CAMPA-NAJJAR OPENS AHEAD
Democrat has narrow edge over Issa in early results
Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar claimed a slight early lead over Republican Darrell Issa in the race for the 50th Congressional District, although the two are still neck-and-neck, according to the first batch of unofficial returns released by the California Secretary of State Tuesday night.
Those results ref lect the ballots of early voters in San Diego and Riverside counties but do not yet contain the votes of those who chose to cast their ballots in-person Tuesday, a demographic that recent polling shows will likely skew in Issa’s favor.
Whichever candidate holds on to win will fill a seat that has sat vacant for most of the year because its former incumbent, disgraced Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, resigned from office in January after being convicted of a federal felony related to misusing campaign funds.
Reached by phone Tuesday night, Campa-Najjar said he felt confident in the early returns, but it’s still far too early for any candidate to declare victory.
“I don’t think those who pay close attention to this race are surprised at all, be it me, the voters, reporters,” Campa-Najjar said.
“We knew it was going to be close and that is what it seems like. ... What is important now is to make sure we defer to voters and make sure every vote is counted.”
Meanwhile, Issa was confident he would ultimately prevail in his quest to win a return to Congress. When addressing about 500 attendees at the Republican Party of San Diego County election night party around 9 p.m., he stopped short of declaring victory.
“I’m going to prove tonight you can recycle anything in California,” said Issa, the long time Republican from Vista who stepped away from his 49th District seat in 2018.
“We’re in a statistical tie,” Issa said. “We’re going to wait for the rest of the numbers, then we’ll begin the process of making the 50th great again.”
The race for the 50th Congressional District has been the most high-profile congressional race in San Diego County during the 2020 election cycle and represented the best hopes local Republicans had for having a member of their party represented in the San Diego Congressional delegation — which currently has four Democrats and one vacant seat.
Part of an area that historically has been a Republican stronghold, the 50th district includes parts of East County, communities in inland North County, and a southern portion of Riverside County. Issa has long been favored in the race despite tight polling.
Campa-Najjar, a smallbusiness owner and lecturer at San Diego State University who mounted an unsuccessful bid for the seat in 2018, was the top vote-getter during the primary with 36.5 percent of the vote. That edge, though, was largely attributed to the divided field — there were 10 candidates but no other significant Democratic challengers.
In contrast, there were three well-known local Republicans who were on the ballot In March: Issa, who represented San Diego County in Congress for 18 years; Carl DeMaio, a wellknown conservative radio host; and Brian Jones, a state senator and Santee Republican affectionately dubbed by some as “Mr. East County.”
Issa and DeMaio quickly emerged as the top options for local Republicans, with Issa pitching himself as the experienced statesman ready to rally to President Donald Trump’s aid and DeMaio pitching himself as the anti-establishment outsider ready to help Trump “clean up the swamp” and “take back” California.
Issa, a well-known GOP firebrand from his days chairing the House Oversight Committee, ultimately emerged the favorite of local conservatives.
Despite the significant Republican edge in voter registration in the region — 39 percent Republicans, 30 percent are Democrats and nearly a quarter are independents — and the results of the primary suggesting the race should be a fairly easy win for Republicans if they consolidated support, the 50th contest appeared to tighten throughout the late spring and summer.
Polls taken in May, July and September found that Issa and Campa-Najjar were neck-and-neck, with one pollster stating “the race is anyone’s guess.” However a poll taken in October showed Issa pulling ahead of Campa-Najjar, although Campa-Najjar maintained his campaign’s internal polling had the contest much closer.
Millions of dollars have f lowed into the 50th Congressional District race, making political observers say the contest was not yet decided and things could hinge on which campaign was better able to get out the vote on Election Day.
Prior to Election Day, more than a million voters had already cast their ballots in San Diego County, and polling suggested Campa-Najjar had a significant lead among those who voted early. The same polls though, also suggested Issa could more than make up the ground by making sure he mobilized those who intended to vote on Election Day itself, a demographic that skewed in his favor by more than 7-1 in some polls.
If early results hold in Campa-Najjar’s favor, the young Democrat would be responsible for one of the biggest political upsets of the past decade, and San Diego voters would have officially shut the Republican Party out of their local delegation.