If you're seeking an example of Donald Trump's potentially damaging effect on down-ballot elections, look no further than the 49th District in California, a region that includes parts of San Diego, Orange County, and Camp Pendleton. For over a decade, California's 49th has been a deeply red spot in the liberal state, represented by eight-term congressman Darrell Issa, who hasn't needed to mount an election campaign since he first took office in 2000.
This year, though, Cook Political Report has redefined the district as a "toss up," with a very real threat coming from Democrat Doug Applegate.
Applegate, a former Marine, has used Issa's support of Donald Trump to turn the district's many military members against him. "I knew this was a Marine district," Applegate said in an interview with The Washington Post. "I knew one thing the Democrats never have tried is to run a Marine. And I know that in the military, if you say anything that's racist or misogynistic, 9 out of 10 times you'll be disciplined for it."
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Applegate also owes his unexpected support to a wave of Democratic registrations that followed Bernie Sanders' passionate campaign, as well as Latino backlash against Trump. "The Democrats are on the right side of the issues, but we'd never found a way to compel them to vote in great numbers," San Diego's Democratic Party chair Francine Busby said. "I knew we needed Latino organizers to make it work, and now that's happened. They're frightened about Trump."
As Politico points out, Issa "isn't the only House Republican on the cusp of losing in California thanks, at least in part, to Donald Trump's down-ballot drag." Reps. Jeff Denham, David Valadao, and Steve Knight have also found themselves struggling against top-of-the-ticket backlash.
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