The Winner

Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA) will represent California’s 25th Congressional District for an eighth term after defeating Republican Joe Males, a Hemet City Council member who serves as mayor pro tem. The Associated Press called the race for Ruiz on Wednesday, Nov. 4, NBC Palm Springs reported. ​

Ruiz has 95,864 votes (65.0%) to Males’) 51,636 (35.0%), a margin of about 30 points, in unofficial results updated Sunday, Nov. 8. California counts mail ballots for weeks, so many votes are still being tallied.

The Race

Ruiz, an emergency room doctor, was first elected in 2012. In the Tuesday, June 2 top-two primary, where all candidates share one ballot, he took 60.0%. Males, a former Marine, finished second among three Republicans with 18.9%.

Cook Political Report and Inside Elections rated the race Solid Democratic, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated it Safe Democratic, according to Ballotpedia’s race page. Cook and Inside Elections both moved the seat up from Likely Democratic this year after California voters approved Proposition 50, which redrew the state’s congressional map for 2026.

Under the new lines, the district takes in all of Imperial County, about a quarter of Riverside County’s residents and a small piece of San Bernardino County, according to the California Senate Office of Demographics. Its largest cities include Indio, San Jacinto, Beaumont, Cathedral City, Palm Desert, El Centro, Coachella and Calexico.

About 780,600 people live in the district, and about 67% of residents are Hispanic. The median age is about 37, and the typical household earns about $66,600 a year. About 17% of adults hold at least a bachelor’s degree, unemployment is about 8.3%, and about 16% of residents live below the poverty line.

What’s Next

Ruiz’s eighth term begins Sunday, Jan. 3, 2027, and the results stay unofficial until California certifies them. “Now is the time to get to work to lower costs, to expand health care access,” Ruiz said after his win, telling NBC Palm Springs that voters “clearly sent” a message that “we need relief.”

He told KESQ that his priorities include improving coverage for local families under Medi-Cal, California’s health insurance program for low-income residents.

---

AllCiv makes it easy to stay politically informed and involved.

---

Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article