Democratic Ambitions for 2020 Include Flipping Duncan Hunter’s 50th District
Democrats have set their sights on flipping 33 more seats in the House of Representatives in 2020, including San Diego’s 50th District, currently held by Duncan Hunter. Ammar Campa-Najjar, whose 48.3% of the vote in 2018 was the closest any challenger had ever come to defeating the incumbent, has already announced he will be running for Congress again.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says it’s gearing up for an aggressive effort to fortify and expand the new Democratic Majority. This outlook, they say, is based on political and demographic trends, the President’s sagging popularity, the likelihood of more GOP Congressmen retiring, and ongoing scandals.
Ending corruption in Washington was a central theme to the House Democrats’ efforts in 2018.
“Despite both being indicted for felonies, Republicans continue to proudly welcome Congressmen Chris Collins (NY-27) and Duncan Hunter (CA-50) to their cocktail parties. And if things progress as expected, freshman Rep. Ross Spano (FL-15) could soon be joining the Indictment Caucus after he admitted to breaking campaign finance law by taking $180,000 in illegal loans.
These are just a few of the obvious ethical problems in the House Republicans’ ranks and doesn’t even begin to mention liabilities such as Mark Harris in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District where his campaign is under criminal investigation for election fraud.”
Democrat Campa-Najjar says he’s going to focus on local issues in the next contest:
Over the past two years, we’ve talked to thousands of voters not about their personal politics — but about their personal health, safety, and financial dignity. About the sand mines in East County, the tariffs and taxes hurting our local farmers and manufacturers, the unemployment rate in our district that is double the rest of San Diego, seniors unable to refill their prescriptions and families unable to access healthcare, wildfires engulfing our homes and crumbling roads that increase commute times for working families and first responders.
Since the election, CA50 voters have felt the pain of not having a full-time representative. Our district deserves a Congress member who can fully focus on the needs of constituents.
That’s why I’m running again, but this time will be different. More inclusive in its approach. More local in focus. Even more heart than before.
Local Congress members Scott Peters and Mike Levin have already endorsed the challenger.
From the Escondido Grapevine:
According to Roll Call, Campa-Najjar telegraphed his candidacy in an earlier tweet in which he compared his race to former Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s failed bid to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas. The candidates lost by similar margins.
Hunter represents a political dynasty in the ruby red 50th District — which encompasses suburbs of San Diego — that stretches back nearly four decades. President Donald Trump carried his district by 15 points in 2016, but Hunter outperformed the president that cycle, trouncing his opponent by 27 points.
But his margin of victory narrowed dramatically in 2018 to just 3 points.
Incumbent Duncan Hunter is facing a 60 count indictment alleging he used $250,000 in campaign funds for personal expenses. His trial is scheduled to begin in September.
In the meantime, Hunter is barred from committee work. Should he be convicted congressional rules would forbid him from casting votes, essentially leaving the 50th without congressional representation.
The DCCC spent more than $1 billion supporting Democrats since the 2010 cycle, including $285 million in last November’s Blue Wave general elections.
Hunter is one of two California Republicans — the other is former House intelligence committee chair Rep. Devin Nunes of Tulare — included in the committee’s initial “2020 offensive battlefield.”
From the Times of San Diego:
For his part, Hunter has been rolling out a series of legislative initiatives, including one last week called the “No Funding for Sanctuary Campuses Act.”
The bill seeks to withhold federal funding from any educational institution that “undermines federal immigration law and awards in-state tuition and other public benefits to students who are here illegally.”
Hunter introduced the same bill, then called H.R. 483, in January 2017. It was referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce but went nowhere after that.
The list of DCCC targeted districts includes a major effort in Texas, with six seats considered vulnerable.
AZ-06 — Dave Schweikert
CA-22 — Devin Nunes
CA-50 — Duncan Hunter
CO-03 — Scott Tipton
FL-15 — Ross Spano
FL-18 — Brian Mast
GA-07 — Rob Woodall
IA-04 — Steve King
IL-13 — Rodney Davis
IN-05 – Susan Brooks
KY-06 — Andy Barr
MI-06 — Fred Upton
MN-01 — Jim Hagedorn
MO-02 — Ann Wagner
NC-02 — George Holding
NC-09 — OPEN
NC-13 – Ted Budd
NE-02 — Don Bacon
NY-01 — Lee Zeldin
NY-02 — Peter King
NY-24 — John Katko
NY-27 — Chris Collins
OH-01 — Steve Chabot
PA-01 — Brian Fitzpatrick
PA-10 — Scott Perry
PA-16 – Mike Kelly
TX-10 — Mike McCaul
TX-21 — Chip Roy
TX-22 — Pete Olson
TX-23 — Will Hurd
TX-24 — Kenny Marchant
TX-31 — John Carter
WA-03 — Jaime Herrera Beutler
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It’s a small world...
On the Republican side of the ledger, rumors persist about County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar opting to challenge Democratic incumbent Mike Levin in the 49th rather than run for re-election.
Parke Skelton, the Pasadena-based Democratic consultant who worked Levin’s victorious campaign, has been retained by Terra Lawson-Remer, running for the seat Gaspar currently holds.
Lawson was founding co-chair and chief strategist for the broad-based community effort Flip the 49th! Neighbors in Action, which organized the grassroots campaign in Darrell Issa’s old district.
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Today's distraction:
https://twitter.com/arlenparsa/status/1088805981029523456