Mark Takano (D), newly elected representative from the 41st Congressional District in the Inland Empire. (MarkTakano.com)

California’s Congressional delegation will include about a dozen new faces next year. Redistricting and the state’s “Top Two” primary system led to an unusual number of competitive races, as well as a few upsets — and Democrats are the beneficiaries.

Of the state’s 53 Congressional districts, 34 are currently represented by Democrats. With Tuesday’s voting, at least one more seat will turn blue, while three other races still appear too close to call.

For starters, parts of the Inland Empire are looking a lot more purple — with areas once seen as Republican strongholds giving way to a wave of Democratic newcomers.

Early on election night, Mark Takano wasn’t yet ready to claim victory as returns showed him ahead of his Republican opponent in the newly drawn 41st Congressional District. “So let’s be patient,” he said, “luxuriate in the feeling we have now and be hopeful that change has come to Riverside.” But within hours it was clear that Takano, currently a Riverside Community College board trustee, had become the first openly gay Asian American elected to Congress. He believes that his success was partly driven by a wave of younger voters he says are more accepting of gay candidates. Robert Melsh supported Takano in two prior unsuccessful Congressional bids in the early 1990’s — when opponents circulated anti-gay campaign flyers. That didn’t happen this time.

“That shows you that not only is Riverside getting ‘blue’ politically, but it’s growing up. Four years from now it will be more majority Hispanic, it’ll be diversified, and Republicans will be running for cover,” says Melsh.

In what’s shaping up to be one of the biggest upsets, political first-timer Democrat Raul Ruiz appears to have defeated veteran GOP Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack of Palm Springs. The county registrar’s office still has thousands of vote-by-mail ballots to tally. But registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a narrow majority in the newly drawn 36^th District. It’s the first time Bono Mack sought re-election in a district that was not more heavily weighted toward Republicans.

The congresswoman was also hurt by a comment she made referring to the city of Coachella as a “third world toilet.” The Coachella Valley is home to a large number of Latinos — who make up about a third of the district’s voters. During an election night interview with the Palm Springs Desert Sun, Bono Mack all but conceded the race with thousands of votes left to tally. “Historically the trend would say that the numbers will continue to go the way they are going, and that he [Ruiz] will win,” she said.

Republicans held ground in other parts of the Inland Empire, including the 31^st Congressional District which includes San Bernardino. But by toppling the GOP in several other key races, Democrats might now see the region as a winnable battleground for future state and national candidates.

Riverside Foreclosure Auction/Scott Shafer

Outside the courthouse in the city of Riverside housing speculators sit in lawn chairs — protected from the mid-day sun by little blue awnings – and place their bids in the daily home foreclosure auction.

The same scene plays out every week day in San Bernardino, Chino, Fontana and other Inland Empire cities. Behind each auction is someone who reached out for the American Dream but couldn’t hold on.

On a road trip to take the political pulse of this growing region, The California Report’s Scott Shafer talked with homeowners losing their grasp and investors scooping up properties at a discount — who say they are re-energizing the area’s economy and helping it recover from the crushing effects of the recession.

But it will take a long time for the Inland Empire to bounce back from the mortgage meltdown. The region boomed in the last decade, then suffered the second highest home foreclosure rate in the country. It still struggles with 13 percent unemployment, higher than the state average.

The recession has left many in the Inland Empire feeling politically irrelevant and overlooked, in spite of the fact that the region is home to 4 million people, larger than many states.

In his reporting, Shafer found people working to create a stronger political voice for the region. And this election year could be key.

Though the Inland Empire has long been a Republican stronghold, many of the new arrivals from coastal cities are more likely to be Democrats. That means that several congressional elections here are now hotly contested. And with both parties campaigning hard, the Inland Empire could get what it’s been craving: attention from politicians.

Listen to Shafer’s story:

Bidders, many working for housing speculators, sit in lawn chairs with little blue awnings to protect themselves from the brutal noon sun.

Behind each auction is a story. A person, a family. People who reached for the American dream, but couldn’t hold onto it.

As the auction continues, I ask one of the bidders — Long Beach realtor Jesus Quintaro — if he ever thinks about the former owners who lost the homes he’s bidding on. “I do think about it,” he says, “but a lot of them got a lot of money out of their homes. They refinanced. Some may be victims — but a lot of them made the choice to refinance, get money out, or get into a home they couldn’t afford in the first place.

Another bidder, John Chang from Orange County, sees complains that the media portray investors who buy up foreclosed homes as vultures. He says they’re making a contribution — putting people to work.

“There is termite work that needs to be done.” he tells me. “There’s materials that needs to be bought in order to fix up these houses. There’s realtors involved that need to sell these homes. There’s escrow people involved, title insurance — I mean, there’s a lot of people involved in the transaction of (selling a house).

