CONGRESSMAN KEN CALVERT ATTACKS “REPUBLICANS FOR ROLLINS” CAMPAIGN
With the U.S. House of Representatives in disarray under extreme MAGA leadership, WelcomePAC has launched Republicans For Rollins (RepublicansForRollins.org) to harness Republican voter dissatisfaction with Representative Ken Calvert. WelcomePAC also backed Will Rollins, a former prosecutor and aide to Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger, in his 2022 challenge that won over thousands of GOP voters due to his bipartisan background.
This week, Calvert’s campaign made a statement on the platform X attacking the Republicans For Rollins campaign, a five-figure online initiative highlighting Rollins’ tenure in a GOP gubernatorial administration, his bipartisan family background, and his work as a tough-on-crime prosecutor. Calvert’s statement made unfounded statements of a sexual nature, a questionable strategy for a scandal-plagued incumbent who was caught with a prostitute and ran from police.
WelcomePAC co-founder, Liam Kerr, said “Ken Calvert could not outrun the cops and he cannot outrun the Republican voters flocking to Will Rollins.”
Republicans For Rollins highlights Will Rollins’ bipartisan, problem-solver approach and seeks to build on the support Rollins got from Republican and non-party-preference voters in the November 2022 election. In 2022 Rollins ran over 3,000 votes ahead of Gov. Gavin Newsom in the district while Ken Calvert (123,869 votes) ran more than 7,000 votes behind Republican gubernatorial nominee Brian Dahle (131,774 votes).
Since its 2021 founding, WelcomePAC has invested more than $2m in elevating principled Republicans who oppose extremism and Democrats like Rollins who reach across the aisle.
The Republicans For Rollins website includes testimonials from local GOP leaders who endorsed his challenge to Calvert last cycle, and calls for other Republicans to join the effort.
ABOUT WELCOMEPAC:
WelcomePAC, a “Carey committee” hybrid PAC, was started in 2021 to strengthen the centrist Democratic faction by engaging voters and supporting leaders that win independents and Republicans. By building faction-level infrastructure to recruit candidates and engage persuadable voters, WelcomePAC’s initiatives bolster a center-left ecosystem that counters extremists and protects democracy. Specifically in Ohio in 2022, WelcomePAC targeted swing voters with ticket-splitting messages by elevating local ex-GOP leaders, helping Tim Ryan to win more than 400,000 split ticket votes. WelcomePAC’s work and perspectives have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN Politics, NBC News, Slate, The Bulwark, and The Hill.