Ken Calvert

Although his opponent is calling it premature, U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona) declared victory in the 44th Congressional District late last week.

Calvert’s Democratic challenger, Bill Hedrick, maintains that the race is still too close to call.

The race for the 44th Congressional District between eight-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona) and Democratic challenger Bill Hedrick is still too close to call as of late Thursday morning.

With thousands of ballots yet to be counted in Riverside and Orange counties, Calvert is leading Hedrick by 4,640 votes.

The five U.S. representatives who hail from Orange County were divided on the Monday vote for the emergency rescue package.

Sure, she was punished for standing up to her own party, but Assemblywoman Nicole Parra (D-Hanford) got a nice consolation prize from Maxim. Meanwhile, five of our members of Congress found their way onto a much less coveted list from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. They're among this week's Winners & Losers. | CLICK HERE

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story mistakenly included the name of Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-San Diego) on the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics "Most Corrupt" list. Hunter was named to the 2007 list but not the 2008 list. We regret the error.

The Washington-based watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, named five Golden State U.S. Representatives to its infamous annual list of the most corrupt members of Congress on Wednesday.

CREW's list of 24 Congressmen and Congresswoman can be found here: http://www.crewsmostcorrupt.org/

The California members on the list include:

Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay: TomDeLay.comFormer U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) will be the keynote speaker for the Riverside County Republican Party's annual Liberty Dinner on Oct. 4.

DeLay, who left office in 2006 after being indicted the previous year in connection with a campaign finance scandal, has since started a group that seeks to unite conservatives. He also provides frequent guest political commentary on TV and radio.

Ken Calvert, the seven-term U.S. representative from Southern California, is taking fire from longshot Democratic opponent Bill Hedrick over a FoxNews report aired in late May.

The report documented earmarks Calvert issued for his home district that, the report suggested, helped to benefit a commercial real estate project Calvert personally owns. The report also suggested that Calvert, who worked in the real estate industry prior to winning a seat in Congress in 1992, was able to use the earmark to sell the project and turn a $335,000 profit. The House ethics committee, however, would later rule that the earmarking of money was passable given that it allowed for others to make money as well.

"Obviously there were questions raised by these transactions. The House ethics committee investigated one of them, but determined that it was ethical for Mr. Calvert to make a profit as long as others made money as well," said Hedrick, a school board president and teacher.

Democratic U.S. House candidate Bill Hedrick has raised $17,000 in first quarter funds and has almost $12,000 in cash on hand, according to his campaign’s latest financial report.

Hedrick’s financial numbers will almost certainly place him significantly behind Republican incumbent Ken Calvert. Calvert, who has not yet filed his first quarter report with the Federal Election Commission, had $206,000 in cash on end through the end of 2007.