Former San Diego city councilman and two-time congressional candidate Carl DeMaio said Thursday he will seek the East County state Assembly seat held by fellow Republican Marie Waldron, who is termed out.
DeMaio, 49, announced his campaign on KUSI, the conservative-leaning independent station that was bought by the Texas-based owner of Fox 5 San Diego earlier this year.
“Tune in now to KUSI! I am on discussing the launch of my campaign for CA State Assembly with a mission to Reform California!” he tweeted just before the morning segment.
The 75th District encompasses most of East County from Interstate 15 and Route 125 east to the Imperial County line.
Waldron, a former Assembly minority leader, will complete her fifth and final term in 2024. Five others also are potential candidates: teacher Christie Dougherty, business owner Jack Fernandes, retired revenue officer and founder and leader of Fallbrook Climate Action Team founder Joy Frew, Lakeside school board member Andrew Hayes and small-business owner Kevin Juza, a Democrat.
DeMaio said he would quit his political talk show on KOGO 600-AM. But he will remain as chairman of Reform California, a political action committee that is “dedicated to holding state and local government accountable.”
The group has challenged California’s gas tax and called for voter IDs to prevent what it alleges is widespread election fraud.
In a fundraising email, DeMaio said his decision was part of larger strategic move at Reform California.
“I can and will remain as chairman of Reform California,” he said. “Nothing changes there and all of our campaigns (Protect Prop 13, CA Voter ID, RCA Voter Guide, etc.) continue full steam ahead.”
But he announced he would “have to step down” from his daily radio show on AM-600 KOGO — though he would continue the show daily on digital platforms.
“My decision to run is 100% driven by my frustration with the inability of unwillingness of current elected CA Republican politicians to mount an effective fight against the Super-Majority held by CA Democrats,” his letter added.
“Put simply, something HAS to change in the CA Republican Party and we need fresh and aggressive new leadership to fix the problems on our side.
“Third, I’m not running by myself. We have recruited and endorsed a slate of candidates who pledge to be part of the REFORM CALIFORNIA CAUCUS in the Legislature to shake things up. We need a team of fighters to turn this state around — and I’ll be sharing more on that effort soon!”
On Wednesday, California Globe quoted San Diego area pollster Jennifer Lopez as saying: “DeMaio comes in as a name candidate and one who really wants to upend things for Republicans, which many GOP members in the state have been begging candidates to do for years.
“DeMaio will mainly have to worry about Hayes, who is liked by the party and currently holds public office on that school board. That may hurt DeMaio, but Hayes does not have the same kind of access to the media that DeMaio has either.”
“DeMaio needs to be scandal free and come up with a solid plan for the Assembly, namely, what he wants to do at the local level. He’s said what he wants to do party-wise, but ultimately, this comes down to what he can do for the people in the district. He comes up with a good plan there and he stays on point, DeMaio may be heading to Sacramento.”
Updated at 4:28 p.m. Dec. 7, 2023