President Donald Trump jumped into one of San Diego’s local races on Tuesday, endorsing Jim Desmond’s bid for the redrawn 48th Congressional District.
In a post to the Truth social media platform, Trump said that Desmond, who is currently on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors representing District 5 in North and East County, has his “complete and total endorsement.”
“As your next Congressman, Jim will fight hard to Grow our Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Champion American Energy DOMINANCE, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Keep our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment,” Trump posted, in part, on Tuesday afternoon.
For his part, Desmond posted to social media that he welcomed the endorsement.
“Thank you, Mr. President,” Desmond tweeted. “We’re going to win this race, bring common sense back to California and make this state affordable for working families again. The people deserve nothing less.”
Other candidates for the 48th include Ammar Campa-Najjar, who has previously run failed bids for a congressional seat against Darrell Issa and for the mayor of Chula Vista; San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, and state Board of Equalization member Mike Schaefer.
Also on Tuesday, House Republican leaders Mike Johnson, Steve Scalise and others also endorsed Desmond.
For his part, Campa-Najjar posted in response that same day after Johnson’s tweet, “Kiss of death. It’s like Republicans want Democrats to win back the House,” and, earlier in the day, had this to say regarding Trump’s endorsement: “#CA48 needs a leader, not a puppet. We ran Darrell Issa out of #CA48 and together we will flip this seat blue!”
Von Wilpert tweeted, “Jim Desmond’s only priority is impressing Trump, not fighting for the working families of #CA48. We’re going to beat MAGA Jim and stop Trump’s chaos in November.”
The district in question encompasses the central and eastern parts of San Diego County and part of southwestern Riverside County, including the communities of Alpine, Bonsall, Borrego Springs, portions of El Cajon, Campo, Escondido, Fallbrook, Lakeside, Murrieta, Poway, Ramona, Rancho San Diego, San Marcos, Santee, Temecula, Valley Center, the mountain and desert areas of the San Diego- Imperial County line, and most of the San Diego-Mexico international border.
Prior to the state redrawing the district boundaries this year, many of its constituents were represented by Issa, who announced on March 6, the same day Desmond threw his hat in the ring for the 48th, that he was withdrawing from the race.
California voters passed Proposition 50 — also known as the Election Rigging Response Act — in an effort to negate the Texas legislature’s effort to flip five congressional districts to the GOP side through a redrawn map.