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2026 California District 48 House Election

Darrell Issa (R) — retiring

About this race

The current officeholder is retiring, so the seat will have a new winner. This is a closely divided district where either party can win. Marni von Wilpert, a Democrat, reports $2,004,008 from other pro-Israel groups.

Key issues in California

Major issues facing California, based on 2025–2026 reporting. Compare them with what each candidate says they focus on below.

Candidates & funding

Marni von Wilpert Democrat Nominee

Other pro-Israel PACs $2,004,008no AIPAC-linked record
No AIPAC-linked FEC record. Other pro-Israel PACs: DMFI, JSTREET. Source: FEC via TrackAIPAC.
2026 fundraising (FEC)$2,174,872 raised · $1,349,861 spent · $825,012 cash on hand through Jun 30, 2026
Focus: Fighting Washington corruption and lowering costs for working families across the 48th District

Jim Desmond Republican Nominee

✓ No AIPAC-linked FEC record
2026 fundraising (FEC)$2,258,836 raised · $1,028,804 spent · $1,230,031 cash on hand through Jun 30, 2026
Focus: Common-sense problem solver tackling costs, housing, homelessness, and gridlock for 48th District families

Where the money comes from

FEC campaign finance data through Jun 30, 2026. Campaign dollars, by source.

Marni von Wilpert DJim Desmond R
Raised$2.2M$2.3M
Individuals$1.7M77%$2M90%
PACs & parties$443K20%$145K6%
Self-funded$2K0%$0
Other$45K2%$89K4%
AIPAC-linked*——
Outside spending†——

* AIPAC-linked money is already counted in the rows above — it flags the pro-Israel share, not extra money.

† Independent spending on ads for or against a candidate. It never goes to their campaign.

“Individuals” covers both small-dollar (under $200) and large donors.

Who are the biggest donors?

Every donor ranked by how much they gave, from the candidate’s own FEC filings — individuals, PACs, and party committees all in one list. Expand a candidate to see theirs, then tap any name to learn more about the donor.

Why are so many gifts exactly $10,000? That’s the legal maximum a PAC can give one candidate for the whole cycle — $5,000 for the primary plus $5,000 for the general — so many PACs give the max. Individuals can give up to $3,500 per election.

Marni von Wilpert 1375 donors
FINANCIAL POSITION
Campaign raised$2.2M
Campaign spent$1.3M
Cash on hand$825K
FEC 2026 through 06/30/2026
CANDIDATE-CONTROLLED MONEY
Individuals77%
PACs / committees20%
Self-funding0%
Share of campaign receipts. FEC 2026.
  • PAC$22K
  • PAC$15K
  • PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Labor PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Labor PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Labor PAC$10K
  • Labor PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Individual$8K
  • Individual$8K
  • Membership PAC$8K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Organization$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K

Showing the 50 biggest of 1375 donors. The other 1325 gave $1.4M combined.

Plus $330K from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.

See Marni von Wilpert’s full FEC filings →

Jim Desmond 1452 donors
FINANCIAL POSITION
Campaign raised$2.3M
Campaign spent$1.0M
Cash on hand$1.2M
FEC 2026 through 06/30/2026
CANDIDATE-CONTROLLED MONEY
Individuals90%
PACs / committees6%
Self-funding0%
Share of campaign receipts. FEC 2026.
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$9K
  • Individual$8K
  • PAC$8K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Organization$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K

Showing the 50 biggest of 1452 donors. The other 1402 gave $1.6M combined.

Plus $241K from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.

See Jim Desmond’s full FEC filings →

These figures come from the candidate’s own itemized FEC reports (2026 cycle, through the coverage date above), with amendments applied and refunds netted. Joint fundraising transfers are left out of the ranking: they’re pass-throughs, and the individual donations behind them are listed above. Bank interest, vendor refunds, and other non-donation receipts are excluded. Donor names are as reported — the same person can appear twice if their name was recorded differently. Independent spending on ads is never included here — see the Outside spending column.

More California races

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