Early Call! Republican Admits Jewish Democrat Will Grab His Southern California Seat
Darrell Issa announced Tuesday morning on Fox News that the race to replace him would be won by the Democratic challenger, Mike Levin. Issa represents California’s 49th Congressional district, which covers a long coastal stretch between San Diego and Long Beach. Diane L. Harkey is the Republican running to replace him.
“My district was never in play this cycle. And so it was never funded and quite frankly we know the results already and there will be a Democrat representing La Jolla to Solana Beach for the first time in a number of years,” he said in a live interview.
Retiring Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) makes an early call: “It will be a Democrat representing La Jolla to Solana Beach for the first time in a number of years.” pic.twitter.com/uJkILd0sFq
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) November 6, 2018
Issa announced his retirement in January of this year, ending an 18-year career in the U.S. House of Representatives.
FiveThirtyEight has predicted that Levin will has a 29 in 30 chance of winning the seat in Tuesday’s elections.
“I have to remind people I took that part of the district from a Democrat and someday it will be taken back,” Issa said. “For now California is leaning very hard to the left.”
Shortly after Issa spoke on Fox, Levin wrote on Twitter, “Take nothing for granted.”
Take nothing for granted. GET OUT THE VOTE! #FlipThe49th #TakeItBack
— Mike Levin (@MikeLevinCA) November 6, 2018
EXPLORE ALL THE RACES WITH JEWISH CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES IN OUR INTERACTIVE MAP
Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30