Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Bonsall), shown at a House Judiciary Committee hearing in 2025, has opted against seeking reelection in a new Democratic-leaning district. Veteran Republican Rep. Darrell Issa announced Friday that he will not run for reelection in his newly configured congressional district in San Diego and Riverside counties. Desmond had been running in a neighboring congressional district that straddles Orange and San Diego counties that is currently represented by Rep. Mike Levin (D-San Juan Capistrano). Desmond withdrew from that race and filed to run in Issa’s district on Thursday, according to the San Diego County registrar of voters. As soon as the new districts were approved, speculation began swirling about Issa‘s reelection plans.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 07, 2026 01:09 UTC