Sen. Brian Jones Running For Duncan Hunter's Congress Seat​​

SAN DIEGO — Sen. Brian Jones, R-Santee, launched his candidacy Wednesday for the state's 50th Congressional District seat, entering a field that will soon include former congressman Darrell Issa.

Jones said he entered the race to "provide a trusted, conservative voice" for the East County district, which is currently represented by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine. Prior to serving as a state senator, Jones served in the Assembly and as a member of the Santee City Council.

"In Santee, we proved that conservative government policies work," Jones said. "We created vibrant residential, commercial and retail development by reducing regulations and keeping taxes low, and funded the recreational and public safety services the public deserves by contracting out services."

Issa, 65, is expected to join the race Thursday. He has planned a morning news conference in which he's scheduled to be joined by El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, Temecula Mayor Matt Rahn, former Escondido Mayor Sam Abed and former U.S. Navy SEAL Larry Wilske, who have all been running for the seat up until now.

Wells and Wilske are expected to drop out and throw their support behind Issa, and Abed and Rahn could follow their lead.

The race also includes former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio.

Issa declined a re-election run in the 49th District in 2018 after winning his 2016 bid by less than one percentage point. Last September, President Donald Trump nominated him to be the director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, but his Senate confirmation process has remained stalled since then.

Hunter was indicted in August 2018, along with his wife, on five dozen criminal charges, including conspiracy, wire fraud and record falsification, for allegedly misusing campaign funds. Margaret Hunter has since pleaded guilty to conspiracy and is cooperating with prosecutors. Her husband maintains his innocence.

Hunter won a sixth term last November, defeating Democratic candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar with 51.7% of the vote. The path to a seventh term appears more fraught for Hunter, whose trial is slated to begin next year in federal court.

With rumors of a possible resignation swirling, Republican politicians have swarmed to run for the seat in the event Hunter foregoes a run, is too politically damaged or cannot legally run in 2020. Campa-Najjar, meanwhile, never really stopped running for the seat and is likely the Democrats' best hope of flipping it.

Jones argued that while he's a conservative at heart and would be "a reliable vote for the president's agenda," he doesn't intend to head to Washington, D.C., as a bomb thrower or a firebrand.

"While I've never run from a fight, nor compromised on core principles, I've demonstrated the ability to do the harder work of finding agreement in order to get things done," he said. "I sponsored 23 bills that were passed by the Democratic legislature and signed into law."

The state primary is scheduled for March 3.

– City News Service