Editing Darrell Issa (section)

===Elections===
====2000====
{{See also|United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2000#District 48}}
Nine-term incumbent Republican U.S. Congressman [[Ron Packard]] decided not to run for reelection in 2000, in [[California's 48th congressional district]]. Issa ran for the seat, capitalizing on his name recognition from the 1998 Senate race. The district was primarily based in [[North County (San Diego area)|northern]] [[San Diego County, California|San Diego County]], but had small portions in [[Riverside County, California|Riverside]] and [[Orange County, California|Orange]] counties. Issa finished first in the all-party primary with 35% of the vote, winning a plurality in all three counties; Republican [[California State Senate|state senator]] [[Bill Morrow (California politician)|Bill Morrow]] was second, with 24% of the votes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=456734|title=CA District 48-All-Party Primary Race|date=March 7, 2000|publisher=Our Campaigns|access-date=September 30, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2000_primary/us_rep.pdf|title=2000 California congressional primary results|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070612144846/http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2000_primary/us_rep.pdf|archive-date=June 12, 2007|publisher=sos.ca.gov}}</ref> Issa won the November general election, defeating Democratic nominee Peter Kouvelis 61%–28%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=319|title=CA District 48 Race|date=November 7, 2000 |publisher=Our Campaigns|access-date=September 30, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2000-general/us-rep.pdf|title=House Results|publisher=sos.ca.gov|access-date=September 30, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018054213/http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2000-general/us-rep.pdf|archive-date=October 18, 2012}}</ref>

====2002====
{{See also|United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2002#District 49}}
After redistricting, Issa's district was renumbered the 49th and lost its share of Orange County. Like its predecessor, the district was still overwhelmingly Republican; it had a [[Cook Partisan Voting Index|Cook Partisan Voting Index (PVI)]] of R+10. No Democrat filed against Issa that year. He was reelected, defeating Libertarian nominee Karl Dietrich, 77%–22%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=1140 |title=CA District 49 Race|date=November 5, 2002 |publisher=Our Campaigns|access-date=September 30, 2013}}</ref>

====2004====
{{See also|United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2004#District 49}}
A [[write-in candidate]] from the 2002 election, Mike Byron, became the Democratic challenger in 2004.<ref>Burge, Michael (September 29, 2004). [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/federal/20040929-9999-1mi29cong49.html "Democrat is looking for a big upset over incumbent Issa in 49th District"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051201070351/http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/federal/20040929-9999-1mi29cong49.html |date=December 1, 2005 }}, SignOnSanDiego.com; accessed May 11, 2017.</ref> Issa was reelected to a third term, defeating Byron 63%–35%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=4053|title=CA – District 49 Race |date=November 2, 2004|publisher=Our Campaigns|access-date=September 30, 2013}}</ref>

====2006====
{{See also|United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2006#District 49}}
Issa was reelected to a fourth term, defeating Democratic nominee Jeeni Criscenzo, 63%–33%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=201510|title=CA – District 49 Race|date=November 7, 2006|publisher=Our Campaigns|access-date=September 30, 2013}}</ref> He was one of four [[Middle Eastern American]] members in that Congress.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dBOF8Q685mAC&q=Charles+Boustany+lebanon&pg=PA775|title=Congressional Record, V. 152, Pt. 14, September 2006|date=October 28, 2010 |publisher=Government Printing Office|isbn=9780160867804|access-date=November 12, 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref> He has said that he identified primarily as Lebanese, not as pan-Arab.

====2008====
{{See also|United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2008#District 49}}
Issa was reelected to a fifth term, defeating Democratic nominee Robert Hamilton, 58%–37%. The 21-point margin of victory was the second smallest in Issa's career. He carried San Diego with 60% of the vote and Riverside with 57% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=334952|title=CA District 49 Race|date=November 4, 2008|publisher=Our Campaigns |access-date=September 30, 2013}}</ref>

====2010====
{{See also|United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2010#District 49}}
Issa was reelected to a sixth term, defeating Democratic nominee Howard Katz, 63%–31%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=488395|publisher=Our Campaigns|title=CA – District 49 Race|date=November 2, 2010 |access-date=September 30, 2013}}</ref>

====2012====
{{See also|United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2012#District 49}}
After the 2010 census, Issa's district was renumbered the 49th and made significantly more compact. It lost its share of Riverside County, along with most of its share of San Diego County. It gained a small portion of southern Orange County, including [[San Clemente, California|San Clemente]], [[San Juan Capistrano]], [[Dana Point, California|Dana Point]], and part of [[Laguna Niguel, California|Laguna Niguel]]. The district was more competitive on paper than its predecessor. The old 49th had a PVI of R+10, while the new 49th has a PVI of R+4.

Issa was reelected to a seventh term, defeating Democratic nominee Jerry Tetalman, 58%–42%. The 16-point margin of victory was the smallest in Issa's political career. Issa carried the San Diego portion of his district with 55% of the vote and the Orange County part with 66%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=768471 |access-date=September 30, 2013|publisher=Our Campaigns|title=CA-District 49 Race|date=November 6, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. Congress District 49-Districtwide Results|url=http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/us-congress/district/49|publisher=State of California|date=November 6, 2012|access-date=January 10, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120610020341/http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/us-congress/district/49/|archive-date=June 10, 2012}}</ref>

