Temecula's 50th Congressional District Race: CA Primary 2020

TEMECULA, CA — As the March 3 Consolidated Presidential Primary Election gets underway this week, it’s down to the wire in California’s 50th Congressional District race. Currently, there are nine viable candidates on the ballot for the district that includes a sliver of Temecula in Riverside County along with much of East County San Diego. And if money means anything (it often does in politics), there are three frontrunners in the contest: Ammar Campa-Najjar (D), Carl DeMaio (R), and Darrell Issa (R).

The spotlight is on the race after 50th District Rep. Duncan D. Hunter resigned his seat in January. The Republican is set to be sentenced this month and is facing a maximum of five years in prison after he and his wife were indicted in 2018 on five dozen criminal counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy and falsification of records. He initially pleaded not guilty to misusing $250,000 in campaign funds for personal uses that ranged from vacations to extramarital affairs to a plane ticket for his wife's pet rabbit, but changed his plea to guilty in December.

The race is also a nail-biter because the 50th is the only Congressional district in San Diego County that’s a Republican holdout, so it’s probably not surprising that Campa-Najjar is the only Democrat left standing in the contest. According to the California Secretary of State, 28.22 percent of registered voters identify as Democratic in the 50th District while 39.47 percent identify as Republican.

As per election rules, the top-two 50th District vote-getters in this week’s primary contest will advance to the November general election, regardless of their party affiliation.

Here’s a look at the candidates vying for the 50th seat:

Ammar Campa-Najjar

• Party: Democratic
• Age: 31
• County of residence: San Diego
• Profession (per election filing): Business owner/educator
• College: San Diego State University
• Money raised as of Feb. 12: $1.97 million (Campa-Najjar has taken zero loans as of Feb. 12)
• Campaign issues spelled out on his website: Childcare, jobs, education, small business, national debt, healthcare, housing and homelessness, military/national defense, property rights, immigration, environment, government reform, faith communities
• Campaign website: www.campacampaign.com
• Notable notes: In 2018, Campa-Najjar ran against indicted incumbent Duncan D. Hunter for the 50th seat. Despite the criminal allegations against Hunter, the Republican won reelection and snagged a sixth term, but did so by the slimmest of margins with just 51.7 percent of the vote.

Carl DeMaio

• Party: Republican
• Age: 45
• County of residence: San Diego
• Profession (per election filing): Taxpayer advocate/businessman
• College: Georgetown University
• Money raised as of Feb. 12: $2.76 million (includes a $250,000 loan)
• Campaign issues spelled out on his website: Border security and illegal immigration, jobs and small business, fighting tax hikes, balancing the budget, education, infrastructure, healthcare, social security and Medicare, homelessness and welfare reform, support for Israel, veterans/national security, constitutional freedoms, and reforming Congress.
• Campaign website: carldemaio.com
• Notable notes: DeMaio is a former member of the San Diego City Council. He's also a radio personality (KOGO Radio) and has his own podcast, "The Carl DeMaio Show."

Darrell Issa

• Party: Republican
• Age: 66
• County of residence: San Diego
• Profession (per election filing): Retired congressman
• College: Siena Heights University
• Military experience: U.S. Army
• Money raised as of Feb. 12: $4.18 million (includes $3 million in loans)
• Campaign issues spelled out on his website: Border and immigration, sanctuary cities, impeachment, jobs and trade, life, Second Amendment
• Campaign website: www.darrellissa.com
• Notable notes: Issa has had a long political career. He most recently served as the 49th Congressional District representative, but he declined a reelection run in 2018 after narrowly holding onto the seat in the 2016 election. In September 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Issa to be the director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. During his congressional tenure, Issa was estimated to be one of the richest representatives.

Brian Jones

• Party: Republican
• Age: 51
• County of residence: San Diego
• Profession (per election filing): Senator/business owner
• College: San Diego State University
• Money raised as of Feb.12: $186,399
• Campaign issues spelled out on his website: Traditional values, fiscal responsibility, strong military, border security, law and order, Second Amendment
• Campaign website: www.electbrianjones.com
• Notable notes: Jones is a member of the California State Senate, representing District 38 in San Diego County. He assumed office on December 3, 2018. His current term ends on December 4, 2022. He also sat on the Santee City Council and represented California State Assembly District 71.

Nathan “Nate” Wilkins

• Party: Republican
• Age: 33
• County of residence: San Diego
• Profession (per election filing): Congressional Innovational Fellow
• Military experience: Retired Navy Seal
• Money raised as of Dec. 31: $0
• Campaign issues spelled out on his website: Sanctuary of life, human trafficking, traditional marriage, Second Amendment, America’s southern border, respecting law enforcement
• Campaign website: natewilkins.org
• Notable notes: After 11 years of military service, Wilkins was medically retired in 2018. According to his website, he is a devout Christian.

José Cortés

• Party: Peace and Freedom
• Age: 29
• County of residence: San Diego
• Profession (per election filing): Community organizer
• Money raised: No campaign finance data listed per the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign issues spelled out on his website: See www.facebook.com/CortesforCongress
• Campaign website: www.peaceandfreedom.org/home/election-2020/1537-jose-cortes-for-congress-ca-50th-district

Helen L. Horvath

• Party: No party preference
• Age: 60
• County of residence: San Diego
• Profession (per election filing): Organizational development consultant
• College: Doctorate of Psychology in Organization Development, California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant International University
• Military experience: U.S. Army
• Money raised for the campaign: No data available from the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign issues spelled out on her website: see www.horvathcampaign.com/platform
• Campaign website: www.horvathcampaign.com
• Notable notes: According to her website, she is “the daughter of refugees who left Hungary in 1956 during an attempt to stop communism after WWII. In the middle of the night, during the Hungarian Revolution, my parents left everything and walked across the border in to Austria.”

Henry Alan Ota

• Party: No party preference
• County of residence: San Diego
• Profession (per election filing): Loan officer/farmer
• Money raised for the campaign: No data available from the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign issues spelled out on his website: Homelessness, education, the economy
• Campaign website: www.henryota2020.com
• Notable notes: Watch this YouTube video to learn more about Ota.

Lucinda Kwh Jahn

• Party: No party preference
• Age: 58
• County of residence: San Diego
• Profession (per election filing): Entertainment industry professional
• Military experience: U.S. Air Force
• Money raised: No data available from the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign issues spelled out on her website: See her long list of issues at lucindakwhjahn.com/faqs.html
• Campaign website: lucindakwhjahn.com
• Notable notes: Jahn touts herself as the “Zero Donate Candidate,” saying “I don’t want your money … just your vote.”

NOTE: Although she still remains on the ballot, Democratic hopeful Marisa Calderon announced in late January that she was suspending her campaign in the 50th. Duncan Hunter remains on the ballot as well.