Rep. Raul Ruiz wins 4th term in Congress
Representative Raul Ruiz will once against serve the 36th District as Congressman.
“It’s a privilege to serve the people of the 36th district, and I feel so very empowered to continue my pragmatic approach to help our seniors, our veterans, our students and get results for the people in this district,” said Ruiz said to KESQ News Channel 3 & CBS Local 2’s Lauren Coronado. “The people I grew up with, the people Iove more than any other location in the world. And this is so so incredible.”
Ruiz secured 56% of the vote, defeating his opponent, Kimberlin Brown Pelzer (44%) by just over 13 thousand total votes.
“I want to thank all those who took time out of their day yesterday and during early voting to cast a ballot and participate in our elections, Ruiz said in a statement Wednesday. “I am honored to continue serving as your voice and your advocate in Washington and here at home.”
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Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert, was vying today a fourth term representing the 36th Congressional District against Republican challenger Kimberlin Brown Pelzer, a former actress turned local businesswoman.
“Well, another in office of not being productive is not a good thing,” Pelzer Brown told KESQ & CBS Local 2’s Sarah Trott. “But that’s not a thing for me to say. Tonight it’s about waiting for the returns to come in and what the next set of numbers show. We’ll have to see what the voters want for them.”
Ruiz, a Coachella Valley native and physician, has maintained a strong footing in the district since unseating incumbent Mary Bono in 2012, triggering a brief era of Democratic reign in a district typically controlled by Republicans.
Ruiz says that despite his sustained presence in Congress, “I’m not a career politician, and I never will be.” He identifies affordable healthcare and veterans’ issues among his chief issues, stating that his work as a doctor allows him “to put people first.”
Up-to-the-minute election results:
A Palm Springs resident who starred on “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful,” Brown Pelzer first arrived on the political scene as a guest speaker at the Republican National Convention in 2016. She has also started a number of small businesses with her husband, Gary. She said the enterprises have given her firsthand experience on the needs of small business owners, and like Ruiz, doesn’t characterize herself as a politician.
“We need new, principled leaders who are not afraid to say what they mean and stick with it,” she said in campaign materials.
Brown Pelzer has identified defense, immigration and tax reform as her key issues, while stating that Ruiz has failed to make any real progress during his tenure.
“Since joining Congress five years ago, he hasn’t passed a single piece of meaningful legislation,” she contends on her campaign website. “I have a track record of successes, I follow through on my promises and I’ll get results.”
Despite her claim regarding Ruiz’s track record, he noted his work in the passage of a bipartisan bill protecting Medicare, as well as the Wildfire Prevention Act of 2017, which authorizes the president to provide “hazard mitigation assistance” in areas affected by fires.
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