CORONA, Calif. (AP) — No one would call California Trump country. But a vicious U.S. House primary is playing out southeast of Los Angeles where two Republican incumbents wedged into the same district are fighting over their MAGA bona fides and loyalty to the president.Rep. Ken Calvert, the longest serving Republican in the state’s House delegation, is running ads calling rival Rep. Young Kim a “traitor” to President Donald Trump and “a liberal and a liar.” His ads resurface past video clips of her criticizing Trump.After once stressing her independence from the White House, Kim has dubbed herself a “Trump Republican” and aired spots accusing Calvert of “sabotaging President Trump’s agenda” and only “serving himself.” She claimed that he has been in “lockstep with Nancy Pelosi,” the former Democratic House speaker widely reviled by Republicans.
The acidic tone of the advertising in heavy media rotation from two House members who previously were friendly colleagues underscores the stakes in a race neither of them wanted. The June 2 primary is the first since Gov. Gavin Newsom pushed to redraw the California’s congressional map as part of a national redistricting fight, with the goal of winning Democrats five more House seats in the state. The Republican-versus-Republican contest in one of the few conservative districts left in liberal-leaning California is one example of how the electoral landscape has been reshaped across the country.
