By Henri Migala
June 2, 2026 (San Diego) — Early primary returns for California’s 48th Congressional District show Republican frontrunner Jim Desmond taking a significant early lead, with a crowded field of Democrats battling for a crucial second-place spot to advance to November. His likely opponent in the run-off is San Diego City Councilmember Marni Von Wilpert, a Democrat, who has opened a substantial lead over fellow Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, a Naval reserve officer and educator who formerly worked in the Obama administration’s Labor Department.
Long considered a safely conservative bastion, the 48th District is being closely watched across the country — a direct result of California Proposition 50, which altered the region’s political boundaries. The once strongly conservative district now has a five point Democratic voter registration over Republican regsistration and is a seat Democrats hope to flip in their quest to regain control of Congress.
The newly drawn 48th District now forms a sprawling, diverse geographic footprint that cuts across traditional political lines, from East County, through parts of North County, and over to Palm Springs in Riverside County.
The retirement of long-time Republican incumbent Rep. Darrell Issa, who declined to run in the reshaped territory, drew a massive field of 13 candidates.
In the San Diego County portion of the district, where the highest concentration of voters resides, early returns reflect the area’s historically conservative leanings but showcase a strong unified block for the leading Democratic challenger.
Desmond, a current San Diego County Supervisor and former mayor of San Marcos, is running on a platform focused on fiscal conservatism, public safety and infrastructure.
Von Wilpert has firmly established herself as the leading Democrat in the county, leaning on her public service record and institutional backing.
Campa-Najjar, who previously ran for the seat in past election cycles but has struggled to find the same initial traction in this newly configured map.
The district spans two counties: San Diego and Riverside.
In San Diego County, with 22.8 percent of votes tallied, Desmond has 45.94 percent, while von Wilpert has 20.39 and Campa-Najjar 11.51 percent. Corinna Contreras, a Democrat, has 6. 41; other candidates have less than 5 percent.
In Riverside County, the vote is more fragmented and competitive.
With 17.1 percent of the votes processed by the Riverside County Registrar of Voters, the numbers show a tighter squeeze for the frontrunner and a scramble for the others, with Desmond taking 36.11 percent of the vote and von Wilpert at 19.96 percent. Kevin Patrick O’Neil, a Republican, has 10.55 percent of the vote, Democrat Brandon Riker is at 10.17 percent and Campa-Najjar is at 7.58 percent. All other candidates in Riverside County remain in single digits.
With thousands of late-drop mail ballots and provisional votes yet to be validated in both San Diego and Riverside counties, the final, official matchup that will decide control of this critical House seat may not be certified for several days.
East County Magazine examined the critical issues relevant to this race in the following article: