CA-50: San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Michael Smolens wrote Friday that state Sen. Brian Jones was expected to launch a bid against indicted Rep. Duncan Hunter, a fellow Republican, in “the next week or so.” Jones himself said that Republicans couldn’t take the chance that Hunter could advance past the March top-two primary and lose this conservative seat to Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, and he added that he’d have an announcement in the upcoming week.
Jones is a longtime politician in inland San Diego County. Jones, who had been serving in the Assembly, defeated his Democratic rival 53-47 last year to win an open state Senate seat that Donald Trump had carried 50-44. Jones’ new constituency takes up 87% of the 50th Congressional District, and Smolens writes that the senator “has strong ties to local faith-based organizations.”
However, while Jones says he might run to try and stop Hunter, who is scheduled to stand trial in January for corruption, from making it out of the top-two primary, he may end up helping the embattled congressman by splitting the GOP vote. While he may scare a few local Republican candidates out of the race, Smolens says that former conservative radio host Carl DeMaio isn’t going to defer to Jones.
Smolens adds that, while Jones had been waiting to see whether former 49th District Rep. Darrell Issa would run before making up his own mind, the senator appears ready to run no matter what he ends up doing. Issa had previously suggested that he’d run against Hunter if he wasn’t confirmed as director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency by Nov. 3, and Jones recently said, “It doesn’t make sense for others to wait until Nov. 3.”
Issa’s confirmation hearings were indefinitely delayed on Thursday while the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee waits to see his FBI file, and the former congressman hasn’t said if he’d stick to his early November decision deadline. California’s filing deadline is in December.