California's 50th Congressional District

The boundaries of this district may change as a result of California Proposition 50, which voters will decide on November 5, 2025. Click here to read more about the mid-decade redistricting effort in California and other states.

California's 50th Congressional District

Incumbent

Scott Peters

Assumed office: January 3, 2023

California's 50th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Scott Peters (D).

As of the 2020 Census, California representatives represented an average of 761,091 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 704,566 residents.

Elections

2024

See also: California's 50th Congressional District election, 2024

California's 50th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 top-two primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 50

Incumbent Scott Peters defeated Peter Bono in the general election for U.S. House California District 50 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Scott Peters (D)	64.3	231,836
		Peter Bono (R)	35.7	128,859

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 360,695
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 50

Incumbent Scott Peters and Peter Bono defeated Solomon David Moss and Timothy Bilash in the primary for U.S. House California District 50 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Scott Peters (D)	57.0	97,601
✔		Peter Bono (R)	23.5	40,284
		Solomon David Moss (R)	11.8	20,252
		Timothy Bilash (D)	7.7	13,106

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 171,243
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jerlilia Ryans (D)

2022

See also: California's 50th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 50

Incumbent Scott Peters defeated Corey Gustafson in the general election for U.S. House California District 50 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Scott Peters (D)	62.8	168,816
		Corey Gustafson (R)	37.2	99,819

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 268,635
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 50

Incumbent Scott Peters and Corey Gustafson defeated Kylie Taitano, David Chiddick, and Adam Schindler in the primary for U.S. House California District 50 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Scott Peters (D)	52.3	89,894
✔		Corey Gustafson (R)	29.9	51,312
		Kylie Taitano (D)	9.4	16,065
		David Chiddick (R)	5.4	9,333
		Adam Schindler (Independent)	3.0	5,168

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 171,772
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Mari Barosay (D)
• Joseph Rocha (D)
• Timothy Bilash (D)

2020

See also: California's 50th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 50

Darrell Issa defeated Ammar Campa-Najjar in the general election for U.S. House California District 50 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Darrell Issa (R)	54.0	195,521
		Ammar Campa-Najjar (D)	46.0	166,869

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 362,390
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 50

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House California District 50 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ammar Campa-Najjar (D)	36.5	74,121
✔		Darrell Issa (R)	23.1	47,036
		Carl DeMaio (R)	19.9	40,347
		Brian Jones (R)	10.6	21,495
		Marisa Calderon (D) (Unofficially withdrew)	5.7	11,557
	Submit photo	Nathan Wilkins (R)	2.1	4,276
		Jose Cortes (Peace and Freedom Party of California)	0.9	1,821
		Helen Horvath (Independent)	0.6	1,249
	Submit photo	Henry Ota (Independent)	0.4	908
		Lucinda Jahn (Independent)	0.2	410

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 203,220
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Matt Rahn (R)
• Larry Wilske (R)
• Sam Abed (R)
• Duncan Hunter (R)
• Bill Wells (R)
• Hunter Spears Duncan (R)
• David Edick (Independent)
• Alex Balkin (D)

2018

See also: California's 50th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 50

Incumbent Duncan Hunter defeated Ammar Campa-Najjar in the general election for U.S. House California District 50 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Duncan Hunter (R)	51.7	134,362
		Ammar Campa-Najjar (D)	48.3	125,448

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 259,810
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 50

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House California District 50 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Duncan Hunter (R)	47.4	69,563
✔		Ammar Campa-Najjar (D)	17.6	25,799
		Bill Wells (R)	12.9	18,951
		Josh Butner (D)	12.9	18,944
		Patrick Malloy (D)	5.9	8,607
		Shamus Sayed (R)	2.1	3,079
	Submit photo	Richard Kahle (Independent)	1.2	1,714

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 146,657
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Pierre Beauregard (D)
• Andrew Zelt (R)
• Glenn Jensen (D)
• Gloria Chadwick (D)
• Alex Spilger (D)

2016

See also: California's 50th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Duncan Hunter (R) defeated Patrick Malloy (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Hunter and Malloy defeated Scott Meisterlin (R), David Secor (D), and H. Fuji Shioura (Independent) in the top-two primary on June 7, 2016.

U.S. House, California District 50 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Duncan Hunter Incumbent	63.5%	179,937
	Democratic	Patrick Malloy	36.5%	103,646
Total Votes				283,583
Source: California Secretary of State

U.S. House, California District 50 Primary, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Duncan Hunter Incumbent	56.5%	86,534
	Democratic	Patrick Malloy	21.8%	33,348
	Democratic	David Secor	11.5%	17,590
	Republican	Scott Meisterlin	6.8%	10,458
	Independent	H. Fuji Shioura	3.5%	5,359
Total Votes				153,289
Source: California Secretary of State

2014

See also: California's 50th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 50th Congressional District of California held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Duncan Hunter (R) defeated James Kimber (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 50 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Duncan Hunter Incumbent	71.2%	111,997
	Democratic	James Kimber	28.8%	45,302
Total Votes				157,299
Source: California Secretary of State

2012

See also: California's 50th Congressional District elections, 2012

The 50th Congressional District of California held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. The incumbent from the 52nd District, Duncan Hunter, won election in the district.

