Democratic Rep. Raul Ruiz wrested his inland California district from a Republican in 2012 and has coasted to double-digit victories the last two elections. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo California Democrat Raul Ruiz faces a challenge from ... Raul Ruiz

Voters in California’s 36th Congressional District have a novel opportunity: They could switch their representative without the bother of having to learn a new name.

Rep. Raul Ruiz wrested his inland California district from a Republican in 2012 and has coasted to double-digit victories the past two elections. But a new Republican challenger could create some unusual trouble for the incumbent Democrat.


His name is Raul Ruiz.

If Republicans wanted to recruit someone with immediate name identification, it doesn't get any better than this.

In one corner, we have Rep. Raul Ruiz, a 47-year-old doctor who has solidified his grip on his seat over the better part of a decade in Congress. In the years since winning office, he’s carved out a left-of-center path, supporting party tenets like Obamacare while eschewing progressive banner issues like single-payer health care.

In the other, we have the Republican hopeful Raul Ruiz, a 57-year-old construction contractor who abandoned a local government run ahead of the 2018 election and is using his campaign website to assail “AOC and the radical liberals want to use handouts to keep people dependent on the government.”

“I want to give the citizens another option,” the GOP Ruiz said in an interview with POLITICO, arguing that the elected Ruiz has a scant record of policy accomplishments during his time in Congress.

“Obviously, that’s going to create some confusion — to whose benefit or regret I don’t know,” he added of the identical names.

While the incumbent Ruiz has formerly faced challenges from Republican elected officials, the Republican Ruiz is a political neophyte: He was a candidate for City Council in Perris last cycle, but withdrew before the election after learning he didn’t meet the residency requirements.

What he lacks in political experience, he said he makes up for in life experience. “I’ll say this,” he said. “I had the name first.”

Ruiz the Democrat also comes from an incumbent’s position of strength. His campaign committee had about $2 million stashed away as of late June, and Democrats retain a 7-point registration edge in his district. He has benefited from a more Democrat-friendly map drawn by a state commission in the last redistricting process.

The Democratic advantage in the district makes it unlikely the nomenclatural redundancy will swing the ultimate outcome, said Mindy Romero, who runs the California Civic Engagement Project at the University of Southern California.

But Romero said the second Ruiz’s presence should have the effect of forcing the incumbent Ruiz to work harder to educate voters — particularly the low-information voters who use “shortcuts” when casting ballots.

“The incumbent will want to educate folks who are using those shortcuts to look for the Democrat, look for the incumbent, don’t just look for the name — be careful about who you pick,” Romero said.

This isn’t the first time voters have had to contend with candidate double vision. Last cycle, there were two candidates named Ron Estes in Kansas. In 2001, voters in the California city of South Gate had to choose whether they wanted to be represented by Hector De La Torre or Hector De La Torre.