REGION — San Diego District 5 City Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert has launched her new campaign for the 48th Congressional seat in 2026, a race that will depend largely on the outcome of a statewide redistricting effort.
On Wednesday, von Wilpert announced her plans to flip the Congressional seat currently held by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) from red to blue, under the new district lines that will take effect if California passes the redistricting ballot measure Proposition 50, also known as the Election Rigging Response Act.
The proposed redistricting in California aims to add five more Democratic seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, in response to a Republican-led gerrymandering effort in Texas and other states that seeks to create more red seats and maintain control in Congress.
The 48th is one of the districts targeted in California’s redistricting plans, and if approved by voters, would be turned from a safe Republican seat to one with a 4-point Democratic registration edge.
“This will be a must-win seat to take Congress back from Trump, and I’m the only Democratic candidate running who has won an election, flipped a seat from red-to-blue and actually delivered for working people,” von Wilpert said.
The 48th currently encompasses central and eastern San Diego County, as well as portions of southwest Riverside County, including Alpine, Bonsall, Borrego Springs, and parts of Escondido, Santee, Poway, Fallbrook, Lakeside, Ramona, Temecula, and Valley Center.
The new proposed 48th would bring in Vista, parts of Oceanside, and portions of Palm Springs, in Riverside County, while cutting out the areas of Poway, Ramona, Santee, and Lakeside.
With Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state legislature already approving the redistricted map, it will now go before California voters.
Von Wilpert, a former city prosecutor, federal labor attorney, and Peace Corps alumna, emphasized her history of public service, federal experience, and lived experience as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.
“From helping write the PRO Act to strengthen unions, to making housing more affordable for teachers and lowering the price of groceries for seniors, I’ve always fought to protect working families and I’ll do the same in Congress. That’s the proven, principled record it will take to defeat Darrell Issa and take back Congress – and I’m all in to win,” she said.
Von Wilpert was previously registered as a candidate in the 40th State Senate race in 2026. San Marcos City Councilman Ed Musgrove and former state Assembly candidate Kristie Bruce-Lane are still running for the seat held by state Sen. Brian Jones.
Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar is also running to represent the proposed new 48th. The former U.S. Department of Labor official, U.S. Navy officer, and educator previously lost the seat to Issa in 2020.
Issa has held the 48th Congressional District seat since 2021. He and other representatives in the California Republican Congressional Delegation have spoken out against the attempted off-schedule redistricting in the state.
“It’s a shame that Governor Newsom and the radical Left in Sacramento are willing to spend $200 million on a statewide special election, while running a deficit of $20 billion, in order to silence the opposition in our state,” a July statement from the delegation reads.