U.S. House, California District 50 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Duncan Hunter Incumbent	67.7%	174,838
	Democratic	David Secor	32.3%	83,455
Total Votes				258,293
Source: California Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010
On November 2, 2010, Brian Bilbray won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Francine Busby (D), Miriam Clark (P&F) and Lars Grossmith (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 50 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Brian Bilbray incumbent	56.7%	142,247
	Democratic	Francine Busby	39%	97,818
	Libertarian	Lars Grossmith	2.2%	5,546
	Peace and Freedom	Miriam Clark	2.2%	5,470
Total Votes				251,081

2008
On November 4, 2008, Brian Bilbray won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Nick Leibham (D) and Wayne Dunlap (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 50 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Brian Bilbray incumbent	50.2%	157,502
	Democratic	Nick Leibham	45.2%	141,635
	Libertarian	Wayne Dunlap	4.6%	14,365
Total Votes				313,502

2006
On November 7, 2006, Brian Bilbray won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Francine Busby (D), Paul King (L) and Miriam Clark (P&F) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 50 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Brian Bilbray incumbent	53.1%	118,018
	Democratic	Francine Busby	43.5%	96,612
	Libertarian	Paul King	1.9%	4,119
	Peace and Freedom	Miriam Clark	1.5%	3,353
Total Votes				222,102

2006 special
On June 6, 2006, Brian P. Bilbray won election to the United States House. He defeated three candidates in the special general election.

U.S. House, California District 50 Special election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Brian P. Bilbray	49.6%	78,341
	Democratic	Francine Busby	45%	71,146
	Independent	William Griffith	3.8%	6,027
	Libertarian	Paul King	1.6%	2,519
Total Votes				158,033
Source: Results via California State Board of Elections

2004
On November 2, 2004, Duke Cunningham won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Francine Busby (D), Gary Waayers (G), Diane Templin (American Independent) and Brandon Osborne (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 50 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Duke Cunningham incumbent	58.4%	169,025
	Democratic	Francine Busby	36.5%	105,590
	Green	Gary Waayers	2.2%	6,504
	American Independent	Diane Templin	1.6%	4,723
	Libertarian	Brandon Osborne	1.2%	3,486
Total Votes				289,328

2002
On November 5, 2002, Duke Cunningham won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Del Stewart (D) and Richard Fontanesi (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 50 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Duke Cunningham incumbent	64.3%	111,095
	Democratic	Del Stewart	32.3%	55,855
	Libertarian	Richard Fontanesi	3.3%	5,751
Total Votes				172,701

2000
On November 7, 2000, Bob Filner won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Bob Divine (R), David Willoughby (L) and LeeAnn Kendall (Natural Law) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 50 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bob Filner incumbent	68.3%	95,191
	Republican	Bob Divine	27.6%	38,526
	Libertarian	David Willoughby	2.5%	3,472
	Natural Law	LeeAnn Kendall	1.6%	2,283
Total Votes				139,472

1998
On November 3, 1998, Bob Filner won re-election to the United States House. He ran unopposed in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 50 General Election, 1998
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bob Filner incumbent	100%	77,354
Total Votes				77,354

1996
On November 5, 1996, Bob Filner won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jim Baize (R), Dan Clark (Reform), Earl Shepard (Natural Law) and Philip Zoebisch (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 50 General Election, 1996
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bob Filner incumbent	61.9%	73,200
	Republican	Jim Baize	32.4%	38,351
	Reform	Dan Clark	2.7%	3,253
	Natural Law	Earl Shepard	1.8%	2,138
	Libertarian	Philip Zoebisch	1.2%	1,398
Total Votes				118,340

1994
On November 8, 1994, Bob Filner won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Mary Alice Acevedo (R), Richardo Duenez (L), Guillermo Ramirez (P&F) and Kip Krueger (G) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 50 General Election, 1994
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bob Filner incumbent	56.7%	59,214
	Republican	Mary Alice Acevedo	35.4%	36,955
	Libertarian	Richardo Duenez	3.2%	3,326
	Peace and Freedom	Guillermo Ramirez	2.9%	3,002
	Green	Kip Krueger	1.9%	1,954
Total Votes				104,451

1992
On November 3, 1992, Bob Filner won election to the United States House. He defeated Tony Valencia (R), Barbara Hutchinson (L) and Roger Batchelder (P&F) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 50 General Election, 1992
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bob Filner	56.6%	77,293
	Republican	Tony Valencia	28.9%	39,531
	Libertarian	Barbara Hutchinson	11.3%	15,489
	Peace and Freedom	Roger Batchelder	3.1%	4,250
	N/A	Write-in	0%	63
Total Votes				136,626

Redistricting

2020-2021

See also: Redistricting in California after the 2020 census

The California Citizens Redistricting Commission voted 14-0 in favor of a new congressional district map on December 20, 2021, and delivered those maps to the secretary of state on December 27, 2021. California was apportioned 52 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census, a net loss of one seat compared to apportionment after the 2010 census. This map took effect for California's 2022 congressional elections.

