Will Rollins FOR CONGRESS - CA 41
Geography: CA District 41 encompasses Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Menifee, Norco and Corona.
Demographics: The district is 44% white, 38% Hispanic, 7.8% Asian and 4.85% Black. Registered voters in the district are 36.54% Democrat, 36.51% Republican and 18.77% No Party Preference.
Background: CA 41 is represented by Ken Calvert, who has been in Congress since 1992. The 70-year-old is a Republican stalwart. The Republican party has devoted enormous resources in the last 8 years towards culture wars and voter suppression with Calvert a faithful vote. He has voted against the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, Assault Weapon Bans, Right to Contraception, ACA Healthcare, Abortion rights, Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention, Affordable Insulin, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and against certifying the Presidential election of 2020.
The candidate running to unseat Calvert is Will Rollins, a dynamic 39-year-old former federal prosecutor. A young man when 9/11 occurred, Rollins set his sights on serving his country in the military. But he is openly gay, and the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell LGBTQ policy in the military wasn’t repealed until 2010. After law school he found another way to serve his county by becoming a federal prosecutor, focusing on counterterrorism and counterintelligence cases.
Will Rollins made a late decision to challenge Ken Calvert in 2022 for the House seat in CA 41. He had low name recognition, few resources, and little outside support.
Rollins was initially declared the surprise winner in the mid-term race in 2022, went to Washington for freshman orientation only to be called back after the ballot count was finalized. He lost by 11,000 votes, less than 5% of votes cast in that race. In a low voter turn-out midterm election, which the pundits felt would be a Republican sweep, Rollins came close to beating a long term incumbent.
The 2024 Race: CA 41 is currently considered a Toss up Race by Cook Political Report--which is significant- since Cook PVI (Partisan Voter Index) ranks it as R+3, meaning more partisan republican than the nation as a whole. The race has also been designated Red to Blue by the Democratic National Congressional Committee (DCCC).
Rollins has received a wide range of endorsements in this race. A particularly significant one is from the Palm Springs Police Officers Association, recognizing his law enforcement credentials and outstanding resume. This was an important endorsement for the Rollins campaign, since the police union previously endorsed Calvert.
To beat an incumbent, it takes field work (phone banking, texting, canvassing) and lots of money. Will Rollin’s donations exceeded Ken Calvert’s in the first quarter of this year, reflecting the energy of having a dynamic well qualified candidate in the race.
Will Rollins is ready and able to win in November with the help of Grassroots groups such as SFV Invisible.