2024 Primary Election Guide: San Diego’s Congressional Contests

I can safely predict that all the incumbents in local contests for House of Representatives will be re-elected. That said, there’s lots of eyebrow-raising stuff coming from the wannabes. Politics can be entertaining, if you let it.

District 48: Eastern San Diego County, Rated Solid Republican. The most crowded field of candidates among the county’s five congressional districts.

Republican Darrell Issa (No web site) is the incumbent. He moved over to D48 after his northern San Diego County district (49) got too liberal. He’s safely ensconced for as long as he wants, filthy rich, and in an area where Duncan Hunter (Sr and Jr) were considered the bees knees.

During the Obama era he built a name for himself by launching partisan investigations as chair of the House Oversight Committee. The IRS, the Justice Department, and Benghazi were his targets. It should be noted that none of his accusations resulted in legal consequences for those accused. 

Issa doesn’t have a campaign website. He’s more of a Brand kinda man and uses Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to sell his identity as a champion of “no” in Congress.

An article in East County Magazine summarizes the positions of four candidates competing against Issa in the primary. Darrell Issa and Matthew Rascon didn’t participate.

Democrat Stephen Houlahan https://electhoulahan.com/ is the best known of Issa’s competitors. The former Santee City Council member placed second in the general election race in 2022, garnering just shy of 40% of the vote. The California and San Diego Democratic Party organizations have endorsed him, along with eight or so local Dem clubs.

Democrat Matthew Rascon https://matthewrascon2024.com/ is running as a political reformer, promising to advocate for term limits and financial reforms on Capital Hill

Democrat Whitney Shanahan https://whitneyshanahan.com/ is the founder of Pro Choice with Heart, a grassroots activism group battling for women’s reproductive healthcare. As a member of Congress, she promises to level the playing field for San Diego County families thru protecting the right to abortion, fighting for a livable wage and lowering the cost of living, and taking on big corporate special interests that put profits over people.

Democrat Mike Simon https://www.mikesimonforcongress.com/ is an entrepreneur looking to forge a non-partisan path in congress. He’s got lots of ideas, and answered every question on Ballotpedia’s candidate survey except the prompt to share his favorite joke “because it’s too dirty.”

Lucinda Jahn (No party preference) https://lucindakwhjahn.com/index.html doesn’t want your money. She calls herself the Zero Donate Candidate. Her positions on issues are all over the place, including phasing out social security before it implodes and believing that the scientific method is not up to the task of tackling climate change.

***

District 49: Stretches along the Pacific coast from Del Mar to San Juan Capistrano. It includes the San Diego cities of Vista and Oceanside. Rated lean Democratic.

Incumbent Democrat Mike Levin https://www.mikelevin.org/ has been fending off Republicans looking to overcome their party’s slight registration disadvantage for three cycles now. Stories emanating from both political parties about the congressman being engaged in a tough battle for reelection are commonplace.

He’s got money in the bank, a stellar collection of endorsements, and the most complete issues and accomplishments section I’ve ever seen on a campaign site. His platform centers around progressive positions on issues like abortion access, gun policy reform, and Medicare for all. As a congressman, he’s well-known for his advocacy on behalf of veterans. As long as people show up, he will win.

Republican Sheryl Adams https://www.sherylforcongress.com/ leads off her campaign website with a smiling photo and endorsement from Rep. Darrell Issa. She has executive experience with the auto industry and implementation of its technological innovations.

She’s running a campaign against the elites, which is good because she has the lowest cash on hand of all the candidates as of December 31.

Her policy understanding and solutions are largely based in the GOP bubble narrative, which is to say she parrots all the usual talking points about how terrible life in the USA is. And it’s all the fault of them damned Democrats.

Republican Matt Gunderson https://gowithgunderson.com/ owns three auto dealerships in Mission Viejo. He’s one of those candidates who uses the words “common sense.”  In the 2022 election he was defeated by Catherine Blakespear in a contest for the D38 State Senate seat.

He’s bought into the mythology of Joe Biden’s (he won’t use the word ‘President’) inflation crisis, increasingly high taxes, crime rising, and a border crisis feeding a fentanyl epidemic. So that kinda tells you he’s just running to join the “no” chorus on Capitol Hill.

