The redrawn maps, unveiled Friday afternoon, Aug. 15, would radically reshape the Inland Empire’s political landscape and put Calvert, R-Corona, and Issa, a San Diego Republican who represents southwest Riverside County, in hostile territories compared to their current districts.

As for Jay Obernolte, R-Hesperia, a proposed district would be similar to the one he currently represents.

“We strongly believe that this map serves the best interest of California voters, while also attempting to push back against the corrupt scheme occurring in Texas and other Republican-majority states where Republicans — doing the bidding of their DC party bosses — are considering adopting a clearly racially gerrymandered, partisan map at the expense of their voters,” Julie Merz, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee executive director, said in a letter attached to the proposed maps.

Calvert took to social media Friday to denounce the redrawn districts.

“I’m committed to defeating Newsom’s power grab in this special election,” the congressmember posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Voters decided to give redistricting powers to the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission and take it away from politicians drawing their own districts.”

“The gerrymandered maps released today are exactly why voters don’t trust Sacramento politicians. I will fight to keep redistricting power with our citizens.”

Calvert currently represents a district that includes Calimesa, Canyon Lake, Indian Wells, Lake Elsinore, La Quinta, Menifee, Norco, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Wildomar and parts of Corona, Eastvale and Riverside. Issa’s current district includes Murrieta and Temecula, along with much of San Diego County.

The new districts would split up Norco and Canyon Lake — both solidly red cities — and replace them with bluer communities. Murrieta and part of Temecula — both GOP bastions — would be stripped from Issa’s district.

Calvert narrowly won reelection in 2022 and 2024 in a purple district. Giving him more Democratic voters would make it harder to extend a congressional career that started in the 1990s. Similarly, adding deep blue Palm Springs to what’s essentially Issa’s current district would pose a challenge for him.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday, Aug. 14, launched California’s campaign to redraw congressional boundary lines, a partisan effort meant to favor Democrats in the state as a counter to similar, Republican-led plans elsewhere in the country in the battle for which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives.

California’s redistricting efforts would only apply to congressional boundary lines, and the changes, should voters approve them, would only be implemented if Republican-led states also move forward with partisan redistricting at the behest of President Donald Trump for the 2026 midterm elections, Newsom said.

These new congressional lines would be in place for elections in 2026, 2028, and 2030, and then the state would revert to having an independent commission decide congressional district boundaries.

The draft maps still need to be approved by the California Legislature, and with a Democratic majority in the statehouse, that’s expected to happen. Both the state Senate and Assembly elections committees have hearings scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 19.

Voters would then need to give final approval to the maps in a special election on Nov. 4.

California Republicans have largely decried efforts to redo California’s congressional maps mid-cycle. Redistricting is typically done every 10 years, consistent with new census data, and boundary lines are decided by an independent group.

Merz, though, said the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s proposal for California keeps communities together better than what has been proposed in Texas, where Republicans are hoping to shore up extra House seats in 2026.

“Our proposed map was created using traditional redistricting criteria, consistent with guidelines laid out by the California’s Citizen Redistricting Commission,” Merz said.

“It allows for more compact districts than in the current Commission-drawn map, keeps more communities and neighborhoods together, splits fewer cities and makes minimal disruptions to the Commission-drawn map so as to impact as few residents as possible.”

Here’s a look at the proposed maps for Riverside and San Bernardino counties:

23rd Congressional District: Big Bear City and Yucaipa would be part of a sprawling district stretching north of Barstow and out to Blythe. It’s similar to Hesperia Republican Jay Obernolte’s current district.

Thirty-eight percent of the district’s voters would be registered Republicans, compared to 32% for Democrats and 29% for no-party-preference and third-party voters.

25th Congressional District: San Jacinto and much of the Coachella Valley would become part of this district. Roughly 4 in 10 voters in this district are registered Democrats, 28% are Republicans and 28% are no party preference/third party.

28th Congressional District: Part of Rancho Cucamonga would be merged into a district stretching north to Wrightwood and east to include Pasadena, Altadena, Arcadia, San Gabriel, Rosemead and Monterey Park. The voter registration breakdown is 45% Democrat, 31% no party preference/third party and 23% Republican.

31st Congressional District: Chino, San Dimas, Montclair and La Verne would be part of a district stretching to Monrovia and West Covina. Forty-four% of its voters would be Democrats, compared to 25% for Republicans and 28% for no-party-preference and third-party voters.

33rd Congressional District: This district would encompass San Bernardino, Rialto, Highland, Colton, Redlands and part of Rancho Cucamonga. Its voter registration would be 44% Democratic, 30% no party preference/third party and 25% Republican.

35th Congressional District: Claremont, Upland, Ontario, Fontana, Chino Hills, Eastvale, Norco and part of Corona would be in this district. Its voter registration would be 43% Democratic, 29% no party preference/third party and 26% Republican.

39th Congressional District: Jurupa Valley, Riverside, Moreno Valley and Perris would be included in a district similar to the current 39th, which is represented by Riverside Democrat Mark Takano. It’s a blue district with 44% of voters being Democrats, 29% registered as no party preference/third party and 25% registered as Republicans.

40th Congressional District: Rancho Santa Margarita and Villa Park would be included in this district that would stretch east into the Inland Empire, picking up the Temescal Valley, Lake Elsinore, Menifee and Murrieta.

Registered Republicans would have the advantage, making up 40% of the proposed district, compared to 31% Democratic and 27% no party preference/other.

48th Congressional District: Hemet, Palm Springs and part of Temecula would join a district stretching into northern San Diego County. The district would be 37% Democratic, 33% Republican and 29% no party preference/third party.

The post Proposed changes to Inland Empire’s congressional districts emerge appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-48), whose 48th District includes Murrieta, Temecula, and a wide swath of San Diego County, put forward Trump’s name for the prize.

