Ken Calvert doesn't seem like a very good guy. He's a Southern California Republican congressman who signed onto the lawsuit seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election, who voted against expanding federal hate crime laws, and who supported the overturning of Roe V. Wade. But there's a new Democrat in town -- California's 41st congressional district, to be exact -- who's hoping to end Calvert's 30-year tenure. And that new Democrat, Tim Myers, just so happens to have been in OneRepublic.
Tim Myers was in one of OneRepublic's earliest lineups, playing bass in the band from 2002 to 2007. He also co-wrote quite a few songs for them, including the Top 40 hit "Stop And Stare." In the meantime, he founded a record label called Palladium. Nowadays he's more of a behind-the-scenes songwriter type, writing for a ton of pop artists (as does his former bandmate Ryan Tedder) and composing a shitton of music for commercials and TV shows.
Myers announced his 2026 congressional campaign in an Instagram clip this morning, which he filmed in a recording studio. Over some background music that does sound vaguely OneRepublic-ish, here's what he said:
I'm a pastor's son who grew up learning how to stretch a dollar in Corona, California. I turned a love of music into a career. With some luck and a lot of hard work I made it big, but it wasn't always easy. Got signed, got dropped, started over. I saw how the industry took advantage of people. So I built a business that puts artists first. It reminds me a lot of what we're seeing now. The people in charge are screwing us over just to make a buck. Trump, Musk, and these clowns in Washington are cutting cancer research, veterans' healthcare, and getting into trade wars making everything we buy more expensive. All while giving billionaires another tax cut they don't need. And where's my hometown congressman? Ken Calvert has been in Washington for 30 years and all he's done is make himself millions. The status quo isn't working. It's how we ended up here to begin with. We need leaders who are going to stand up and say, "enough." I'm Tim Myers and I'm running for Congress. Because one voice is weak, but a chorus is strong. Let's write a new song for California together.
Honestly, not a bad pitch! Here's my idea for his campaign slogan: "Not OneRepublican." Watch the clip below.
