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Irwin, Gallucci compete for 26th District seat
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Updated Oct 16, 2026, 2:28 PM ET
Republican · 3 November 2026
Jim Desmond
Member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors from the 5th district (since 2019)
Jim Desmond, a Republican San Diego County supervisor and former mayor of San Marcos, faces Democratic San Diego city councilmember Marni von Wilpert for the open seat in California's 48th congressional district in 2026.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Jim Desmond.
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- Education
- San Diego Flight Schools (pilot's license, 1978 to 1983)
San Diego State University (bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, 1985)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Jim Desmond served in the U.S. Navy as an aircraft electrician from 1974 to 1979 and obtained his pilot's license from San Diego Flight Schools between 1978 and 1983.
He graduated from San Diego State University in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and afterward founded Technical Standards, Inc., a technical writing company.
From 1986 to 2020, Desmond worked as a pilot for Delta Air Lines, flying Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft, and he retired early in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He is married and has two children, and in 2022 he and his wife lived in Oceanside, California.
Career
Desmond's political career began on the San Marcos city council, where he served from 2004 to 2006 before being elected mayor in 2006; he was re-elected in 2010 and 2014 without opposition and held the office until 2018.
That year he ran for the 5th district seat on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, advancing from the June primary with 45.1% and defeating Democrat Michelle Gomez in November with 56.3%.
He won re-election in 2022 over neuroscientist Tiffany Boyd-Hodgson, 60.1% to 39.9%, and served as vice chair of the board from 2020 to 2021.
As a supervisor, Desmond testified in 2024 before the House Committee on Homeland Security about the strain migration placed on county resources, and in April 2025 he wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio seeking intervention in the Tijuana River Valley sewage crisis.
2026 race
Jim Desmond announced in 2025 a challenge to Democratic congressman Mike Levin in California's 49th district, then moved his candidacy to the 48th district in 2026.
The 48th became an open seat when Republican incumbent Darrell Issa announced on March 6, 2026, that he would not seek re-election, and Issa endorsed Desmond.
In the top-two primary, Desmond finished first with 38.90% of the vote, ahead of Democrat Marni von Wilpert, a San Diego city councilmember, with 20.81%, and fellow Republican Kevin Patrick O'Neil, a computer software engineer, with 6.95%.
Desmond and von Wilpert face each other in the general election on November 3, 2026.