Last year's campaign was fiery-- and so will this cycle's beDuncan Hunter, a far right congressman from the reddest southern congressional district was one of the first two Republicans in Congress to have endorsed Trump. Like the other one, Chris Collins of New York, Hunter was indicted and arrested on dozens of financial fraud charges, including wire fraud, falsifying records, campaign finance violations, and conspiracy. The crux though is that he stole at least $200,000 from his campaign funds and used them for personal expenses including a series of prostitutes and extranmarital affairs. His wife has already plead guilty and has been cooperating with Hunter, who is out on bail. He was hoping to be reelected so that he could use his status as a congressman in a plea deal for a lighter sentence. It doesn't look like he's going get beyond the primary though.Carl DeMaio had a convincing FEC quarter-- $1,569,929, of which he spent $204,059, leaving $1,205,456. That's a lot more than Duncan Hunter's entire haul for the cycle-- $588,297.97-- and a lot more than Hunter has in his campaign account-- $289,487. State Sen Brian Jones has filed and neither has Darrell Issa, who is independently wealthy and can put as much as he needs into his campaign. When Issa ended his 2018 run he still had an enormous $3,750,024 in his campaign coffers. On the Democratic side, Ammar Campa-Najjar raised another $580,543 in the third quarter and has $852,762 in his war-chest.Tuesday, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the San Diego Republican Party had decided not to endorse Hunter for another term. An endorsement takes a two-thirds majority and none of the candidates came close:
• Carl DeMaio- 21• Brian Jones- 14• Hunter- 14• Darrell Issa- 0
It's the first time in his political career that Duncan Hunter, Jr. didn't get the Republican Party's nomination.
Hunter faces three, high-profile Republican opponents and is preparing for a federal trial on charges of campaign finance violations.The bi-monthly Republican meeting featured a town hall forum, providing a rare occasion where all four candidates appeared at the same event.Republican Party Chairman Tony Krvaric moderated the debate, which included opening and closing statements, and he posed five questions to each of the four candidates.Much of the night centered around Republican unity, with Krvaric reminding candidates several times to “stay positive” and focus on the issues.“I will not tolerate any beating up of a Republican candidate,” Krvaric said. “To the candidates, we want to hear what makes you different... Do not throw mud at your fellow Republicans in the room.”The 50th District covers a swath of the county east and north of San Diego, a region previously considered one of California’s most reliably red seats that has shown a strong loyalty to the Hunter name for decades. Hunter is in his sixth two-year term and his father, Duncan L. Hunter Sr., served from 1981 to 2009.“I’ve been fighting for you for 11 years,” Hunter said to the crowd. “You know where I stand on the issues.”But Hunter now is considered a vulnerable incumbent. He was victorious against his Democratic opponent, Ammar Campa-Najjar, by fewer than 9,000 votes last year-- about 10 weeks after a federal indictment accused him and his wife of illegally spending more than $250,000 in campaign funds on personal expenses. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting a trial scheduled for January, weeks before the March primary.Hunter said he’s ready for the battle.Even when federal prosecutors “indicted me months before my election and tried to steal my seat, I still won,” he said. “I’m not going to move somewhere and fight for the easy seat... As a United State Marine, what we do is we stand and we fight.”According to a recent poll, Hunter trails his Republican opponents, with 11 percent of the vote. All four candidates face an uphill climb against Campa-Najjar, who leads the poll with 31 percent.DeMaio used questions from the forum to highlight many of his five-step plans for the country. He received applause and cheers for his ideas on immigration and supporting President Donald Trump’s agenda.“We had 39 Republicans cut and run last year,” DeMaio said. “The president needs an entire team who will stand with him and fight, and that is exactly what I plan to do.”As the host of a daily news and politics radio show, DeMaio already had a platform to advertise his candidacy and a built-in fan base, though it’s unclear how much of that fan base is based in the 50th District. The poll, conducted by SurveyUSA for the Union-Tribune and 10News, shows him leading the GOP candidates with 20 percent.A crowd of DeMaio supporters lined the parking lot entrance of the hotel, donning “Make America Great Again” hats and waving DeMaio signs at passing cars.“The energy and enthusiasm of the grass roots movement behind my campaign is undeniable,” DeMaio said.Issa, a nine-term congressman who represented northern San Diego County for nearly two decades, announced in September his bid for the seat, just after his confirmation to a Trump Administration trade position was stalled by Senate Democrats.The former congressman does not live in the district, which his opponents were quick to point out, but experts say he has the experience and network to target Hunter’s district.“I’m not running because this is an easy seat. I’m running because I’m concerned about it,” Issa said. “If Duncan Hunter is able to, quite frankly, survive what he’s facing, then we can have a whole different discussion. But if not, you need a conservative on day one that will do the job.”Issa was the wealthiest member of Congress during his tenure, with an estimated net worth of $283 million, according to financial disclosure forms he filed while in office. The poll shows him holding 16 percent of the vote.He appealed directly to the delegates in his closing statement, cautioning them to weigh their endorsement choice carefully.“You have a seated U.S. congressman who has a stellar voting record. You have a state senator who hasn’t done anything wrong... If the delegates tonight endorse any one of us, they endorse against three of us,” Issa said. “Do you want to really say that Duncan Hunter needs to go?”It’s unclear if Issa’s plea had an effect on the final vote. The former congressman left before giving his final 10-minute statement to committee members....Besides Hunter, Jones is the only GOP candidate who lives within the 50th District, a point he stressed several times during the debate. He served on Santee City Council before moving on to the Assembly and then State Senate this year.He received the most support from the crowd when speaking about gun rights and abortion.Ending the Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade is “one of the most important issues to save America and make it great again,” Jones said.
Last cycle, the race was incredibly close, especially for a district where Trump had beaten Hillary 54.6% to 39.6%.
