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Vote for von Wilpert, Levin to end MAGA control of House – San Diego Union-Tribune
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Levin
LevinUpdated Oct 16, 2026, 3:12 PM ET
Democratic · 3 November 2026
Marni von Wilpert
Member of the San Diego City Council from the 5th district (since 2020)
Marni von Wilpert, a Democratic San Diego city councilmember representing the 5th district since 2020, faces Republican county supervisor Jim Desmond for the open seat in California's 48th congressional district in 2026.
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- Born
- December 27, 1982
- Birthplace
- San Diego, California
- Education
- Scripps Ranch High School (2001)
University of California, Berkeley (Bachelor of Arts in peace and conflict studies)
Fordham University School of Law (Juris Doctor)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Marni von Wilpert was born on December 27, 1982, and raised in the Scripps Ranch neighborhood of San Diego. After graduating from Scripps Ranch High School in 2001, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in peace and conflict studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and then served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Botswana during the HIV/AIDS epidemic. She later obtained a Juris Doctor from the Fordham University School of Law.
Career
After law school, von Wilpert founded a legal clinic associated with the Mississippi Center for Justice, clerked for Judge James E. Graves Jr., and worked as an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board.
She also served as a detail staffer on the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, advising committee chair Bobby Scott, joined the Economic Policy Institute as associate labor counsel in 2017, and was a deputy city attorney in San Diego from 2018 to 2020.
In the 2020 city council election, von Wilpert placed first in the primary for District 5 and defeated Joe Leventhal in November, taking office on December 10, 2020. She was re-elected without opposition in the March 5, 2024, primary.
On the council she was appointed to the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority board in 2020 and co-sponsored an ordinance requiring grocery stores that offer digital-only coupons to make the same discounts available in store, which passed unanimously.
2026 race
Marni von Wilpert is running for California's 48th congressional district, an open seat after Republican incumbent Darrell Issa, re-elected in 2024 with 59.3%, announced on March 6, 2026, that he would not run again.
She first filed to run for the 40th State Senate district before switching to the congressional race. In the top-two primary, von Wilpert finished second with 20.81% of the vote, ahead of Democrats Ammar Campa-Najjar, a naval officer, with 10.64%, and Vista councilmember Corinna Contreras.
Republican Jim Desmond, a San Diego County supervisor whom Issa endorsed, placed first with 38.90%. Von Wilpert and Desmond meet in the general election on November 3, 2026.