Will Katherine Aleman, a resident of Horsetown USA, have what it takes to oust GOP Rep. Ken Calvert?
Katherine Aleman is the latest Democrat to enter a crowded field in a marquee California House race.
In the dusty heart of Southern California’s Inland Empire, in a town known more for horseback trails than political battles, a new contender is emerging in one of the state’s most hotly watched congressional races. Katherine Aleman, a public school teacher, former city councilmember, and chicken farmer from Norco — proudly known as Horsetown USA — is placing a bold bet: that her roots in this red-leaning part of California’s 41st Congressional District might finally flip a seat long held by Republican Rep. Ken Calvert.
A Democrat with boots-on-the-ground credibility, Aleman isn’t your typical candidate. She sells fresh eggs under the charming moniker “Fluffy Butt Ranch,” teaches science to middle schoolers, and previously served as the lone Democrat on the Norco City Council. Now, she’s throwing her hat into a crowded Democratic primary, hoping her hometown grit and western district roots will resonate where past Democratic hopefuls have fallen short.
“The majority of voters live on the west side of the district — my side,” Aleman said in an interview with POLITICO. “That’s where I’ve served, lived, taught, and farmed. That’s where I’m known.”
Aleman’s candidacy is a notable shift in strategy for Democrats, who in the last two cycles rallied behind Will Rollins, a polished former federal prosecutor based in liberal Palm Springs. Rollins came close in 2022, garnering national support and media buzz. But Calvert’s campaign painted him as an outsider disconnected from the district’s more conservative western side. That messaging, coupled with Calvert’s deep incumbency and district familiarity, helped him survive once again.
Aleman may be the antidote to that narrative. As a Norco native who has navigated the region’s local politics and culture, she offers the potential to neutralize one of Calvert’s long-standing advantages: his familiarity and appeal to voters outside the district’s liberal bubble.
Her campaign, she says, will center on two urgent themes: “costs and cuts.”
“Costs keep going up. We were promised they would go down, and they haven’t,” she said, citing rising inflation and economic pressure on working families. At the same time, she blames former President Donald Trump’s sweeping cuts to federal spending for hurting local economies and putting contracts and jobs at risk. “Businesses are losing contracts, things are slowing down,” she noted.
But Aleman is intentionally steering clear of a campaign dominated by national headlines or Trump-centric outrage. Her approach is strikingly local, focused on tangible issues: education, health care access, afterschool programs, and economic survival in the face of rising costs.
“The issues my residents care about are the issues that should define this race,” she said. “Not party labels. Not personalities. Real problems.”
Aleman doesn’t shy away from criticizing her longtime opponent either. Ken Calvert has held his seat for 33 years, and while his seniority has earned him a coveted spot on the House Appropriations Committee and a hefty campaign war chest — he raised $1.3 million last quarter — Aleman believes his time has passed.
“I’m a science teacher. In my classroom, we have a term for someone like Ken Calvert,” she quipped. “We call them dinosaurs.”
Her message might resonate with a shifting electorate. Riverside County, once a bastion of Republican strength, has seen demographic and political shifts in recent years. With growing Latino and younger populations, Democrats are increasingly hopeful they can tip the scales in districts like the 41st. But to do that, they’ll need a candidate who can bridge the district’s cultural divides — from horse ranches to high-rises, from Norco’s Western days to Palm Springs’ progressive enclaves.
Aleman isn’t the only Democrat eyeing Calvert’s seat. The field also includes Brandon Riker, a Palm Springs entrepreneur and one-time candidate for lieutenant governor in Vermont, and Anuj Dixit, a Riverside attorney who grew up on March Air Reserve Base. Each brings unique credentials — but Aleman brings something they don’t: lived experience in the conservative core of the district.
Her campaign is launching with a powerful show of early support, including an endorsement from former U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer and backing from over 70 local elected officials and civic leaders. That base of support, combined with her authentic local narrative, could make her a formidable opponent not only in the primary but in the general election — if she makes it through.
Still, Aleman faces an uphill climb. Calvert is entrenched, well-funded, and battle-tested. He’s weathered Democratic surges before and emerged intact. But if there’s a candidate who can meet voters where they are — quite literally, among the stables and small farms of western Riverside County — Aleman might just be it.
From the classroom to the chicken coop, Katherine Aleman is hoping her homegrown appeal will rewrite the political playbook in a district that’s been Republican territory for more than three decades. Now the question is whether voters in Horsetown USA — and beyond — are ready for a different kind of representative.
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