Republican Kate Monroe https://kateforcongress.com/ starts off her website with the announcement for her endorsement of former president Donald J Trump, noting that the other Republican candidates in this contest have declined to do so.

She’s running on a platform for ‘parents rights,’ which is shorthand for the book burners and bigots causing chaos in schools. 

• “Too many parents are terrified of being designated “domestic terrorists” by the Federal government, and being arrested as criminals for demanding to know what their children are being taught in class, or “counseled” in school about their gender and abortions…even as pre-teens! I’m committed to stop Soviet-style coaching of children to turn against their parents and/or “report” them just for being concerned or asking questions.”

Margarita Wilkinson https://vote4margarita.com/ is the Republican to beat in this contest, at least in terms of financing. She’s got more money on hand than the rest of the righties combined as of December 31. Being a senior vice president at Entravision Communications gives her firsthand knowledge about “the hardships of running a business when there's a complete failure of leadership by our elected officials.”

Her aspirations, should she be elected, are the same as every other Republican in this contest, namely stopping the flood of criminals and fentanyl caused by “Biden’s border crisis”, lower taxes, getting the “woke” government out of schools, and defeating the Democrats’ (non-existent) “Defund the Police” programs.   

***

District 50: Covers the coast region from the Coronado strand to Del Mar, jotting eastward to include the cities of San Marcos and Escondido. Rated Solidly Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Scott Peters https://scottpeters.com/ can have this seat for as long as he wants it, particularly if Republicans keep running back bench candidates against him. He’s a middlin’ Dem, meaning that he’s for all the right things until it comes down to deciding the fine print; then you’ve got to look into the politics of his district’s employers. I live in his district and will vote for him, fully aware of his limitations. Ya’ gotta eat what’s on the menu…

His office is big on constituent service, and maintains a connection with students at UCSD, providing the congressman with a steady source of campaign volunteers. His elected officials list of endorsements starts with the President and goes all the way down to a school board trustee. Peter’s wish list for his next term includes “fixing” congress, a need that’s become increasingly obvious in recent years, and is unlikely to happen because incumbency is the ultimate bi-partisan gesture. 

Democrat Tony Bilash  https://www.votedrtim.com/index.shtml is a kindly-looking physician hoping to do right. He is a highly regarded figure working the better side of the field of reproductive health care, and advocates for all the right things.

I’m thinking he’s not too serious about campaigning, given that all the events listed on his web site have taken place in Washington DC. The recent Union-Tribune interview with Dr Bilash was blandly progressive and uninspiring. I like him, I really, really, do. I just can’t see him on Capitol Hill doing much of anything besides testifying. 

Republican Peter Bono http://www.bonoforcongress2024.info/ is a veteran who wants voters to know he’s endorsed former President Donald J Trump (but it hasn’t been reciprocated). He says he cares about people but then goes on to spew vile depictions of immigrants.

Did you know? (Reposted verbatim from his website)

• “Big Lots of Point Loma recently announcing closing its doors in the near future. I say the primary reason for this closure is because of the Invading Foreign Nationals, utilizing the MTS Trolleys System, unloading at the Old Town Trolley Station, walking only 3 blocks, passing the Burger King Restaurant, then proceeding to BIG LOTS, and STEALING MERCHANDISE  Thus the Store Manager cannot keep enough stock in his store. Thousands of dollars of merchandise are being stolen. Security measures were taken, but with Governor Newsome's recent announcement that no one can be arrested locally, unless the theft is over $950.00, thus causing these store employees, to watch the business merchandise departing this store, by these Invading Foreign Nationals, with the assistance of our local Homeless Patrons.

Republican Solomon David Ross https://www.solomon4congress.com/ includes a section on Entertainment and Symbolic Satanism, along with positions on Chemtrails and GeoEngineering.

• If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is that we cannot and must not blindly trust unelected (or elected) officials to safeguard our most precious resources. With the World Economic Forum openly speaking about depopulation and mysterious sinus illnesses on the rise, it is clearly our responsibility to ban these aerosol spraying campaigns until we have full transparency as to their contents and long-term effects on the population 

Ugh.

