U.S. House · California's 48th District

North San Diego County, including Escondido, San Marcos and surrounding communities. Redrawn under Proposition 50 (approved November 2025); the old district voted 56%-41% for Donald Trump in 2024, while the new lines would have favored Kamala Harris 50%-47%, an 18-point shift toward Democrats.

General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

✓ Fact-checked 2026-09-25: 20 claims re-checked against their sources

A second, independent research pass re-opened every cited source for this race and corrected or removed anything the source didn’t support.

On the ballot · 2 candidates

Where they stand — side by side

Only positions documented in a cited source are shown. Where an officeholder’s recorded votes speak to an issue, the votes set the position (marked “votes”). A dash means we found no clear public position — not that the candidate has none.

ISSUEMarni von Wilpert
D
Jim Desmond
R
Expand immigration enforcement and deportationsMixed[2]—
Expand public health coverageSupports[2]—
Broad tariffs on imported goodsOpposes[2]—

The candidates, in full

Marni von Wilpert

DSan Diego City Council member, District 5 (since 2020)

Advanced from the June 2, 2026 top-two primary, one of nine Democratic candidates who together took 51% of the primary vote.

Marni von Wilpert is the Democratic candidate for the open 48th District seat. She is a member of the San Diego City Council representing District 5 and previously worked as a labor attorney in the Obama administration and as a San Diego deputy city attorney.[1]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

Positions on the issues

  • SupportsExpand public health coverage

    Says she will fight to protect and expand the Affordable Care Act, restore ACA tax credits, and add a public option, while expanding Medicare's power to negotiate prescription drug prices.[2]

  • MixedExpand immigration enforcement and deportations

    Says she opposes ICE tactics she calls unconstitutional overreach while supporting measures that keep borders secure and provide legal pathways to citizenship for long-term residents and Dreamers.[2]

  • OpposesBroad tariffs on imported goods

    Says she will fight against what she calls Donald Trump's tariff war, which she says has made essential goods more expensive.[2]

In their words — priorities

  • Opposing ICE enforcement tactics she describes as overreach, while supporting border security and legal pathways to citizenship.[2]
  • Protecting the Affordable Care Act and Social Security, and expanding Medicare's power to negotiate drug prices.[2]
  • Banning members of Congress from stock trading and opposing the influence of corporate donors in politics.[2]

Background

  • Has served on the San Diego City Council representing District 5 since December 2020.[1]
  • Worked as a deputy city attorney for San Diego, where her campaign says she took on the opioid industry over harm caused to communities.[2]
  • Worked as a labor attorney in the Obama administration, according to her campaign; her father is an immigrant who served in the U.S. Army.[2]

Campaign money

Raised $2.2M · spent $1.3M · $825K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Jim Desmond

RSan Diego County Supervisor, District 5

Advanced from the June 2, 2026 top-two primary as the leading Republican candidate.

Jim Desmond is the Republican candidate for the open 48th District seat. He is a San Diego County supervisor and U.S. Navy veteran.[3]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

In their words — priorities

  • Lowering the cost of living in California by cutting taxes, reducing regulation and easing insurance and energy costs.[4]
  • Addressing homelessness through treatment-first programs for addiction and mental illness rather than temporary shelters alone.[4]

Background

  • Born in Illinois; served in the U.S. Navy and earned a bachelor's degree from San Diego State University.[3]
  • Serves as a San Diego County supervisor.[1]

Campaign money

Raised $2.3M · spent $1.0M · $1.2M cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Research notes & limits

Basic-tier research from Ballotpedia and campaign-site material. Both candidates are non-incumbents for this open seat, so no key-votes/FEC augmentation applies to prior House service; Jim Desmond's current-office details beyond county supervisor were not further verified.

Sources · 4

Researched 2026-09-25. Green citations are official government records.

  1. 1.Marni von Wilpert · Ballotpedia Reference
  2. 2.Marni von Wilpert campaign website, quoted on Ballotpedia · Marni von Wilpert for Congress (via Ballotpedia) Candidate's own words
  3. 3.Jim Desmond · Ballotpedia Reference
  4. 4.Jim Desmond campaign website, quoted on Ballotpedia · Jim Desmond for Congress (via Ballotpedia) Candidate's own words