Republican Congressman Ken Calvert was first elected in 1992 and has since fended off challengers in 16 contests. Can he do it again?
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA (Patch) — Rep. Ken Calvert (R-41) will face a new challenger during the 2026 mid-term election.
Democrat Brandon Riker has thrown his hat in the ring to represent the 41st Congressional District, which includes the Coachella Valley, Calimesa, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Norco, Wildomar, as well as parts of Corona, Eastvale and Riverside.
Riker’s campaign page reads, “I am running for Congress because the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley deserve a representative who isn’t afraid to fight for practical solutions so that California families can pay for housing, food, and health care while still having money to save for retirement. Ensuring economic opportunity and security should not be a partisan issue — it’s who we are as Americans.”
The page and his LinkedIn bio state that Riker graduated from Washington College in Maryland in 2010 and four years later earned a Master of Science degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
According to his LinkedIn account, from 2007 through 2008, he worked on the campaign to elect Barack Obama to U.S. President.
Riker followed that up in 2016 with an unsuccessful bid to become Lt. Governor of Vermont.
He has worked at investment firms and currently sits on the boards of SafePlace International and Washington College, according to his LinkedIn account.
Riker is a Coachella Valley resident.
Riker will face an opponent in Calvert who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993. In the last two election cycles, Calvert narrowly defeated Democratic challenger Will Rollins. In 2024, Calvert beat the former federal prosecutor in the general election by just over three percentage points. In November 2022, he won by about four and a half points.
Rollins announced last week that he would not re-challenge Calvert.
In recent years, Democrats have had a better chance of taking Calvert’s district. The 41st became less conservative after the latest redistricting process, which was finalized in Riverside County in December 2021. The redrawn 41st now encompasses more liberal cities such as Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, La Quinta, Palm Desert and Indian Wells.