“Not since Ronald Reagan has an American president better represented the national resolve of peace through strength or the fundamental case for a world without war,” said Issa, who currently serves as vice chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and is a senior member of the Judiciary Committee. “Remarkably, it was the 2024 election of Donald Trump — more than 10 weeks before his swearing-in — that tangibly kickstarted the cause of peace in numerous regions of the world, and we are already seeing the benefits. I hope the Committee takes note of these extraordinary times and recognizes that President Trump ideally represents what the Nobel Peace Prize should stand for.”

In a March 4 letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Issa urged due consideration for Trump. He called the president “the architect and principal inspiration for the 2019 Abraham Accords — the most significant, successful, and durable Middle East peace agreements in generations — for which he has in no way received fair recognition for his efforts and accomplishments.”

The Abraham Accords are a series of normalization deals signed in 2020 between Israel and Bahrain, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Sudan. The agreements, negotiated by the United States, were heavily advertised as promoting peace in the Middle East while reining in Israeli expansionist policies in Palestine.

Critics argue the accords have not achieved their stated goals.

Issa also praised Trump’s nascent second term. He told the Norwegian Nobel Committee he was advocating for Trump because of “the astonishingly effective impact that our 47th President has had in only a few short months since his election: cooling tensions, establishing dialogue, and encouraging the flourishing of freedom in practically every corner of the world and on behalf of the cause of peace.”

On the 2014 invasion of Ukraine by Russia that Russian President Vladimir Putin escalated in 2022, Issa wrote that Trump “continues to advance with a bold and realistic determination to end the bloody and brutal fighting” between the two countries “and bring an end to this destructive conflict in a way that meets the moment.”

Issa’s words follow the contentious Feb. 28 Oval Office meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Issa is not the only Republican to suggest Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has advocated for it, as have others such as New York Rep. Elise Stefani and U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.

Trump, too, has argued that he is deserving. He criticized the Nobel committee for awarding the prize to former U.S. President Barack Obama, who was honored in 2009 for his push to curb nuclear weapons and improve relations with the Muslim world.

In 2019, Trump said he should get the prize “for a lot of things if they gave it out fairly — which they don’t.”

The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize nomination deadline has passed, but nominations for the 2026 prize will be accepted through January of next year.

The post Murrieta, Temecula Congressman Nominates Trump For Nobel Peace Prize appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — California’s representatives serving in the U.S House appear nearly united in response to the wave of protests at U.S. college campuses — including in Riverside County — that have erupted amid Israel’s actions in Gaza.

In a bipartisan move Wednesday, Riverside County’s Congressional members, along with their colleagues in California and across the nation, passed H.R. 6090, otherwise known as the Antisemitism Awareness Act.

Advocates say the legislation would empower the federal government to crack down on current campus protests by creating “a clear definition of antisemitism” that encompasses threats against Jewish people and certain criticisms of Israel. If it becomes law, the Education Department could use it to cut off funding to colleges that, for example, allow protests like those happening today.

First Amendment advocates, however, say the legislation is dangerous in that it would undo longstanding rights.

In a released statement Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union said H.R. 6090 “threatens to censor political speech critical of Israel on college campuses under the guise of addressing antisemitism.”

Christopher Anders, director of ACLU’s Democracy and Technology Policy Division, said, “Addressing rising antisemitism is critically important, but sacrificing American’s free speech rights is not the way to solve that problem. This bill would throw the full weight of the federal government behind an effort to stifle criticism of Israel and risks politicizing the enforcement of federal civil rights statutes precisely when their robust protections are most needed. The Senate must block this bill that undermines First Amendment protections before it’s too late.”

California has 52 House seats, with one vacancy. During Wednesday’s vote, 27 Golden State Democrats and 11 Republicans voted in favor of H.R. 6090. Eleven California Democrats cast no votes and two did not weigh in. With the exception of Mark Takano (D-39), all Riverside County representatives were in favor. Nationally, the bill was approved by a vote of 320-91, with a majority of Democrats — 133 — joining Republicans.

Congressman Darrell Issa (R-48) represents a large swath of Southwest Riverside County, as well as central and eastern parts of San Diego County. He released a statement following his yes vote. It read, in part, ” … after witnessing for more than six months a widespread and growing tide of antisemitism in America — much of it centered on the campuses of our colleges and universities – a bipartisan supermajority of the Congress took appropriate action.”

Republican Congressman Ken Calvert represents District 41, which stretches from Lake Elsinore to part of the Coachella Valley. After his yes vote, he posted a statement on X.

“I just joined a bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives in passing the Antisemitism Awareness Act on the first day of Jewish American Heritage Month. This bill reinforces Civil Rights Act protections for Jewish students who are subjected to antisemitism,” he wrote.

But in nearby San Diego, Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-51), who is Jewish, cast a no vote. In a released statement, she expressed deep concern about rising antisemitism but said H.R. 6090 is not the answer:

It’s unclear what the prospects are for the Antisemitism Awareness Act in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

As Washington debates the legislation, campus protests continue in California. Students at UC Riverside established a campus encampment Monday to protest Israel’s actions in Gaza. The students are calling for the school to end “all investments and endowments” benefiting the Jewish state.

“We are joining the student movement, the student Intifada,” a spokesperson for Students for Justice in Palestine, UCR chapter, told City News Service. “We are not leaving this encampment day and night until the university complies and meets with us to discuss our demands.”

There have been no reports of violence at UCR amid the protest, unlike others in the Golden State. A nine-hour standoff came to a tense and chaotic end at UCLA when police in riot gear breached and dismantled a pro-Palestine encampment at the school early Thursday, terminating a weeklong protest and taking over 100 into custody.

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