WelcomePAC Endorses Former Schwarzenegger aide Will Rollins for Congress: “Time to Finish the Job”
May 15, 2023 — WelcomePAC announced an endorsement of Democrat Will Rollins in his rematch against Republican Ken Calvert in CA-41.
Calvert, a caricature of a corrupt incumbent clinging to power despite unpopularity, has been in Congress for more than 30 years. Calvert was named WelcomePAC’s #1 target in the PAC’s first cycle and the group spent more than $500,000 to support the first significant challenge to Calvert in a decade. Rollins ran a big-tent campaign, welcoming moderate independents and conservatives, highlighting his bipartisan background and emphasizing support from Republicans and members of law enforcement.
Rollins lost by 4.6 points despite getting $0 from the national Democratic Party, winning 3,200 more votes than Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom in CA-41. Not only was Rollins the only California Democratic challenger to win among independent (“No Party Preference”) voters, but data guru David Shor found that Rollins was the third highest performing challenger in any GOP-held seat in the country in 2022.
“Will Rollins welcomed moderate and center-right voters to win the middle in 2022, putting a seat into play that experts had written off,” said WelcomePAC co-founder Lauren Harper. “In 2024, he’s returning to finish the job and demonstrate how savvy Democrats can win undervalued GOP-held seats.”
WelcomePAC identified CA-41 as an undervalued winnable district for Democrats in 2021, calling out Calvert as a beatable incumbent in NBC News, Slate, and The Bulwark and investing more than $500,000 in polling, targeted digital advertisements, and mailers throughout the 2022 cycle to grow Rollins’ bona fides with persuadable voters. The New York Times reported on WelcomePAC’s early investments in the district and labeled the group “a relatively new Democratic-aligned outfit that applies insurgent tactics to support center-left candidates in swing districts.”
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WelcomePAC is building a big tent Democratic Party by supporting Democratic challengers in winnable but overlooked GOP-held districts such as CA-41. Learn more at WelcomePAC.org.