San Diego is bracing for one of its most contentious election cycles yet, as the region heads into its first general election since voters approved Proposition 50. The 2025 ballot measure redrew California’s congressional maps to benefit Democrats in order to offset Republicans’ gerrymandering efforts in other states as both parties vie for control of the US House of Representatives.
Come November, Republican County Supervisor Jim Desmond will face off against Democratic San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert. The seat was vacated by Republican US Rep. Darrell Issa, who retired after Prop. 50 redrew his district.
The new map hands Democrats a structural edge in the district by excluding Republican-leaning cities east of San Diego and including heavily Democratic Palm Springs. In the primaries, Desmond led the field with 38.9% of the vote, while Wilpert advanced with 20.8% of the vote due to the presence of several other Democrats in the race.
What to know about the candidates
Von Wilpert has positioned herself as the anti-Trump candidate pledging to stand up to the president if voted into Congress.
“We can either continue to choose the chaos and the corruption in Washington, DC, or we can choose a new path forward,” she said at a press conference in June.
Von Wilpert has cited the cost-of-living crisis and affordability as central to her campaign priorities. As a civil prosecutor in the San Diego City Attorney’s Office, she cracked down on pandemic price gouging, and as a sitting San Diego City Councilmember, Von Wilpert supported policies focused on defending reproductive freedom.
Von Wilpert has also been an outspoken advocate of putting tougher restrictions on ICE.
“What ICE is doing is chaos, not law enforcement, and it’s time to change that,” Von Wilpert said during an NBC 7 interview in June. She reasserted that the San Diego Police Department must abide by state law and, under the California Values Act, should not cooperate with immigration enforcement.
Additionally, her campaign has received endorsements from heavy-hitter organizations such as the California Federation of Labor Unions AFL-CIO, Equality California, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, California Teachers Association, National Union of Healthcare Workers, and SEIU Local 221.
Although Von Wilpert has strong labor backing, she faced criticism during the primaries from San Diego’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter for voting in support of using Flock automated license plate readers and accepting contributions from Democratic Majority For Israel, a pro-Israel PAC.
Desmond is similarly campaigning on restoring affordability in California and improving the economy. He has sought to paint himself as a “commonsense conservative,” but his positions show more alignment with MAGA Republicans.
Desmond voted against tapping county reserves to stop local budget cuts and voted against developing a plan to respond to federal cuts to Medi-Cal and CalFresh. Those cuts, passed as part of President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” in 2025, are estimated to take away Medicaid and food assistance benefits from tens of thousands of residents in the district.
Desmond also sided with Trump on a lawsuit targeting California’s immigrant protections, calling the state’s sanctuary laws “divisive” and a threat to public safety. He is also a vocal advocate for stricter border security and has pledged to fix a “broken immigration system,” stating that it needs revamping and advocating for a “fair system that upholds the rule of law.”
In February 2025, Desmond also joined other Southern California Republicans in an attempt to repeal a San Diego County Board of Supervisors policy that restricts the use of county resources to enforce federal immigration policies. The Board rejected the repeal effort.
Desmond has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, who expressed his support for Desmond over social media.
Looking ahead to November
With the new district lines shifting boundaries to include Palm Springs, Hemet, and a large swath of Riverside County, Democrats are hopeful they can clinch a victory.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris carried the newly drawn district by just a few points in 2024, making it a genuine swing district by any standard.
As California voters gear up for the general election in November, this could prove to be one of the critical competitive races that will have nationwide consequences—and set the tone by determining who controls the US House of Representatives for the next two years.
