The 49th Congressional District race has been in the national spotlight as a battleground district after newly redrawn boundaries made the voter makeup in the district extremely close, with 36% registered Democrats and 33% registered Republicans.
The 49th is a coastal district spanning from Dana Point to Del Mar, but the new boundaries caused the 49th to lose La Jolla and gain the Orange County city of Laguna Niguel. Now, the makeup of the district means incumbent Democratic candidate Mike Levin could be facing a challenge courting new voters.
"I’ll let the pundits figure out the politics of all this," Levin said.
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If elected, this would be Levin's third term. He said he's most proud of working toward getting nuclear waste from San Onofre off the coast, beginning the long process of securing the coastline and bluffs in places like Del Mar and Solana Beach, and helping to pass almost 20 bills on behalf of military veterans.
"I think if you just listen to some of the national rhetoric, you would think that very little is getting done in Congress, but the reality is that we now have three and a half years of delivering results and bringing people together for the benefit of this community," Levin said.
Levin's opponent, however, disagrees. He's a familiar face: Republican Brian Maryott, who ran against Levin in 2020 and lost by 6%. A former certified financial planner and mayor of San Juan Capistrano, he said he wants the government to dial back what he feels is outrageous spending.
"We have a number of things that the government has to spend money on, but enough with the heavy, heavy government," Maryott said.
Maryott said his priorities are working to strengthen the American economy:
"The two things that people derive their peace of mind — which is their financial circumstances and their health — are feeling threatened," Maryott said.
