As the congressional district map is being revised to give Democrats five more seats in the U.S. House, Ammar Campa-Najjar has declared that he will run again in 2020 for the East County district seat that he lost to incumbent Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Bonsall.
In direct opposition to legislative redistricting attempts in Texas to expand the number of GOP House seats in that state, state lawmakers voted Thursday to put the recently proposed California congressional map in front of voters in a special election scheduled for November 4.
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In a statement issued on Friday, Campa-Najjar stated, “This campaign is about making sure that all families, from San Diego to Riverside, have a representative who works for them.” I’ve formally filed to run in CA-48 for that reason. I’ll be on the ballot, prepared to represent our community and fight for cheap healthcare, a just economy, and the battle against corruption, if the proposed maps are accepted.”
Reaching Issa for a comment did not work out right away.
Former U.S. Navy officer, educator, and Department of Labor official Campa-Najjar also lost a 2022 mayoral bid in Chula Vista to John McCann and a 2018 House contest to Republican Duncan D. Hunter.
The District in question includes the communities of Alpine, Bonsall, Borrego Springs, parts of El Cajon, Campo, Escondido, Fallbrook, Lakeside, Murrieta, Poway, Ramona, Rancho San Diego, Santee, Temecula, Valley Center, the mountain and desert regions of the San Diego-Imperial County line, and the majority of the San Diego-Mexico international border. It also includes the central and eastern portions of San Diego County and a portion of southwestern Riverside County.
San Marcos and Escondido, two purple battleground cities that Campa-Najjar formerly controlled, will be included in the new district.
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The Federal Election Commission’s website lists five other Democratic opponents of Issa as candidates: Whitney Shanahan, Curtis Morrison, Albert James Mora, Nicholas Davis, and Brian Nash.
The Election Rigging Response Act, or Proposition 50, is an attempt to override the Texas legislature’s attempt to use a modified map to shift five congressional districts to the Republican Party. This week, the Texas House of Representatives and Senate approved the proposal, and Governor Greg Abbott pledged on Saturday to swiftly sign it off.
“One Big Beautiful Map has passed the Senate and is on its way to my desk, where it will be swiftly signed into law,” Abbott stated in a press release.
California’s action, spearheaded by Governor Gavin Newsom, would supersede the state’s independent redistricting committee, which normally creates district lines.
According to Republican leaders, California taxpayers will likely have to pay about $250 million for the November election.
