# Will Rollins Former federal prosecutor and **openly gay, Palm Springs-based Democratic nominee** for California's 41st Congressional District in **2022 and 2024** — losing both times to long-serving Republican [[Ken Calvert]] by narrower-than-district margins (2022: R+4.6; 2024: R+2.6). **Not running a third time** in [[CA-41-2026]] — his decision, combined with Calvert's post-Prop 50 move to CA-40, leaves the reshaped CA-41 as an **open-seat Democratic pickup** with a fragmented D primary field. Rollins's two narrow losses in a district that Harris carried in 2024 underscored Calvert's personal incumbency strength — a split that evaporated when the Prop 50 redraw pushed CA-41 from Trump +6 to Harris +12–14. ## Status in 2026 cycle - **Not a candidate** - His withdrawal is a structural factor in the 2026 D primary: the fragmented field ([[Brandon Riker]], Abel Chavez, Dave Karson, Jason Byors, Ferguson Porter) has no clear front-runner, partly because Rollins would have been the natural presumptive nominee - His LGBTQ+ community presence in a Palm Springs-heavy district is a substantive loss to the Democratic field — the remaining candidates do not share his community profile ## Background - Former Assistant U.S. Attorney, Central District of California (federal prosecutor) - National-security / counterterrorism / public-corruption prosecution portfolio (specifics — NEEDS VERIFICATION) - Palm Springs resident; openly gay - 2022 CA-41: lost to Calvert by ~4.6 points — redistricting-cycle first run - 2024 CA-41: lost to Calvert by ~2.6 points — 2.5-million-dollar+ campaign; closed the gap but didn't close the seat ## Related - [[CA-41-2026]] — 2026 race file (open seat) - [[Ken Calvert]] — two-time opponent, now moved to CA-40 - [[CA-40-2026]] — Calvert's new race (stub TBD) - [[Proposition 50 (California)]] — the redistricting measure that reshaped the district ## Sources - [Ballotpedia — Will Rollins](https://ballotpedia.org/Will_Rollins) - [Ballotpedia — CA-41 2026](https://ballotpedia.org/California's_41st_Congressional_District_election,_2026)