Equality California Congratulates Marni von Wilpert on Victory in California’s 48th Congressional District

SAN DIEGO - Equality California, the nation's largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, congratulates San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert on her election to the U.S. House of Representatives in California's 48th Congressional District. By defeating Trump-endorsed Republican Jim Desmond, von Wilpert flips a Republican-held seat and secures a critical victory for LGBTQ+ representation in Congress.

Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang released the following statement:

"Marni von Wilpert's victory delivers a major defeat to Donald Trump's agenda and sends an openly LGBTQ+ civil rights champion to Congress. Voters rejected Trump-endorsed MAGA Republican Jim Desmond and chose a leader who will fight to protect their healthcare, defend their rights and hold this administration accountable.

As a civil rights attorney in Mississippi, she defended people living with HIV facing discrimination in housing, employment and healthcare. On the San Diego City Council, she stood up to efforts to censor LGBTQ+ stories and erase our community from public libraries. She will bring that same courage and determination to Congress to confront the Trump administration's attacks on our rights and freedoms.

The road to taking back the House runs through California, and flipping this seat is a critical part of that work. From Palm Springs to San Diego County, our members and volunteers stepped up, made calls and turned hope into votes. We helped replace anti-equality Republican Darrell Issa with a powerful new voice for equality.

We are proud to have stood with Marni in this fight, and we congratulate her on this hard-earned victory. We look forward to working with her to protect LGBTQ+ people, defend reproductive freedom and ensure that everyone in California has the opportunity to thrive."

In the six weeks leading up to Election Day, Equality California hosted weekly "Marni-mentum" phone banks in partnership with the Human Rights Campaign. The organization also co-hosted LGBTQ+ canvasses in San Marcos alongside the California Democratic Party LGBTQ+ Caucus, the Human Rights Campaign and San Diego Democrats for Equality, reaching more than 1,800 homes.

Equality California Votes, the independent federal super PAC aligned with Equality California, invested $50,000 to support von Wilpert and oppose Desmond.

###