Calvert, Kim In Bitter Contest Over Congressional Seat In Redrawn District

RIVERSIDE, CA — Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, and Rep. Young Kim, R- Anaheim, are carrying their heated contest for the reshaped 40th congressional district into the Nov. 3 general election in what may be the most mudslinging of any race in the inland region.

The two Republicans survived an eight-candidate field in the June primary, with Calvert well out front. Since then, they've been locked in a bitter war of words, accusations and counter-attacks.

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The most recent example was Calvert's television advertisement lambasting Kim for taking campaign donations from an individual later identified by the FBI as a Chinese foreign agent. The commercial says Kim "fell into Beijing's trap" by associating with the man.

The congresswoman ultimately returned the money she'd received from him.

"It is deeply concerning that Young Kim took thousands of dollars from a registered foreign agent for Chinese state media," Calvert said in campaign literature. "She didn't return the money because it was the right thing to do, but because she got caught and the media started asking questions about her ties."

Kim hit back, portraying Calvert as a "do-nothing" congressman since the mid-1990s who himself had been snared in a "bribery scheme" that involved Chinese nationals, resulting in his campaign returning funds in 2015.

The congresswoman further implied Calvert had engaged in questionably ethical behavior by "steering ... taxpayer-funded projects to within miles of his own rental properties."

Calvert in September flagged his opponent for failure to disclose in campaign filings "100,000 in income her husband received from a nonprofit organization, as required under federal law."

"Young Kim has shown that she cannot be trusted to do the right thing," Calvert said.

Kim countered that Calvert's business associations cast him in a poor light, pointing to an FBI probe of Ontario City Councilman Alan Wapner, who in August resigned from his position as president of the Ontario International Airport Authority amid allegations of improprieties in the management of taxpayer-funded grants.

Calvert and Wapner reportedly worked in concert to secure the federal money.

The South Korea-born Kim touted her candidacy as pro-taxpayer, focused on "working families who are struggling to make ends meet."

"I'm working to lower the cost of gas, groceries and utilities and make it easier for families to get ahead," she said.

Calvert has highlighted his three-plus decades in Washington, D.C., as an example of unwavering dedication to furthering the interests of small business owners, securing funds for major transportation projects across the Inland Empire and trying to stanch the influx of illegal immigrants.

Calvert was thrust from his old 41st district because of California Proposition 50, approved by a majority of voters in the November 2025 special election. Prop 50 amended the state constitution to permit the Legislature to re-define congressional districts' boundaries, even though the independent California Citizens Redistricting Commission had already established them after the 2020 Census.

Prop 50 supporters argued it was necessary in response to Texas' actions last year to redraw congressional districts with the reported intention of expanding Republicans' control of seats in the Lone Star State, thereby aiding President Trump in the midterm elections.

Prop 50 opponents countered the measure was a blatant political ploy akin to "gerrymandering."

California's 52 congressional districts were modified. In Riverside County, all of the districts have changed shape.

The 40th district over which Calvert and Kim are battling encompasses metropolitan space in eastern Orange County, as well the Temescal Valley, most of Lake Elsinore, Canyon Lake and Menifee in Riverside County.