Announcement Comes Days After Esther Kim Varet Declares $1M First Quarter

Tustin, CA – Today, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced that California’s 40th Congressional district is one of their 2026 “districts in play” targeted to flip in 2026. This announcement coincides with the launch of DCCC’s nominee fund for CA-40.

The DCCC announcement follows Esther Kim Varet declaring over $1M in funding for the first quarter of her campaign, making Kim Varet the best-funded CA-40 Democrat by a wide margin.

Today’s announcement also comes in the wake of Cook Political Report’s recent upgrade of CA-40’s incumbent vulnerability on its Partisan Voter Index (PVI), from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican” and from R+2 to R+1.

“House Republicans are running scared, and they should be. They’re tanking the economy, gutting Medicaid, abandoning our veterans, and making everything more expensive. In short, they’ve lost the trust of their constituents, and it’s going to cost them the majority,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene. “House Republicans are so scared, they’ve decided to hide from the public, refusing to answer questions and hold in-person town halls. Only House Democrats are fighting to protect Social Security and Medicaid, defend our freedoms and critically: lower costs for everyday Americans.”

Adds Congressional Candidate Esther Kim Varet: “I’m humbled and inspired by the tremendous support building for my campaign to retire Young Kim. Clearly my message is resonating. We don’t need extremist partisans representing us in Washington, and we don’t need corrupt career politicians. What we need in Congress are sensible concerned citizens like myself – small business owners, parents, hardworking taxpayers – who have a real stake in making the future of the American dream accessible to all. 2026 is the year Young Kim retires, Republicans lose the House, and we restore sanity to America.”

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California’s 40th is a Congressional District representing portions of Orange County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County in Southern California. CA-40’s constituents voted for Joe Biden over Donald Trump in 2020. House Majority PAC lists CA-40 as a top target, the DCCC lists CA-40 as a “District in Play”, and the Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index (PVI) ranks the district as one of the 10 most vulnerable House seats with a Republican incumbent in the nation.

Incumbent Republican Young Kim’s support for MAGA policies, including a federal ban on abortion even in cases of rape and incest, support of the GOP budget bill that would strip 40,000+ of her constituents from Medicaid, blocking legislation to lower the cost of prescription drugs, and rejection of common sense gun safety, have made Kim extremely vulnerable. In contrast, Esther Kim Varet will always vote to protect women’s right to choose, provide access to healthcare, lower prescription drug costs, and support responsible gun safety.

CA-40 includes the cities of Yorba Linda, Anaheim Hills, Orange, Chino Hills, Tustin, Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Laguna Hills, Laguna Woods, Villa Park, Lake Forest, the unincorporated communities of North Tustin and Coto de Caza, and parts of Brea and Corona.