undecided amid the torrent of negative advertising from both sides in the race. Mail voting is underway.
“I want my state back,” Rutland said, lamenting years of Democratic control. As for the primary, he added that “we don’t want any RINOs,” using a pejorative term that is an acronym for “Republicans in name only.”
The national battle over for the House continues, with more states maneuvering to reshape districts for partisan advantage following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened the federal Voting Rights Act and provided grounds for states to try to eliminate voting distric

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