Ruiz Leads Early in District 25 Reelection Bid
Rep. Raul Ruiz holds a commanding lead over GOP challenger Hemet Mayor Joes Males in California's 25th Congressional District.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Elections
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Rep. Raul Ruiz held a commanding lead Tuesday evening in his bid for reelection to an eighth term, with early returns showing him capturing more than 60% of votes cast. He is keeping GOP challenger Hemet Mayor Joes Males at bay in California's District 25.
Why it matters
Ruiz's early lead signals a strong position in a race for a congressional seat that extends across both San Bernardino and Imperial counties. The result will determine who represents the district's communities from the Mexican border to the Interstate 40 corridor.
Early election night returns showed Ruiz with more than 60% of votes cast, based on partial results. Final returns for the race were not yet available at the time of the extraction, so the final margin remains unresolved.
The players
Raul Ruiz
Ruiz is the U.S. Representative for California's 25th congressional district, first elected in 2012 after defeating Mary Bono, and is seeking an eighth term.
Joes Males
Males is the mayor of Hemet and a former U.S. Marine serving as the Republican challenger in California's 25th congressional district race.
The details
Ruiz was first elected to Congress in 2012, when he defeated then-incumbent Mary Bono. Males, first elected to the Hemet City Council in 2020, is a former U.S. Marine who lost one of his two sons in a knife attack outside a Hemet bar in 2016.
Timeline
2012: Ruiz first elected to Congress, defeating Mary Bono.
2016: Males loses a son in a knife attack outside a Hemet bar.
2020: Males first elected to the Hemet City Council.
November 3, 2026: Election night, with Ruiz holding a commanding lead.
Political Context
Ruiz first won the seat in 2012 by unseating then-incumbent Mary Bono, and his current bid for an eighth term continues a long tenure in the district. Males' challenge comes from a Republican mayor whose local record in Hemet began with his 2020 council election.
The outcome determines which representative speaks for District 25 voters across San Bernardino and Imperial counties in Congress. Residents from Indio and Hemet to the Mexican border will see who holds the seat for the next term.
The takeaway
Early returns can shift as more ballots are counted, so the final margin in District 25 may differ from Tuesday evening's partial results. Readers should check certified results once counting is complete.
Further reading
For more on how the race is shaping up, see Elections coverage for California.
Source note: This article includes information reported by My News LA.
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