Democrat · California's 25th District · 2026
Raul Ruiz
Ruiz grew up in Coachella with farmworker parents, became an emergency physician and returned to practice medicine in the Valley.
Biography
As a teenager, Raul Ruiz went from business to business in Coachella asking merchants to invest in his college education. In return, he promised to come home as a doctor. Raised by farmworkers, he saw education as a way to help the community that had helped him.1
He graduated from UCLA, earned his medical degree and two master's degrees, in public health and public policy, at Harvard, and trained in emergency medicine in Pittsburgh. He later returned to the Valley, helping create a nonprofit clinic and a mentoring program for students interested in medicine.2
At Eisenhower Medical Center, he met his future wife, an emergency room nurse. They have twin daughters and a husky named Blue, his running companion.2 In Congress, Ruiz worked on the PACT Act's benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances and has pursued bipartisan proposals to improve physician payments and access to care.2
He supports protecting Medicare and Social Security, reducing barriers for small businesses and comprehensive immigration changes that combine border security with a clearer path to citizenship and a stable workforce.12 Ruiz faces Republican Joe Males, a Marine veteran, business owner and Hemet council member, for another term representing the Twenty Fifth District.3
Record and controversies
Campaign audit ended without findings
FEC audit staff proposed findings concerning financial reporting and personal use of campaign funds during Ruiz's 2017–2018 campaign reporting period. The commission declined to adopt either proposed finding, leaving the audit with no commission findings in its June 2021 final report.4 The report records commissioners' views that financial disclosures were not materially misstated and that vehicle expenses were small, sufficiently documented or subject to unclear logging guidance.4 The draft audit should not be described as a final finding of misuse.