The Democrat challenger in California’s 48th congressional district, San Diego City Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert, hopes to turn the newly competitive seat blue after redistricting transformed it from a reliably Republican district into a swing district. 

Von Wilpert is a typical Biden-era Democrat. She has pledged to bring DEI back to Washington, D.C., accusing President Trump of attacking the policies she says are part of America’s national history. In another rant, she argued that America is rigged against women and minorities and complained that too many businesses are owned by white men. Her stated goal, she said, is “to figure out how to fix it.” 

These come amid a slew of other promises, including fighting to keep illegal aliens in the United States, and to undo some of the largest tax cuts in American history through President Trump's Big Beautiful Bill.

Much of von Wilpert’s tenure on the San Diego City Council has reflected the same flawed identity-driven approach to policymaking. In 2022, she backed a women- and minority-hiring policy that required the city to weigh identity in hiring their decisions. San Diego Gas & Electric later drew scrutiny for using a state registry of LGBTQ-owned businesses for hiring and contracting purposes.In 2024, von Wilpert steered so-called “behest” contributions, payments solicited by elected officials from a city contractor, a practice California law permits, to several DEI organizations. One recipient had supported legislation allowing sexual relationships between 24-year-old gay adults and 14-year-olds. Von Wilpert sent further money to that same group the following year.

“Marni von Wilpert is a woke freak who abuses her office to shovel money into her friends’ pockets,” RNC spokesman Nick Poche said. “She’s utterly failed San Diego and would be a corrupt disaster in Congress.” 

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Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, who currently represents CA-48, will retire at the end of his term, in part because California’s redistricting effort made the seat more competitive. San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond is the Republican candidate seeking to replace him, though he is currently trailing von Wilpert in the polls.