Republicans are overall still expected to have a $650 million advertising advantage over Democrats this cycle, according to the New York Times<\/a>. Yet an avalanche of cash from Republican outside groups is not materializing for Desmond in the final days of the election.<\/p>\n As of Oct. 14, outside groups had spent $588,000 backing Desmond this cycle. The largest tranche of it came only in recent weeks from super PACs controlled by Trump that have spent $397,000 in the race, disclosures show.<\/p>\n Spending from Democratic groups backing von Wilpert dwarfs those totals: Over the same time period, such groups spent $8.1 million backing von Wilpert, according to campaign filings. Her biggest backer is a group called House Majority PAC, which had spent $4.2 million backing her. About a third of that was spent just in the first half of October.<\/p>\n Disclosures by the candidates\u2019 own campaigns also show von Wilpert investing more money in the race than Desmond in the final stretch. From the beginning of July through mid-October, von Wilpert had spent $2.7 million, while Desmond spent $1.4 million.<\/p>\n By the end of that period, Desmond reported having $718,000 in cash on hand. Von Wilpert had $659,000.<\/p>\n Spending by both the national party committees, which can coordinate spending with candidates, were similar to one another. The National Republican Congressional Committee coordinated $1.4 million in spending with Desmond, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee coordinated $1.2 million in spending with von Wilpert.<\/p>\n To Mike Madrid, a longtime GOP consultant in California, the spending totals are a sign Republicans don\u2019t view Desmond\u2019s race as competitive.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they\u2019re just letting it go,\u201d Madrid said.<\/p>\n A different story is playing out elsewhere in California \u2014 in particular in two key congressional races in the Central Valley.<\/p>\n In the state\u2019s 13th Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Adam Gray is facing a challenge from Kevin Lincoln, the Republican former mayor of Stockton. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a leading Republican super PAC, had spent nearly $4.9 million there as of mid-October, according to disclosures<\/a>.<\/p>\n Even more has been spent in the neighboring 22nd Congressional District, where Republican Rep. David Valadao faces a challenge from Randy Villegas, a community college professor backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The same Republican super PAC has spent $6.2 million defending Valadao\u2019s seat, disclosures show.<\/a><\/p>\n The PAC has not reported spending any money in support of Desmond.<\/p>\n Desmond\u2019s campaign did not respond to requests for comment. On Friday, the NRCC said in a statement that Desmond \u201cremains within striking distance\u201d of von Wilpert.<\/p>\n \u201cDemocrats can\u2019t sell Marni von Wilpert\u2019s disastrous record, and they can\u2019t spend enough to bury it,\u201d said NRCC spokesperson Christian Martinez.<\/p>\n Analysts say the dynamics in the race reflect the country\u2019s overall political climate more than any local issues.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem for Republicans nationwide is they\u2019re having to play triage,\u201d said Mason Herron, a Republican political consultant with Edgewater Strategies. \u201cThey\u2019re having to defend a lot more areas than they initially anticipated like six months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n In line with the rest of the country, Trump\u2019s approval ratings in the district have only sunk with time. Earlier this month, 61% of likely voters in the district said they disapprove of the job Trump is doing, up from 55% a month earlier, a San Diego Union-Tribune poll found<\/a>.<\/p>\n The same poll found von Wilpert had only widened her lead over Desmond, with 47% of likely voters saying she had their support \u2014 a 9-point lead, up from 3 points a month earlier.<\/p>\n \u201cYou could look at this as a 50\/50 race,\u201d Herron added. \u201cIn a year where it was an unpopular Democratic president and a Democratic Congress, you might see the inverse happening. But that\u2019s obviously not the situation right now.\u201d<\/p>\n AI ads and appeals to the middle<\/p>\n Given the climate, Desmond and von Wilpert have taken different angles on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n Von Wilpert has sought to tie Desmond to the Trump administration as much as possible. Desmond has mostly kept a wide berth of national politics, and instead attacked von Wilpert\u2019s votes on the City Council.<\/p>\n But Desmond hasn\u2019t disavowed the president, either. In April, Trump endorsed him, and the county supervisor has voiced support for many of Trump\u2019s more divisive policies, including the Iran war, tariffs and ending birthright citizenship.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s recent remarks at a political rally about the possibility of Iran attacking San Diego did prompt criticism from Desmond<\/a>. \u201cNo American family should ever be treated as collateral damage,\u201d he wrote on social media.<\/p>\n Recently, however, the messaging by Desmond\u2019s campaign makes no mention of Trump. Instead, he has focused on his ties to the community, reducing drug costs and banning members of Congress from trading stocks.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve delivered for this community,\u201d Desmond says in a recent social media video<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m going to be responsible for you in Washington, D.C. Not for any politician, but for you.\u201d<\/p>\n Von Wilpert thinks Desmond should still own his support for the Trump administration.<\/p>\n \u201cCalifornia families are struggling, and it\u2019s a direct result of the chaos and corruption coming from Donald Trump, corruption that Jim Desmond stands by,\u201d she said during a news conference last month.<\/p>\n In addition to seeking to energize voters by invoking Trump, von Wilpert\u2019s campaign is also emphasizing her own record as an elected official \u2014 including on public safety, abortion rights and her time in the San Diego Office of the City Attorney, where she worked on litigation against companies such as opioid manufacturers.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve beaten the Republicans, and the powerful special interests who rig the system,\u201d she says in a recent TV ad<\/a>.<\/p>\n Desmond has tried to make von Wilpert\u2019s time on the City Council her biggest liability. To do that, his campaign has deployed multiple social media videos using imagery generated by artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n One video features a horde of AI-generated beachgoers sprinting to the restroom<\/a> and clutching their bladders as they pass a sign reading \u201cSan Diego Beach: Bathrooms Closed.\u201d<\/p>\n The ad is meant to criticize von Wilpert\u2019s vote in support of San Diego\u2019s budget for the current fiscal year, which included closing about half of the public bathrooms in Mission Bay Park. The city later retreated from the closures<\/a>, using short-term funding to keep them open through the end of the year.<\/p>\n![\"On](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SUT-L-D48015.jpg\")
On Oct. 11, 2026, at a rally for volunteers and supporters at Woodland Park in San Marcos, congressional candidate Marni Von Wilpert speaks with supporter Frank Yang of La Jolla, who was there with his teenage son who volunteers with Marni\u2019s campaign. (Charlie Neuman \/ For The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SUT-L-Election-Coverage-Republic-001.jpg\")
San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who is running for Congress in the 48th Congressional District, speaks to supporters during a Republican election night watch party at the U.S. Grant Hotel on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in downtown San Diego. (Luke Johnson \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n