How does redistricting in California work? In California, a non-politician commission draws both congressional and state legislative district lines. Established in 2008 by ballot initiative, the commission comprises 14 members: five Democrats, five Republicans, and four belonging to neither party. A panel of state auditors selects the pool of nominees from which the commissioners are appointed. This pool comprises 20 Democrats, 20 Republicans, and 20 belonging to neither party. The majority and minority leaders of both chambers of the state legislature may each remove two members from each of the aforementioned groups. The first eight commission members are selected at random from the remaining nominees. These first eight comprise three Democrats, three Republicans, and two belonging to neither party. The first eight commissioners appoint the remaining six, which must include two Democrats, two Republicans, and two belonging to neither party.

Commissioners must meet the following requirements in order to serve:

1. Members must have voted in at least two of the last three statewide elections.
2. Members cannot have switched party affiliation for at least five years.
3. "Neither commissioners nor immediate family may have been, within 10 years of appointment, a candidate for federal or state office or member of a party central committee; an officer, employee, or paid consultant to a federal or state candidate or party; a registered lobbyist or paid legislative staff; or a donor of more than $2,000 to an elected candidate."
4. Members cannot be "staff, consultants or contractors for state or federal government" while serving as commissioners. The same prohibition applies to the family of commission members.

In order to approve a redistricting plan, nine of the commission's 14 members must vote for it. These nine must include three Democrats, three Republicans, and three belonging to neither party. Maps drawn by the commission may be overturned by public referendum. In the event that a map is overturned by the public, the California Supreme Court must appoint a group to draw a new map.

The California Constitution requires that districts be contiguous. Further, the state constitution mandates that "to the extent possible, [districts] must ... preserve the geographic integrity of cities, counties, neighborhoods and communities of interest." Districts must also "encourage compactness." State Senate and Assembly districts should be nested within each other where possible.

California District 50
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

California District 50
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

2010-2011

This is the 50th Congressional District of California after the 2001 redistricting process.

See also: Redistricting in California after the 2010 census

In 2011, the California State Legislature re-drew the congressional districts based on updated population information from the 2010 census.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2026

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is D+16. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 16 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made California's 50th the 88th most Democratic district nationally.

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+14. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 14 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made California's 50th the 98th most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have defeated Donald Trump (R) 65.4%-32.2%.

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+14. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 14 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made California's 50th the 96th most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 65.4% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 32.2%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+11. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 11 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made California's 50th Congressional District the 118th most Republican nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.93. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.93 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in California
• California's 50th Congressional District election, 2024
• California's 50th Congressional District election, 2022
• California's 50th Congressional District election, 2020
• California's 50th Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 50

Footnotes

[show]

California's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Alex Padilla (D)

Adam Schiff (D)

Representatives

District 1

Doug LaMalfa (R)

District 2

Jared Huffman (D)

District 3

Kevin Kiley (R)

District 4

Mike Thompson (D)

District 5

Tom McClintock (R)

District 6

Ami Bera (D)

District 7

Doris Matsui (D)

District 8

John Garamendi (D)

District 9

Josh Harder (D)

District 10

Mark DeSaulnier (D)

District 11

Nancy Pelosi (D)

District 12

Lateefah Simon (D)

District 13

Adam Gray (D)

District 14

Eric Swalwell (D)

District 15

Kevin Mullin (D)

District 16

Sam Liccardo (D)

District 17

Ro Khanna (D)

District 18

Zoe Lofgren (D)

District 19

Jimmy Panetta (D)

District 20

Vince Fong (R)

District 21

Jim Costa (D)

District 22

David Valadao (R)

District 23

Jay Obernolte (R)

District 24

Salud Carbajal (D)

District 25

Raul Ruiz (D)

District 26

Julia Brownley (D)

District 27

George Whitesides (D)

District 28

Judy Chu (D)

District 29

Luz Rivas (D)

District 30

Laura Friedman (D)

District 31

Gil Cisneros (D)

District 32

Brad Sherman (D)

District 33

Pete Aguilar (D)

District 34

Jimmy Gomez (D)

District 35

Norma Torres (D)

District 36

Ted Lieu (D)

District 37

Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D)

District 38

Linda Sánchez (D)

District 39

Mark Takano (D)

District 40

Young Kim (R)

District 41

Ken Calvert (R)

District 42

Robert Garcia (D)

District 43

Maxine Waters (D)

District 44

Nanette Barragán (D)

District 45

Derek Tran (D)

District 46

Lou Correa (D)

District 47

Dave Min (D)

District 48

Darrell Issa (R)

District 49

Mike Levin (D)

District 50

Scott Peters (D)

District 51

Sara Jacobs (D)

District 52

Juan Vargas (D)

Democratic Party (45)

Republican Party (9)