Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert, was heading for a fifth term Wednesday representing much of Riverside County in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Ruiz jumped to an early lead over Republican challenger Erin Cruz of Palm Springs and never looked back. As of noon Wednesday, Ruiz had notched more than 62% of the vote, or roughly 37,000 votes more than his GOP challenger.
“I’m honored by your decision, your vote and your trust. You know, as a physician, I know what it means to have someone put their well-being in your hands, and I value your confidence and trust in me as a Congressmember every bit as much as I value it in the emergency room. Thank you,” Ruiz wrote on Facebook late Tuesday.
The Riverside County Registrar of Voters said 100% of precincts had reported. However, Registrar Rebecca Spencer posted a message on the county’s portal saying an estimated 400,000 vote-by-mail ballots and 25,000 provisional ballots had yet to be tabulated. The next update on local results will be Thursday by 6 p.m., she said.
Ruiz snatched the district from Republican Mary Bono in an upset win in 2012, triggering an era of Democratic reign in a district traditionally controlled by Republicans. He has since secured multiple double-digit re-election victories.
The 36th District stretches across much of Riverside County, from San Jacinto east to California’s border with Arizona.
Ruiz ran on a platform that spotlighted his work supporting veterans, fighting for affordable health care and protecting against cuts to Medicare and Social Security. Ruiz worked as an emergency room doctor before transitioning into politics.
Cruz, who ran unsuccessfully for a U.S. Senate seat in 2018, ran on a standard conservative platform that included calls to reduce taxes, cut regulations and boost border security. Cruz has authored several books, including “Revolution America,” which is geared toward conservative American women.
One area where Ruiz and Cruz diverged most noticeably is in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite securing few coronavirus-related legislative victories that could survive the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate, Ruiz has been a vocal proponent, both nationally and locally, of using science as a guide to reopening.
Cruz, on the other hand, has voiced support for leaving it up to the individual — not government — in deciding to reopen. Cruz has also publicly lauded President Donald Trump’s move to shut down sectors of international travel early in the pandemic, and even suggested recently she would have acted more aggressively in that regard.
In August, Ruiz turned his attention to Coachella Valley agricultural workers, citing studies that showed the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 on that population. Ruiz, who was raised by farm workers, subsequently deployed to several communities in his district to administer coronavirus tests to these workers.
Ruiz’s science-based perspective on reopening went on public display locally over the summer, when he blasted the Riverside County Board of Supervisors for voting to nix several protocols aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus at the time.
Cruz, meanwhile, has been a consistent voice against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pandemic-related response. She agued in campaign literature that individual counties should decide how to open, not Sacramento. She is no stranger to rallying against the governor. Last year, she launched a recall effort, which fell short of the required amount of signatures needed to be placed on the ballot.