====2014====
{{See also|United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2014#District 49}}
The June open primary was contested by Issa and two Democrats: Dave Peiser and Noboru Isaga. The top two vote-getters, Issa (62%) and Peiser (28%), advanced to the general election.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sdvote.com/voters/Eng/archive/201406bull.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809153723/http://www.sdvote.com/voters/Eng/archive/201406bull.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 9, 2014 |title=Gubernatorial Primary Election, Tuesday, June 3, 2014|work=San Diego County Registrar of Voters|access-date=December 10, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ocvote.com/data/election-results-archive/|title=Election results archive|work=Orange County Registrar of Voters |access-date=December 10, 2014}}</ref> Issa was elected to an eighth term, 60% to 40%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sdvote.com/voters/results/election.xml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512005709/http://www.sdvote.com/voters/results/election.xml|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 12, 2014|title=Gubernatorial General Election, Tuesday, November 4, 2014|work=San Diego County Registrar of Voters|access-date=December 10, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ocvote.com/fileadmin/live/gen2014/results.htm|title=General Election 2014, November 4, 2014 |work=Orange County Registrar of Voters|access-date=December 10, 2014}}</ref>

====2016====
{{See also|United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2016#District 49}}
In the June open primary, Issa received 51% of the vote to 46% for Democrat [[Doug Applegate (California politician)|Doug Applegate]], a retired Marine colonel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/us-rep/district/49|title=2016 General Election Results - California Secretary of State|access-date=November 12, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112080931/http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/us-rep/district/49|archive-date=November 12, 2016 }}</ref> Issa and Applegate advanced to the general election in November.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/darrell-issa-doug-applegate-viable-challenger|title=Darrell Issa Gets Viable Challenger |publisher=Roll Call|date=June 10, 2016|access-date=August 28, 2016|last=Garcia|first=Eric}}</ref> In October, Applegate and Issa were ranked by the [[Cook Political Report]] as equally likely to win.

Issa sent out a campaign mailer that featured a photograph of President [[Barack Obama]] signing a law. The mailer said that Issa was "very pleased" that Obama signed the [[Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act]], which Issa had co-sponsored.

Unusually, President Obama responded to this late campaign mailer by saying that Issa's "primary contribution to the U.S. Congress has been to obstruct and to waste taxpayer dollars on trumped up investigations that have led nowhere." Obama said that, because of fading support for [[Donald Trump]], Issa was promoting his cooperation with the president although he had previously accused Obama of corruption.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/24/politics/barack-obama-darrell-issa-comments|title=Obama: Issa 'not somebody who is serious about working on problems'|last=Liptak|first=Kevin|date=October 24, 2016|work=[[CNN]]}}</ref>

Issa said, "I've worked with the administration on good legislation where it was possible, called out wrongdoing wherever I saw it and will continue to do so."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-sac-essential-politics-updates-after-getting-ripped-by-president-1477351797-htmlstory.html|title=GOP Rep. Darrell Issa returns fire after President Obama rips his campaign mailer|last=Willon|first=Phil|date=October 24, 2016|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>

On November 23, 2016, Issa held a 3,234-vote lead with approximately 6,000 ballots still uncounted. He declared victory, but Applegate had not conceded.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wisckol|first1=Martin|title=Congressman Issa declares re-election win in 49th district|url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/issa-736346-applegate-campaign.html|access-date=November 23, 2016 |publisher=Orange County Register|date=November 22, 2016}}</ref> The [[Associated Press]] finally declared Issa the winner on November 28, citing a small but convincing lead with only a few votes left to count.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/28/us/politics/darrell-issa-wins-congress-california.html?_r=0|title=Darrell Issa Narrowly Wins Re-election in California|last=Chokshi|first=Niraj|date=November 28, 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=November 29, 2016}}</ref>

====2018====
{{See also|United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2018#District 49}}
Multiple Democrats, including Applegate and environmental attorney [[Mike Levin]], launched campaigns for California's 49th district seat.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Willon|first1=Phil|title=Another Democrat jumps into the 2018 race against Republican Rep. Darrell Issa|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-another-democrat-jumps-into-the-2018-1489003574-htmlstory.html|access-date=January 6, 2018|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=March 8, 2017}}</ref> Given the close margin in 2016, the election was expected to be highly competitive.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bellatoni|first1=Christina|last2=Westfall|first2=Julie|last3=Wisk|first3=Allison|title=California could flip the House, and these 13 races will make the difference|url=https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-pol-ca-california-congressional-race-rankings/ |access-date=January 6, 2018|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=November 20, 2017}}</ref> For months, Issa's Vista office was the site of weekly protests. Hundreds of people gathered to protest against Trump and his agenda and actions. At a May rally, 800 people showed up to protest the House vote to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).<ref>{{cite news |title=Weekly Demonstrations |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/north-county/sd-no-weekly-demonstrations-20170830-story.html |website=San Diego Union-Tribune |date=September 5, 2017 }}</ref> On January 10, 2018, Issa announced that he would not run for reelection.<ref name=retirement/> Democrat Mike Levin won the seat.

====2020====
{{See also|2020 United States House of Representatives elections in California#District 50}}
On September 26, 2019, Issa announced that he was running for [[California's 50th congressional district]] in the [[2020 United States House of Representatives elections in California#District 50|2020 election]].<ref name = launches/><ref name =ktla/> The incumbent at that time was fellow Republican [[Duncan D. Hunter]], who was then under indictment. In December 2019, Hunter pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and resigned from Congress effective January 13, 2020, leaving the seat vacant.<ref name=politicoresign>{{Cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/07/rep-duncan-hunter-resigns-from-congress-095725 |title=Rep. Duncan Hunter resigns from Congress |first=Melanie |last=Zanona |work=[[Politico]]}}</ref>

In redistricting, the 50th district had absorbed much of Issa's former base in the more Republican inland portion of San Diego County. Issa placed second in the March 3, 2020, blanket primary and beat Democratic challenger [[Ammar Campa-Najjar]] by nearly 30,000 votes in the general election. Issa said he could switch districts because he owns his mother's home in [[Bonsall, California|Bonsall]]. He has long lived in [[Vista, California|Vista]], where he has raised his family.