Young Kim said she supports President Trump’s initial action against Iran and linked the conflict to higher California gas prices as she campaigns against Ken Calvert in California’s 40th congressional district. Madison Aument interviewed her at Kim’s campaign headquarters in Mission Viejo earlier this month.
Kim tied the issue to affordability, saying, “Well, affordability is the keyword for the 2026 election cycle, and I've known about it. I've been addressing it, When I go to the grocery stores, I feel it. When I go fill up a tank of gas, I know it.” She also said, “I support the initial action of President Trump having to go and attack Iran.”
Mission Viejo interview
Aument’s interview placed Kim’s comments in a district that runs from inland Riverside County to inland Orange County and is described as one of Southern California’s only safe Republican seats. The race between Kim and Calvert is shaping up around affordability, gas prices, Iran and immigration, with those issues helping define the choice for voters in California’s 40th congressional district.
Kim said the United States needed to make sure Iran does not possess or develop weapons of mass destruction or the ability to build more nuclear weapons. She said the action crippled Iran’s ability to continue with its nuclear program, and she added that California is usually seeing gas prices that are on average $1 or $2 more than the national average.
California gas prices
Kim said Sacramento politicians have created the situation with California gas prices and said the inability for energy to flow through the Strait of Hormuz may have contributed to higher prices. Aument said a gallon of gas was $6 down the street, underscoring the cost pressure that Kim is trying to address while defending Trump’s decision.
The interview also landed in the middle of a campaign where affordability is the dominant concern. A Public Policy Institute of California survey found that 96% of Californians say affordability is their number one concern heading into the midterms, and Kim said she has been addressing that issue through her work on the House Financial Services Committee, including support for a low-income tax credit in her housing affordability approach.
Young Kim and Ken Calvert
The race is drawing attention because it pits two Republicans against each other in a district where gas prices and affordability can matter as much as ideology. Kim’s defense of Trump’s Iran action fits alongside her affordability message, but it also leaves voters with a sharper choice on how they want the district represented. How voters in California’s 40th congressional district respond to that mix is the part still being tested on the campaign trail.