Just a few blocks away, in a small room at the Fair Housing Council of Riverside, Jose Moreno is working with a counselor. He is trying to refinance two properties — his home and another he uses as an office. They’re under water now and he needs a new loan. He sees his future plans sinking as well.

“You know I move to a smaller house, I sell them, and that’s gonna be my retirement plan,” he tells me. “But now my retirement plan is gone, because there’s nothing there.”

The sprawling counties of Riverside and San Bernardino are known locally as “The Inland Empire,” and it has had one of the highest foreclosure rates in California. And according to U.S. Census data, black and Latino homeowners have been hit the hardest.

Rose Mayes, executive director of the Riverside Fair Housing Council, says what worries her most is the impact it’s having on people’s mental health.

“We had a client come in and say he’d rather commit suicide than just continue go through this loan modification process,” she says. “And we told him no, it’s not worth it. You can always bounce back.”

But bouncing back could take a very long time, says economist John Husing. He’s been studying housing and job trends here for decades. And Husing says the fundamental problem here is the housing mess.

It “starts in Imperial County, goes through the Inland Empire, goes through Kern, straight up the valley, up to Sacramento and down the I-80,” he says.

Husing says the reason economic pain in California is concentrated inland is that state politics are dominated by politicians from the western part of the state — especially Los Angeles and San Francisco. The eastern part of the state has been “impotent politically,” he says. “Whether it’s Stanislaus County or Madera County or Modesto County, or the Inland Empire.” Those are all counties with the highest unemployment rates in California. And isn’t hard here to find people with stories of economic distress.

At a public pool in Riverside late one afternoon, parents sat watching their children swim.

School principal Robert Bruff says he’s personally doing OK in this economy, but he hears from a lot of families that are not. “I’ve had kids who have missed school for three days and I say, ‘why weren’t you here? Well, we don’t have gas money.’ So if it’s a choice of between macaroni and cheese for dinner and driving your kid to school that day, you gotta eat.

When I asked if he thinks government is doing enough to fix the economy Bruff, a Democrat, is circumspect. “I think government’s been doing what it can to help lead us out,” he said. “I don’t think there’s an easy fix. Whether you’re liberal or conservative, people I think if they knew the button to push, they’d push it.

One sentiment I heard a lot on my visit to the Inland Empire is that many here feel overlooked, misunderstood — invisible.

The Inland Empire Economic Partnership is working to create a stronger political voice for this region. Paul Granillo is its executive director and a former Catholic priest from San Bernardino. He jokes that he was hired because the region needs a miracle.

But Granillo gets angry at what he sees as neglect from the federal government. “It’s been us and Las Vegas who’ve suffered the most,” he says. “It’s the same with unemployment for regions over a million people. Us, Las Vegas Detroit. Now when do you ever hear about the Inland Empire? You know about Detroit. You know about Vegas.”

That could be about to change. For the past few decades, this region’s Congressional seats have been mostly considered safe territory for Republicans.

But demographic changes, redistricting, and the retirement of veteran GOP Congress members is giving Democrats hope of winning one or even two House seats.

It means both parties will likely campaign hard in those races, giving the Inland Empire what it’s been craving — attention from politicians.

Listen to the story:

Scott Shafer reporting in the Inland Empire

The California Report’s Scott Shafer just returned from the first stop on a statewide “listening tour” to take the pulse of California voters this election year.

The November election is shaping up to be a referendum on government… “How much government do we want? And who’s going to pay for it?” So we’re framing our election coverage with the question “What’s Government For?”

In Riverside and San Bernardino counties, Shafer heard some surprising answers, such as Republicans feeding the poor and asking government to do more. And he found that the region’s elected officials don’t yet reflect the changing political complexion of its current population.

In the presidential lounge at Riverside’s Mission Inn hang portraits of the presidents who have visited over the years. All but one are Republicans. And the Inland Empire has long been a bastion of the GOP. Four years ago, though, voters went for Barack Obama.

Shafer found that many of the new Democratic voters are transplants from coastal cities like Los Angeles. And many of them are Latinos. But low voter turnout prevents them from having the political clout they could. Shafer met some folks who are trying to change that.

Take a listen:

California’s Inland Empire

So what is the Inland Empire?

MAJOR CITIES: Riverside, San Bernardino, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Corona, Victorville, Murrietta, Temecula

POPULATION: 4.2 million (grew by almost one-third over past decade)

RACE and ETHNICITY: Latino 47%, White 37%, Black 7%, Asian American 6%

MAJOR INDUSTRIES: Warehousing/logistics, service sector, manufacturing, agriculture (once-booming construction and real estate/finance jobs dried up with the mortgage meltdown)

ECONOMIC INDICATORS: 13% unemployment, second highest home foreclosure rate in California, highest poverty rate in California for a metro area larger than 2 million people