Decision Desk HQ made the call Saturday night after several days of vote counting: Democrats are out of California's 40th Congressional District. Rep. Young Kim advanced out of the primary alongside Rep. Ken Calvert, and November will be a Republican-versus-Republican.
Decision Desk HQ projects Young Kim as one of two winners in the CA US House 40 Primary#DecisionMade: 8:59 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/2MpEaNekjB
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) June 7, 2026
California voters passed Proposition 50 last year, redrawing the state's congressional maps. Governor Gavin Newsom (D) was the driving force behind it, and the stated goal was flipping Republican seats. The new 40th was supposed to be one of them. The plan was to jam two Republican incumbents into the same district, let them bloody each other, and walk in and take the seat.
Calvert finished first with about 36 percent of the vote. Kim was second at around 21 percent. Democrat Esther Kim-Varet was third at roughly 16 percent. In California's top-two primary, third place is the same as last place. She is done.
Calvert did not wait around to claim victory.
"Tonight makes it clear that voters want an effective and consistent conservative who has been with President Trump from Day One. I look forward to winning this race in November."
Kim's campaign pushed back on the spending gap and made clear they were not going anywhere.
"While there are many ballots left to be counted, despite being outspent 10 to 1, we are confident that Congresswoman Kim will be advancing to the November election and that she'll put an end to Ken Calvert's 30-plus years of failing to deliver for the people of Southern California."
Before Proposition 50, Calvert held the 41st, and Kim held the 40th. Newsom's map wiped out both of their districts and dropped them into the same one, and a race that went national fast was the result.
By mid-May, more than $17 million had been raised in the 40th, making it one of the most expensive House primaries in the country. Kim raised $7.5 million while Calvert raised $5.1 million. The TV ads were brutal. Both sides questioned the other's conservative credentials and loyalty to Trump.
Read More: Banana Republic by Mail: Why We Probably Won't Know Outcomes of CA's Crucial Primaries for Days
Young Kim Holds the Line for CA-40, Defeats Asif Mahmood
A Calvert-aligned ad called Kim a RINO and told voters to "stop liberal Young Kim before she stops Trump." Kim's campaign hit back by dredging up a 1990s incident in which Calvert was found in a car with a prostitute, calling him a "sleazebag."
Democrats sabotaged themselves. Rather than consolidating behind one candidate, the party ran multiple people in the 40th and split the vote. Kim-Varet raised $2.1 million and was the strongest of the bunch, but several other Democrats and an independent stayed in the race anyway.
Kim's campaign accused Calvert allies of spending roughly $1 million boosting a Democratic candidate in an effort to prevent Democrats from consolidating behind Kim-Varet. Kim-Varet called the stragglers out directly, comparing them to Antonio Villaraigosa, who stayed in the governor's race long enough to drain votes from other Democrats.
"They were the Antonio Villaraigosas in the district who stayed in and pulled votes away that we needed to get into the top two."
Democrats will have no one on the November ballot in a district Newsom's team specifically engineered to flip. Voters in the 40th will choose between two Republicans who spent months and millions trying to destroy each other.
The seat stays Republican regardless of what happens in November. Newsom drew a map designed to cost Republicans seats in California, and in the 40th, it cost Democrats a shot at one instead.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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