This is a developing story. This post will be updated as new vote counts are released.
Republican County Supervisor Jim Desmond has advanced to the general election in the 48th Congressional district race, and San Diego Councilmember Marni von Wilpert has a strong early lead to join him in the November runoff.
Desmond, the Republican former mayor of San Marcos who now represents a piece of CA-48 on the County Board of Supervisors, took 41.2% of the vote, per the initial count released Tuesday The Associated Press already determined he will advance.
Von Wilpert, who represents the northern suburbs in the city of San Diego, is in second with 20.2% of the early vote, giving her a comfortable early lead over the Democratic field vying to face Desmond. Ammar Campa-Najjar, a three-time Democratic candidate who faced overwhelming opposition spending in the closing weeks of the race, is in a distant third place, with 9.6% of the vote.
The race to replace retiring Rep. Darrell Issa is among the most-watched contests in the nation, and could be pivotal in determining control of Congress.
“I feel really good, we worked very hard for the last 15 months in this race and I’m happy with the results, and we’re moving on to November,” Desmond told Times of San Diego at the election night party at the US Grant Hotel.
Desmond was running in the 49th District until he switched to the 48th on the last possible day, after Rep. Darrell Issa decided not to seek re-election and retire rather than face his first competitive re-election.
Von Wilpert touted her lead, but said she’s excited to see every vote counted.
“I’m over the moon about the strong lead that we have tonight,” she told Times of San Diego at her election night party in Escondido. “If we don’t flip the 48th District from red to blue, it’s unlikely it would help retake the House for Democrats.”
Palm Springs investor Brandon Riker has 7% of the vote, and Kevin Patrick O’Neil, the other Republican in the field, took 6.9% of the vote despite barely campaigning.
The new 48th Congressional district — stretching from inland Northern San Diego County through Riverside County to Palm Springs — was gerrymandered last year specifically to be a Democratic pickup opportunity, after voters approved Proposition 50.
Outside groups spent more than $3.5 million against Campa-Najjar in the race — with Democratic Majority for Israel alone spending more than $2 million against him, more than they spent against all other candidates nationwide.
Von Wilpert raised more than $1.25 million in the campaign, more than anyone else in the field.
After Texas Republicans gerrymandered the state to flip five seats in their direction last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a plan to do the same with Prop. 50.
Of the five redrawn seats created as pickup opportunities, CA-48 was the swingiest. Voters in the new district supported former Vice President Kamala Harris for president by 3 points in 2024; they also supported Newsom’s gubernatorial opponent by 2 points in 2022.
Eileen Mamaghani and Nicole Abrams contributed reporting to this story.
