The passage of California’s Proposition 50 redistricting measure Tuesday turned Republican Rep. Ken Calvert’s GOP-leaning district a deep shade of blue, but on Wednesday, he said he would seek reelection next year in an adjoining GOP-held district that the referendum made even redder.
The only problem for the powerful House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee chairman: He’ll have to go through incumbent Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., in the redrawn 40th District, and she won’t be a pushover.
Calvert’s 2026 race is one of several pivotal contests that could affect who sits on the Pentagon spending panel, which controls roughly half the appropriations Congress provides each year.
Under the new Proposition 50 map, Calvert’s current 41st District would go from one President Donald Trump carried by 6 points in the 2024 election to one that former Vice President Kamala Harris would have carried by 14 points, according to calculations by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales.
On its face, that result appeared to make Calvert’s reelection path rockier. But Calvert announced Wednesday he will run in 2026 not in his now-blue 41st District, but in the neighboring 40th District, an even more GOP-dominated enclave.
Under the new map, the 40th District would change from one Trump carried by 2 points to one he would have carried by 12 points, according to Inside Elections.
Calvert expressed confidence in his odds.
“No one else comes close to my record of service to new 40th,” Calvert wrote on the social platform X. “I’ve lived here my entire life and already represent the majority of this district in Congress.”
But defeating Kim, who currently represents the 40th, could be a hard-fought and expensive battle for Calvert, given the former’s popularity and fundraising prowess.
Kim entered October with $4.8 million in the bank, which she touted in a statement Wednesday announcing she would seek a fourth term from the redrawn 40th District. That compares favorably to Calvert’s $2.9 million in cash on hand, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Also, under California’s primary system, all candidates run on the same ballot with the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advancing to the general election. This means both Kim and Calvert could meet again in the general election, where Democratic voters could be decisive.
Kim’s campaign said that she already represents about 35 percent of registered voters in the new district, including over 42 percent of “high-propensity” GOP voters.
“I’m running because California needs proven fighters who will stand with President Trump to advance a bold America First agenda that restores law and order in our communities, strengthens our national security, and protects the American Dream for future generations,” Kim said in a statement.
Valadao and Kaptur
Calvert is not the only Republican defense appropriator from California whose 2026 reelection prospects were altered after the Proposition 50 vote.
Rep. David Valadao, a six-term California Republican who chairs the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee, will see his 22nd District’s hue change slightly under the new redistricting plan.
Valadao’s Central Valley district, traditionally an electoral battleground, will turn slightly bluer, with Trump’s winning 2024 margin dropping from 6 points to 2 points, Inside Elections says.
Valadao is the most junior Republican on the Defense panel. On the full committee, he is ranked 13th of 35 Republicans in seniority.
Another House Defense appropriator, in this case a senior Democrat, Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, learned that another tough reelection race awaits in 2026.
That is because the Ohio Redistricting Commission voted on Oct. 31 to redraw Kaptur’s 9th District lines. Kaptur would see her already Republican-leaning and competitive Northwest Ohio districttransform from one that Trump carried by 7 points in 2024 to one that would have backed him by 11 points, according to Inside Elections.
Kaptur has served in the House since 1982 and is the ranking member of the Energy-Water Subcommittee.
She said on social media on Oct. 31 that she intends to run for reelection next year despite the redrawn map.
“I remain committed to serving Northwest Ohio and will seek re-election with a renewed focus on accountability and protecting the voice of the people,” Kaptur said. “Let the Columbus politicians make their self-serving maps and play musical chairs, I will fight on for the people and ask the voters for their support next year.”
Sherrill
Change is also coming to the Democratic side of the House Armed Services Committee roster as a result of a Tuesday election.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey won that state’s gubernatorial election, creating a vacancy on the panel.
Sherrill brought to the committee a background as a Navy pilot and centrist inclinations.
A former Russia nuclear policy officer, Sherrill’s time on the committee has been marked by a dedication to looking out for the Army’s Picatinny Arsenal, which employs roughly 6,000 people in her district and which develops a wide array of Army weaponry.
She also prioritized protecting military families from predatory financial advisers.
And Sherrill, like Calvert and like most members of Congress, is an ardent supporter of helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia.
Aidan Quigley, David Lerman, Daniela Altimari and Andrew Menezes contributed to this report.
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