Issa defeats Campa-Najjar in California House race

Rep. Darrell Issa (R) is returning to Capitol Hill to represent California’s 50th Congressional District, after being projected to defeat his Democratic opponent Ammar Campa-Najjar.

Issa will replace former Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), who resigned following a series of legal woes, including the Justice Department charging him with wire fraud, falsifying campaign finances reports, prohibited use of campaign contributions and conspiracy to commit offenses.

Issa previously served in California’s 49th District for more than a decade, which neighbors the 50th. By 2016, he faced a tough path to reelection in what was becoming an increasingly Democratic district, in part because of redistricting. His new district encompasses some of his old stomping grounds.

Issa, the former chairman of the Oversight and Reform Committee, left the House in early January 2019, after choosing not to seek reelection. President Trump had tapped him to lead the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, but the nomination stalled in committee in the Senate. Hunter’s legal woes led Issa to eye a return to Congress.