BANNING, CA — Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Indio, appeared on his way Tuesday night to handily defeating his Republican challenger, Hemet Mayor Joes Males, and securing reelection to an eighth term in Congress.
Election night returns showing composite results from three counties indicated Ruiz was ahead 65% to 35% in the battle for congressional District 25.
See live election results from the Riverside County Registrar of Voters (refresh this page for the latest):
The district extends just north of Interstate 40 in San Bernardino County, south to the Mexican border in Imperial County, east to the Arizona state line and a two-branch western boundary, the lower half of which extends into the Hemet Valley, while the upper part curves into the San Gorgonio Pass via Desert Hot Springs, north of Interstate 10.
Among other cities, Banning, Beaumont and Palm Desert fall within the 25th Congressional District.
Ruiz was first elected to Congress in 2012, after defeating then-incumbent Mary Bono. The general practitioner said in campaign literature that he's "furious" with the Trump administration over the "tariffs and war in Iran (that) have increased prices for gas, cars and appliances."
The congressman said that he's dedicated to "lowering the cost of living" through legislation and "improving MediCal coverage for thousands of local families."
The issues page of his campaign website also listed environmental protection, lowering out-of-pocket expenses for medical services and facilitating veterans with access to government services as priorities.
Males, a former U.S. Marine who was first elected to the Hemet City Council in 2020, said in his campaign statement that he's "running (for Congress) to bring leadership and commonsense solutions to Washington for the people of the Inland Empire."
The mayor lost one of his two sons in a knife attack outside a Hemet bar in 2016, and he has cited that experience as one of the driving factors behind his desire to serve in government.
"I've always been a person that gets things done," the congressional candidate said, adding that he stands "for public safety and the rule of law."
He has acknowledged publicly that Congress cannot be the sole instrument for curing all social ills, but he asserted that he would be a voice for holding down "federal taxes, spending and regulations."
—City News Service contributed to this report.
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