Melissa Melendez misses filing deadline to challenge GOP Rep. Ken Calvert

After taking steps to enter the race just a week ago, state Sen. Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, has missed the deadline to qualify for the ballot and challenge incumbent Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, in this year’s election to represent Palm Springs and other Coachella Valley cities in Congress.

Melendez, who cannot seek re-election in the California State Senate due to term limits, entered her name in the race with the Riverside County Registrar of Voters on March 7, but did not complete all of the paperwork necessary to qualify for the ballot ahead of the March 11 filing deadline.

Melendez also formed a committee with the Federal Election Commission on March 8 indicating her intention to run, but ultimately changed course.

More:GOP Rep. Ken Calvert will seek re-election in new district that includes Palm Springs

More:Brandon Mosely ends campaign for Congress against Ken Calvert, endorses Will Rollins

In a statement last week, Melendez said: "I have immense respect for my opponent; however, when Ken Calvert was first elected to Congress, I was in the military serving my country during Operation Desert Storm. Since then, two of my five children have gone on to serve in the U.S. Navy, yet our representation in Washington has remained the same.

"This is a clear indication to me it’s time for fresh ideas when it comes to representing Riverside County in our nation’s capital," Melendez continued, adding she would have “further comments” after the filing deadline.

Melendez did not respond to requests for comment from The Desert Sun. 

The potential for an intraparty challenge between two well-known Riverside County Republicans already caused some changes in the contest to represent California’s 41st congressional district, which was formed through redistricting last year and includes Palm Springs, La Quinta, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, and several cities in western Riverside County.

Democrat Brandon Mosely dropped out of the race to represent California’s 41st Congressional district on March 10 and endorsed fellow Democrat Will Rollins, a former federal prosecutor, in an effort to avoid splitting the Democratic vote.

“With two far-right Republicans now potentially vying for this congressional seat, it is crucial that Democrats unite so we can flip this seat blue in November,” Mosely said in a statement. “I am putting my full support behind Will’s run, and I know that together we’ll defeat extremism — whether it’s Melissa Melendez or Ken Calvert — in 2022.”

With the June 7 primary months away, Calvert — who has received the endorsement of the California Republican Party and the state’s entire House Republican Delegation — will face challenges from a pair of Democrats, Rollins and engineer Shrina Kurani, as well as non-party preference candidate Anna Nevenic and Republican John Michael Lucio.

One of the Coachella Valley’s other legislators, Assemblymember Chad Mayes, I-Rancho Mirage, said in January that he was weighing a run for the congressional seat, after announcing he would not seek re-election to the state Assembly. However, Mayes ultimately declined to enter the race.

For the past decade, the entire Coachella Valley has fallen within a single congressional district, the 36th, represented since 2013 by Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-La Quinta. Ruiz is now seeking re-election in the newly drawn 25th District, which includes Indio, Coachella, Cathedral City and Desert Hot Springs, as well as Imperial County and a sliver of San Bernardino County.

The primary election is June 7, with the top two finishers — regardless of party — advancing to the general election Nov. 8.

Tom Coulter covers politics and can be reached at thomas.coulter@desertsun.com.