Former CA Gov. Endorses Maryott For 49th Congressional Seat

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA — Former California Gov. Pete Wilson Thursday endorsed Republican candidate and San Juan Capistrano Mayor Brian Maryott for the 49th Congressional District seat currently occupied by Rep. Mike Levin, D- Oceanside, who won election last fall.

Wilson touted Levin's business experience in his endorsement of Maryott to represent the district, which includes parts of southern Orange County and northern San Diego County, including Oceanside, Vista, Carlsbad and Encinitas, along with the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base.

Wilson, who once served as San Diego's mayor, said Maryott "represents a unique chance for our community to send a seasoned elected official to Congress."

"His extensive career working with families and businesses, as well as managing large and complex business initiatives in his private sector career, will serve District 49 particularly well on the issues that matter most to working families and local employers," Wilson said. "He's an advocate and leader that rises above petty political games and instead focuses on delivering bipartisan, substantive results."

Levin's campaign could not immediately be reached for comment.

Levin defeated former state Board of Equalization member Diane Harkey in the November mid-term election to flip the seat, which Republican Darrell Issa had held since 2002. Cook Political Report's Partisan Voting Index currently rates the California's 49th as a swing district, with the GOP eking out a 3 percent advantage in voter registration. Levin ran an unabashedly left campaign against Harkey to win the seat and has since endorsed priorities for the party's progressive caucus like expanding Medicare and passing a so-called Green New Deal with the goal of mitigating the effects of climate change. Maryott has repeatedly criticized these positions, calling them too extreme for the district.

"I thank Gov. Wilson for his endorsement and confidence in my leadership. Like many residents in this district, I am fed up with ineffectiveness of Washington," Maryott said. "The current incumbent, Mike Levin, campaigned as a moderate but reverted back to being an extremist agitator once he got to Congress. We deserve better."