Marni von Wilpert (CA-48)

Red to Blue Candidates

Marni von Wilpert is an attorney, San Diego City Councilmember, and Democratic nominee running for Congress in California's 48th Congressional District. Born and raised in a military family in North San Diego County — her father immigrated to the United States and served in the Army — von Wilpert later served in the Peace Corps in Botswana during the AIDS epidemic. She later founded a legal clinic in the Deep South to combat discrimination and served as counsel on the House Education and Labor Committee, where she helped write the PRO Act to strengthen workers' rights. Back in San Diego, she prosecuted polluters and the opioid industry as a civil prosecutor before winning a seat on the City Council, where she authored California's first ban on untraceable ghost guns and launched affordable housing grants for teachers.

CA-48 is an open seat — Republican incumbent Darrell Issa is retiring — in a district redrawn by California's 2025 redistricting initiative to now have more registered Democrats than Republicans. Von Wilpert faces Republican County Supervisor Jim Desmond in November. Flipping CA-48 is essential to winning back a Democratic House majority in 2026.

If you'd like to support Marni's campaign, you can do so at this link.