50th District Election Results: Issa, Campa-Najjar In Tight Race

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CA — Voters have decided whether Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar or Republican Darrell Issa should represent California's 50th Congressional District.

The 50th District encompasses most of San Diego's East County, parts of inland North County and a portion of southwestern Riverside County.

The spotlight has been on the race as the district has been plagued by scandal and the January resignation of its former representative, Republican Duncan D. Hunter. Hunter pleaded guilty to unlawfully spending campaign funds and is facing nearly a year in prison.

A Republican had held the seat since 1981. The seat was represented by Hunter's father, Duncan L. Hunter, from 1981-2009.

In the March 3 presidential primary election, Campa-Najjar captured 67,452 votes or 36.9 percent, compared to Issa who garnered 40,625 votes or 22.2 percent. Nine candidates competed for the seat. Republican Carl DeMaio took third place with 20.1 percent of the vote.

Campa-Najjar, an East County native, owns a consulting firm and is a course lecturer at San Diego State University. He also worked on Barack Obama's re-election campaign in 2012, at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and at the U.S. Department of Labor.

Issa spent nearly two decades representing the 49th District — which covers the northern coastal areas of the county as well as a small portion of southern Orange County — before announcing in 2018 he would not seek re-election. This time around he sought a seat in a region that has consistently voted Republican and re-elected Hunter even as he faced indictment.

As of Wednesday morning, the race for the 50th District was neck-and-neck between Issa and Campa-Najjar. Issa was holding a narrow lead, with about 52.1 percent of the vote, compared to Campa-Najjar's 47.9 percent, according to unofficial vote totals from the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.

It was unclear how many votes remained to be tallied, and with the prevalence of mail ballots in Tuesday's election, it could be days or weeks before final numbers are determined.

There are still 370,000 ballots left to be counted, County Registrar of Voters Michael Vu announced Wednesday, but the county will not release additional results until 5 p.m. Thursday.

The results are below. Can't see the widget? Click here for all San Diego County election results. Be sure to refresh this page for the latest.

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