The primary race to represent a new congressional district that includes Palm Springs and Indian Wells has drawn a crowded field of candidates, after California voters approved new Democrat-friendly maps in last year’s Proposition 50 special election.
Voters in the two Coachella Valley cities are guaranteed to elect a newcomer to Washington, with no incumbents running in the new 48th Congressional District.
Palm Springs and Indian Wells have been represented by GOP Rep. Ken Calvert, but the longtime congressman from Corona is instead running in the new 40th district, setting up an intraparty race with fellow GOP incumbent Rep. Young Kim. That district does not include any of the Coachella Valley.
Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, an incumbent in the 48th District who’s been in Congress since 2001, announced he wouldn’t seek re-election in the redrawn district in early March, saying it’s “the right time for a new chapter and new challenges.”
Issa’s retirement came after California voters passed Proposition 50 last November, allowing changes to the state’s congressional district maps in response to gerrymandering in Texas that favored Republicans. It was approved with 64.4% of the vote.
The redrawn 48th district runs from Palm Springs and Indian Wells to much of northern and eastern San Diego County. It zig-zags through rural areas almost to the Mexican border, more than 80 miles from Palm Springs. The rest of the Coachella Valley falls into the new 25th district, where incumbent Democrat Raul Ruiz is vying for re-election against three Republicans.
In the 48th district, Democrats comprise about 36.9% of registered voters, while Republicans make up 32.7% and no-party preference and third-party voters make up the rest. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the district as “lean Democrat.”
A dozen candidates — nine Democrats, two Republicans and one with no party preference — have qualified for the ballot, according to the California Secretary of State’s office. (One of them, Stephen Clemons, dropped out and endorsed San Diego Councilmember Marni von Wilpert in early May, so 11 candidates still have active campaigns.)
The California Democratic Party’s caucus ultimately didn’t endorse a candidate for the 48th District at its convention earlier this year, as no candidate reached the 60% vote threshold. But von Wilpert got the highest share of the vote, with 54.5%, followed by Ammar Campa-Najjar (18.2%) and Brandon Riker (12.1%).
On the GOP side, the California Republican Party did not endorse a candidate in the race, but the party’s national leader — President Donald Trump — endorsed San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond in mid-April.
With vote-by-mail ballots arriving to voters ahead of the June 2 election, here’s a rundown of who’s seeking the open seat in Congress, listed in alphabetical order and using the titles provided by the California Secretary of State’s office.
Ammar Campa-Najjar, Democrat, Navy officer/educator
Campa-Najjar, a Navy Reserve officer and educator, ran for Congress in 2018 and 2020, advancing to the general election before losing in both contests. He also ran for mayor of Chula Vista in 2022, losing by about four percentage points.
Campa-Najjar has been endorsed by several current members of California’s congressional delegation, and his longtime romantic partner is Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs of San Diego. He was also recently endorsed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC.
Campa-Najjar, whose campaign did not respond to a request for comment from The Desert Sun, says on his website that he “will fight to lower costs and make life more affordable, expand universal healthcare, protect reproductive freedom, support veterans, invest in infrastructure and clean energy, and take on corruption in Washington.”
It’s unclear whether Campa-Najjar currently resides in the district, but a report from La Prensa San Diego found Campa-Najjar has used addresses in both Chula Vista and San Diego in recent years. Neither of those cities fall within the 48th District.
Unlike with some other elected positions, members of Congress are not required to live within the district they represent. They are only required to be at least 25 years old with citizenship for at least seven years and to live in the state they represent.
Abel Chavez, Democrat, Teacher/school board member
Chavez, a teacher and board member for the Nuview Union School District in Nuevo, is running for the seat with endorsements from Riverside County Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez, as well as councilmembers in Perris and Banning. He previously planned to challenge Calvert in the 40th district before the new maps were implemented.
Chavez told The Desert Sun he’s running to address the biggest issue facing the district’s residents: affordability and the rising cost of housing.
“My plan is comprehensive and begins with our education system,” Chavez said. “I plan to build a trades building and a business path in every single high school in our district so our students can learn how to use their hands and build small businesses in our community.”
“Communities with more small businesses tend to have a higher median wage compared to communities mostly employed by large Wall Street corporations,” Chavez added. “The next stage of my plan is to hire small business liaisons who can guide our small business communities to be more successful.”
Corinna Contreras, Democrat, Vista City Council member
Contreras, a two-term member of the Vista City Council, has endorsements from a few local elected officials, as well as the Democratic Club of Vista, the Democratic Woman’s Club of San Diego and the San Diego Progressive Democratic Club.
Contreras, whose campaign did not respond to a request for comment, says on her website that she will fight for universal access to housing and protections for workers and unions, deliver Medicare for All, protect reproductive freedom, secure equal rights for women and LGBTQ+ individuals and invest in modern, resilient infrastructure.
“The climate emergency is the biggest existential threat to our globe,” Contreras said on her website. “I will fight against efforts to dismantle the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, and expand enforcement against massive polluters and repeat offenders. We must pass the Green New Deal, to invest in renewable energy and public transit.”
Jim Desmond, Republican, San Diego County Supervisor
Desmond, a member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors since 2019 and a former mayor of San Marcos, entered the race with the endorsement of Issa, and President Donald Trump endorsed him in mid-April. A U.S. Navy veteran, Desmond also has the support of the Republican Party of San Diego.
Desmond told The Desert Sun that cost of living, public safety and small businesses are the issues often raised by voters.
“Gas prices are among the highest in the nation, housing is unaffordable, and groceries cost too much,” Desmond said. “Gavin Newsom and Sacramento have only worsened the situation for Californians at every turn.”
“I will cut federal regulations driving up housing costs, oppose new gas and mileage taxes, and fight reckless spending that drives inflation,” he added.” I will restore federal support for local law enforcement, crack down on fentanyl trafficking, and cut the regulatory burden on small businesses so they can grow and thrive in Southern California.”
Kevin O’Neil, Republican, Computer software engineer
O’Neil, who runs a cybersecurity, research and development firm based in San Diego, is the only other Republican besides Desmond running in the 48th district.
O’Neil told The Desert Sun that he’s running to “end the corruption,” saying there’s no transparency or accountability in the federal government. He added he wants to reduce government waste, modernize technology, cut bureaucracy and push for more safeguards over artificial intelligence.
O’Neil said his other plans if elected to Congress are to reduce the national debt and to “restore DOGE,” the budget-slashing initiative led by billionaire Elon Musk at the start of Trump’s second administration. He also said he would “drain the swamp (and) remove the deep state cancer destroying America.”
Ferguson Porter, Democrat, Small business owner
Porter, a published writer and small business owner from Texas who has lived in Palm Springs for 15 years, said he’s running because “the needs of the people will never be met as long as Republicans are in the majority.”
“Addressing people’s financial needs — housing prices, healthcare, wealth inequality, rising gas and (grocery) prices — will never be done as long as Republicans are in power,” Porter said. “We’ve seen Republicans buy elections, steal Supreme Court seats and disenfranchise voters of color to keep power rather than address the needs of the American people.”
“I have a plan to take back the power by expanding the House, controlling partisan gerrymandering, and creating a completely new and improved Supreme Court,” he added.
Luis F. Reyna, No party preference, Civil rights organizer
Reyna, the only candidate running without a party affiliation in the district, did not respond to a request for comment, and he did not submit a candidate statement with local election officials.
Reyna’s website states that his campaign is “committed to building a government that listens, responds, and delivers for working families, young professionals, and future generations — through thoughtful leadership, innovative ideas, and genuine care.”
Brandon Riker, Democrat, Small business owner
Riker, an economist who lives in Palm Springs, previously planned to challenge Calvert in the 2026 election cycle, before the new maps implemented through Proposition 50 changed his plans.
He told The Desert Sun he’s running for Congress “because too many people in California are working hard, but still falling behind,” with a system “set up to help billionaires and big corporations, not us.”
“As a trained economist, I’ll bring an important perspective to legislating that focuses on bringing down costs, creating opportunity and restoring stability,” Riker said. “We need to lift wages for working families and put pressure on the ultra-wealthy to pay their fair share.”
“I live in CA-48,” he added. “I started a small business here. I have deep ties to this community. Seeing our families thrive is a personal fight for me.”
Mike Schaefer, Democrat, California Board of Equalization member
Schaefer was elected in 2018 to the California Board of Equalization, which oversees property tax administration statewide, and he’s represented the fourth district on that board since then.
Schaefer said the top issues he wants to address in Congress are global security, specifically pointing to fragile relationships with Iran and Russia, and to reduce the country’s high cost of living.
“Tariff wars assure cars, clothing, food (are) more expensive than average salaries support,” Schaefer said, adding he “will study best offered by other major nations and strive to see that all of District 48 has such benefits.”
Eric Shaw, Democrat, Digital marketing executive
Shaw, who lives in Temecula, said he’s running for Congress to address three things “keeping families in the 48th up at night” — the cost of living, roads that can’t keep up with regional growth and a voting system “that just got weaker when we needed it stronger.”
“I will fight back against the tariffs driving up groceries and gas and push for real middle class tax relief,” Shaw said. “I will pursue a Transportation Committee seat and fight for every infrastructure dollar the 15 and the 215 are owed. And I will co-sponsor the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act on day one.”
Marni von Wilpert, Democrat, Councilwoman/health advocate
Von Wilpert, a member of the San Diego City Council, has been endorsed by valley resident and former U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, as well as the California Teachers Association, SEIU California and Emily’s List. Von Wilpert told The Desert Sun she’s running for Congress because Southern Californians “are being crushed by Trump’s disastrous agenda.”
“CA48 deserves a leader who will fight to lower costs, stop Trump’s chaos and stand up for working families,” von Wilpert said. “I have a proven record of doing exactly that and I’ll take our fight to Congress.”
“We must repeal Republicans’ severe healthcare cuts, stop Trump’s costly tariffs and end the unauthorized wars that are making gas prices surge,” she added. “I’ll fight to pass the PRO Act to help workers organize and raise wages, empower Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices and tackle Southern California’s housing affordability crisis head-on.”
As a member of the San Diego City Council, Von Wilpert currently lives outside the boundaries of the 48th District. Asked by The Desert Sun about her residency, von Wilpert said that “North County San Diego is where I grew up and will always be my home.”
“I live just a few miles down I-15 outside the new lines, and my fiancée and I will be residents of the district and look forward to building a family here,” she said.
Tom Coulter covers local government and politics for The Desert Sun. Reach him at tcoulter@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Who will represent Palm Springs in Congress? Where 11 candidates stand
Reporting by Tom Coulter, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
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