***

District 51 covers Central San Diego (mostly North of i8) along with the Eastern suburbs El Cajon, Lemon Grove, La Mesa, and Spring Valley. In earlier configurations D51 was solidly Republican. Now it is a solidly Democratic area, with Hispanics making up more than two-thirds of the population. 

Incumbent Democrat Sara Jacobs https://sarajacobsforca.com/ has done more than just represent the people of the district. She’s been an activist for reproductive rights, stopping gun violence, better treatment of military dependents, to name a few, and she’s been active in lending her support to Democratic candidates around the nation.

Her list of endorsers is impressive, and she’s relied on acts of governance rather than partisan rhetoric in accomplishing an impressive record on Capitol Hill. My favorite part of her reelection campaign has been her calling out El Cajon Mayor Bill Sells’ complaints about her: 1) She’s a Democrat and 2) a young woman. She’s all of those things and is a better person, to boot.

No Party Preference Stan Kaplan https://www.caplanforcongress.com/ was the GOP nominee for this seat in 2022, losing in the general election with 38.1% of the vote. So this time he’s ditched the GOP and is running as “Caplan America.” This wanna be superhero is a stone cold reactionary who wants war with Mexico, the military to round up criminals, illegals and homeless humans, and right-thinking parents to be running our schools.

Another No Party Preference candidate is Hilaire Shioura (aka Fuji) https://fujiforcongress.com/. If there was ever a reason to consider a political literacy test for congressional candidates, Fuji would be Exhibit One. His web campaign site includes instructions on writing him in on ballots for neighboring Congressional District 52 and State Senator. 

One of this “educator’s” campaign planks is for the House of Representatives to rewrite California law to change elections to Saturdays. He’d like to “discuss” inviting Russia as a full partner in NATO. Like I implied above he’s the real deal; genuine whack-a-doodle.

Republican Bill Wells https://www.wellsforcongress2024.com/ strategy for his campaign involves making Tik Tok-like videos where grandpa tells voters the facts of life as he imagines them. As Mayor of El Cajon he made waves during the COVID pandemic by directing the local police not to enforce masking and shutdowns, and gave cops the “freedom” to skip getting vaccinated.

Notably, the GOP has taken an interest in his candidacy which reported more than a half million dollars in donations in the last quarter of 2023. Wells believes that homeless people are on the streets by choice because they are drug addicts, that prison is a deterrent, and that the Migrant center in San Diego is actually luring “illegals” into the county. Oh, and Sara Jacobs is personally responsible for CPB dumping migrants in the area.  

***

District 52 covers the southwestern portion of San Diego County and includes National City, Chula Vista, Bonita, and most of Imperial Beach. I’m guessing this district is the embodiment of the “Great Replacement” right wing racists fear the most, since its population is only 13.3% white. Coming back to the real world, it’s as solidly Democratic (+18) as can be. Apparently the district is underserved by the internet, since neither of the two candidates bothers to sell their wares online.

Incumbent Democrat Juan Vargas (website ‘expired’) came to the House of Representatives in 2013 as part of the Great Filner Replacement, a preordained reshuffling of elected Democrats supposedly negotiated by party/labor brokers. He’s got solid support Democratic and Labor circles.

Vargas is, generally speaking, a very liberal Democrat of the sort that Republicans expect that patriotic Americans will rise up and throw out someday soon. The problem is that his constituents really like him; in 2022 he beat his Republican competitor with 71% of the vote.

Republican Justin Lee (No website) is the placeholder candidate. He didn’t secure his party’s endorsement even though he’s the only non-Vargas competitor who says he’s with the GOP. The San Diego Union Tribune did track him down for one of their Q&A articles, and he’s about as deep as water running down a driveway. 

***

Previously: CA’s Presidential Primary, CA Proposition One, San Diego Mayor, City Attorney,  San Diego City Council, San Diego Assembly Districts, State Senate D39.

Next Up: County Board of Supervisors

***

Lead image: W. W. Denslow’s Illustrations for the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)