Marni von Wilpert (D) – CA-48 House 2026

About

Marni von Wilpert is a San Diego City Councilmember representing District 5, an attorney, and a former NLRB attorney who helped draft the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. A former prosecutor, workers' rights attorney, federal law clerk, and Peace Corps volunteer in Botswana, she campaigns on protecting abortion rights, lowering costs, opposing President Trump's agenda, and cleaning up corruption. In the fall of 2026 she campaigned with Sen. Adam Schiff and former Vice President Kamala Harris, who visited San Diego to support her bid.

Biography sources 8

Positions on Key Issues

Positions of Marni von Wilpert on key issues
Issue	Stance	Sources
Abortion & Reproductive Health	Defend reproductive freedom and codify Roe v. Wade into federal law. Protect access to abortion and related reproductive health care, support Planned Parenthood, and ensure patients’ medical decisions remain between patients and their doctors, not politicians.	Issues - Marni von Wilpert for Congress
Tech & AI	Promote American Innovation: The United States should lead the world in cutting-edge, trustworthy innovation that works for working people. America should be a global leader in emerging technologies while ensuring that advancements expand access to the financial system, bolster public trust, and allow workers, families, and small businesses to benefit from the economy of the future. Marni supports legislation like the CLARITY Act, the GENIUS Act, and similar efforts that provide regulatory clarity for the safe development of emerging technologies that are essential to growing the American economy.	Issues - Marni von Wilpert
Civil Rights & Equality	Marni von Wilpert will defend civil rights and LGBTQ+ equality by supporting the federal Equality Act to guarantee nondiscrimination nationwide, defending full Title IX protections, and opposing bans on gender-affirming care and LGBTQ+ books. She will lead efforts to end conversion therapy and protect LGBTQ+ families and parental rights.	Issues - Marni von Wilpert for Congress LGBTQ+ Victory Fund Endorses Marni von Wilpert for Congress in CA-48
Healthcare	Marni von Wilpert will protect and expand the Affordable Care Act, restore ACA tax credits, and include a public option to lower costs. She will expand coverage to dental, hearing, vision, and mental health care, and empower Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices to reduce out-of-pocket costs.	Issues — Marni von Wilpert for Congress
Economy	Marni von Wilpert will raise wages and lower costs for working families by opposing tariff-driven price increases, cracking down on wage theft, and supporting strong worker protections such as the PRO Act. She will also tackle the housing crisis by cutting red tape, expanding affordable housing, and providing down payment assistance for teachers to help families live closer to work.	Issues — Marni von Wilpert for Congress
Foreign Policy	Marni von Wilpert believes America should lead through multilateral diplomacy, restore alliances, and oppose unauthorized wars; she supports Ukraine and NATO, a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and sustained investment in global health through programs like PEPFAR and USAID.	Issues - Marni von Wilpert for Congress Our interview with Marni Von Wilpert, candidate for 48th Congressional District KPBS: California's 48th Congressional District race: Marni Von Wilpert
Firearms & Second Amendment	Marni supports comprehensive federal gun safety reforms to reduce gun violence, including universal background checks, banning ghost guns and high-capacity magazines, closing private-sale and trafficking loopholes, strengthening red-flag laws, and holding gun manufacturers and dealers accountable for products and practices that enable harm.	Issues - Marni von Wilpert for Congress San Diego Bans 'Ghost Guns' - NBC San Diego San Diego to consider an ordinance barring ghost guns
Immigration	Marni von Wilpert supports meaningful immigration reform that keeps borders secure while providing legal pathways to citizenship for long-term residents and Dreamers who grew up in the United States. In Congress, she will work to remove ICE's aggressive tactics and protect immigrant communities from government overreach.	Issues — Immigration
Climate/Energy	Climate change is an urgent threat, and we must act to put the environment ahead of corporate polluters. Marni will hold polluters accountable, protect coastal waters from offshore drilling, reverse Trump-era rollbacks on environmental protections, and pursue a climate-friendly energy plan that lowers costs for working families, strengthens energy independence, and creates good-paying jobs.	Issues - Climate/Energy
Election Policy	Marni will defend democracy by supporting federal voting rights protections, including the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the For the People Act, to protect free and fair elections, expand ballot access, and overturn Citizens United to remove dark money from our elections.	Issues - Marni von Wilpert for Congress
Local Issues	Marni will tackle the local housing crisis by cutting red tape to make it easier to build more affordable housing, including providing down payment grants for local teachers and working families, and crack down on wage theft to ensure workers are protected and paid what they are owed.	Issues - Local Issues (Housing, wage theft, housing) Housing & Economy section on Issues page
Education	Marni von Wilpert supports increasing funding for public schools and making them safe, supportive learning environments for all students, and has advocated for free tuition at public colleges. As a San Diego City Councilmember she created a first-of-its-kind teacher down payment grant program to help educators afford homes in the districts where they teach, and she has been endorsed by the California Teachers Association, the National Education Association, and the California School Employees Association.	Issues - Marni von Wilpert for Congress Our interview with Marni Von Wilpert, candidate for 48th Congressional District - East County Magazine Endorsements - Marni von Wilpert for Congress

Review an issue

Abortion & Reproductive Health

Defend reproductive freedom and codify Roe v. Wade into federal law. Protect access to abortion and related reproductive health care, support Planned Parenthood, and ensure patients’ medical decisions remain between patients and their doctors, not politicians.

Sources:

Issues - Marni von Wilpert for Congress

Choose another issue above to review the remaining researched positions.

Background

Career History

San Diego City Councilmember, District 5 2020 – Present

City of San Diego

Elected in 2020, reelected unopposed in 2024. Serves on the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority board.

Deputy City Attorney 2018 – 2020

San Diego City Attorney's Office

Prosecuted cases including environmental and consumer protection matters.

Associate Labor Counsel 2017 – 2018

Economic Policy Institute

Worked on workers' rights and labor policy issues.

Attorney and Detail Staffer

National Labor Relations Board / U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor

Served as an NLRB attorney and later as a detail staffer and advisor to Chairman Bobby Scott.

Law Clerk

United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi

Clerked for Judge James E. Graves Jr.

Peace Corps Volunteer

Peace Corps

Served in Botswana during the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Education

Fordham University School of Law Juris Doctor in Law

University of California, Berkeley Bachelor of Arts in Peace and Conflict Studies

Top Donors

Von Wilpert outraised Republican Jim Desmond by more than 3-to-1 in the filing period ending June 30, 2026, bringing in about $871,000 compared to his roughly $272,000, though she held about $825,000 in cash on hand. Her campaign is backed by EMILYs List, the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC (DMFI), major labor unions, and the DCCC's Red to Blue program, and she was endorsed by former U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer.

Sources

These California Republicans have one advantage in the race for Congress: Money - CalMatters VON WILPERT, MARNI - Candidate overview - FEC EMILYs List Endorses Marni von Wilpert Super PAC War Erupts in Race to Replace Darrell Issa - Legis1 Endorsements - Marni von Wilpert for Congress (lists Barbara Boxer endorsement)

Voting Record

Has not held state or federal legislative office. As a San Diego City Councilmember (District 5) since 2020, she voted to roll back generous ADU (accessory dwelling unit) incentives in a 5-4 vote in June 2025, supported a resolution opposing excessive ICE tactics, and voted for infrastructure investment and cost-of-living measures. Her governing record is considered moderate-to-progressive, focused on housing, public safety, and tenant protections.

Sources

View full voting record

About this research

Data compiled from public sources and analyzed using AI. Last updated October 10, 2026. Visit candidate websites for the most current information.