CA-40 Democratic Frontrunner Esther Kim-Varet Announces March 12th Virtual Town Hall Event Featuring Kim-Varet Campaign Advisor Chuck Rocha

 

Fresh off his key role in the James Talarico campaign’s overperformance with Latino voters, Kim-Varet campaign advisor Chuck Rocha will discuss plans to engage and mobilize the sizable Latino voter base of California’s new 40th District

COTO DE CAZA, CA — Esther Kim-Varet, leading Democratic candidate for Congress in California’s 40th District, on Tuesday announced her second monthly Town Hall event, to be held via Zoom on Thursday, March 12, 2026 starting at 4pm PDT. All democracy enthusiasts are invited to register at this link (www.estherforcongress.org/townhall) to join the Town Hall via Zoom, during which all participants will be able to submit questions, and to vote on ranking the questions submitted by other participants.

During her inaugural February Town Hall event, Kim-Varet announced a pledge, the first from any candidate in CA-40’s Congressional race, to hold a monthly virtual or in-person town hall event every single month through the November election, and throughout her term as CA-40’s Congressional Representative. Kim-Varet’s March 12th Town Hall event will be her second in this monthly series.

Special guest Chuck Rocha began his political career in the woods of East Texas at United Rubber Workers Local 746. By 22, he had become the youngest officer of the 1,200 person local. At 29, he was hired to be the youngest, first person of color and last rank-and-file National Political Director of the United Steelworkers of America. In 2010, Chuck left the USW to create Solidarity Strategies. Chuck has worked on several presidential, Congressional and gubernatorial races through the years, including both of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaigns. He is the first Latino to run a presidential campaign and accomplished all of this despite never attending college, having a criminal record and being a single father at 20 years old.

“CA-40 deserves an accountable representative in Congress who shows up and actually listens,” said Esther Kim-Varet. “For too long, our Representatives have treated us with entitlement rather than empathy. I’m not a politician, I’m a working mom who always speaks from the heart and is always willing to listen and learn from others. My monthly town hall events are the first step in delivering transparency and accountability to CA-40 voters, and we are just getting started.”

Esther Kim-Varet’s campaign to flip CA-40 has seen a massive influx of support, announcing $2.65 million of fundraising in the last calendar year, driven by more than 50,000 individual grassroots donations, outpacing the campaign funding of all other CA-40 Democratic opponents combined by more than 10X. Kim-Varet is the only viable candidate to defeat corrupt MAGA incumbents Young Kim and Ken Calvert in this critical midterm election, where control of the House of Representatives is expected to come down to just a few seats.

To see a list of Kim-Varet’s policy priorities click HERE

 

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California’s newly drawn 40th Congressional District, spanning portions of Riverside County and Orange County, is one of the most consequential U.S. House district battlegrounds in the nation. CA-40 includes the cities of Rancho Santa Margarita, Murrieta, Menifee, Lake Elsinore, Wildomar and Canyon Lake as well as parts of Mission Viejo, Orange, Anaheim and Corona.

First-time candidate Esther Kim-Varet has raised over $2.65 million to date, powered by more than 50,000 individual small dollar contributions from across the nation. Esther is not a politician — she is a working mom of two young kids, running for Congress to restore the American Dream for all. In Congress, Esther will combat corruption, defend democracy, and fight for the middle class, small businesses, public education, and healthcare access.