Democratic California Rep. Sara Jacobs’ boyfriend lost his third consecutive House bid by a wide margin Tuesday despite being endorsed by a host of sitting lawmakers.
Perennial candidate and former Obama administration official Ammar Campa-Najjar failed to crack 10% of the vote in California’s newly redrawn 48th District and came in a distant third place behind Republican Jim Desmond and Democrat Marni von Wilpert, the Associated Press reported with 58% of the vote counted. Von Wilpert, who will move on to the general election due to California’s top two primary, received more than double Campa-Najjar’s vote share.
Von Wilpert currently serves as a city councilwoman from San Diego, which is not in the district. The seat was drawn to be more Democratic by the gerrymander backed by Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom and approved by voters in November 2025. The district was open due to the retirement of Republican Rep. Darrell Issa.
The loss marks the third time Campa-Najjar has mounted an unsuccessful run for Congress in Southern California — but the first time he failed to advance past the primary. He ran in 2018 and 2020, advancing to the general election both times but losing to Republicans Duncan Hunter and Issa, respectively. He also lost a 2022 bid for mayor in Chula Vista, California.
His girlfriend, Jacobs, is one of the wealthiest people in Congress and spent more than $1 million supporting his campaign, the New York Times reported. Her grandfather is Irwin M. Jacobs, the co-founder of technology giant Qualcomm.
In addition to Jacobs, the candidate received endorsements from a long list of incumbent Democratic representatives including names such as Arizona Rep. Yassamin Ansari, Texas Rep. Greg Casar, Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost, California Reps. Robert Garcia and Ted Lieu and Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal.
Campa-Najjar had accused Von Wilpert of racism and Islamophobia, while she accused him of homophobia, according to the outlet.
While Campa-Najjar has accused others of being racist, he faced scrutiny when a hidden social media post revealed a history of him using racial slurs. He said he did not remember creating the posts, but that they must have come from a place of insecurity, according to the New York Post.
The PAC has endorsed von Wilpert, and the Democratic Majority for Israel spent $2 million against Campa-Najjar, according to the Times of San Diego.
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