2026 is a crucial election year. It is a pivotal time for our nation. Costs are rising, squeezing the middle class. Families are increasingly having to make choices between food, housing and healthcare. Gas prices are soaring.
In California, primary ballots went out early this month and voting ends on June 2 to determine which candidates will be on the final ballot this fall.
One of the nation’s most important House races is here in California’s 48th Congressional District. The new boundaries of the 48th, which now stretches from the desert communities of Palm Springs and Indian Wells through central Riverside County and into Vista, San Marcos and Escondido, make it one of the most competitive districts in the country.
Incumbent Rep. Darrell Issa retired rather than face a competitive election in the new district, but Republicans are sure to nominate Issa’s handpicked successor, Trump-endorsed San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who will assuredly continue Issa’s legacy of favoring corporate interests and billionaires while cutting Medicare and Medicaid for working families.
We desperately need a change in this district and in Washington, so I’m supporting Democrat Brandon Riker in the 48th.
There is no question that Riker is the best candidate on the economy. With food and gas prices rising and families hurting, the state of the economy is number one on the minds of voters, and if elected, Riker would be the only trained economist in Congress. There are nearly 200 lawyers, but ZERO trained economists in Congress.
While other candidates speak in generalities about the economy, Riker has proposed a four-point new deal for working families:
- Exempt the first $50,000 in income from all federal taxes, which will immediately put $3,000 back in the pockets of working families
- Lower health care costs by letting any American who wants buy in to Medicare
- Protect Social Security by asking billionaires and big corporations to pay into Social Security on every dollar they earn, just like the rest of us do
- Raise the minimum wage and tie it to the cost of living
Riker will also fight for California homeowners by supporting legislation to provide federal catastrophic insurance covering wildfires, floods and earthquakes. No Californian should lose their home because they can’t afford or get private insurance.
I can tell you that Brandon Riker is the hardest working candidate in this race. He is the only candidate who is meeting voters everywhere across the district, in town hall after town hall. He’s done 127 free meet-and-greets across the district. He’s even been up to my small mountain community of Idyllwild numerous times. And no other candidate has.
Riker is a people person who has not only made himself available to talk and answer questions, but more importantly made himself available to listen. Listening is a skill that so many politicians forget, but not Riker.
He has heard the concerns of working families all across the district who are worried about affordability, healthcare costs, and whether Social Security will be protected and want someone who will fight for them. He has refused corporate PAC money and is not beholden to special interests.
In these tumultuous times, we need someone who is hardworking, never gives up and is laser-focused on the economy and helping to lift up working class families and stand up to Donald Trump and his destructive policies. We need Brandon Riker in Congress.
Flavia Colgan is a former political commentator and news correspondent who works in the non-profit sector and lives in Idyllwild and San Diego.
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