California House District 48 2026: the ads, and who's paying for them
Marni von Wilpert won · 59.3% to 40.7%, with an estimated 62% of the vote counted · Called by AP on Nov 4
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47 ads analyzed · 23 use a rhetorical technique, most often glittering generalities and loaded language.
The words doing the persuading
From the Desmond side · Paid for by Desmond for Congress“Navy Veteran Jim Desmond spent his life serving our country. Now, he’s running to bring common sense to Congress.”Glittering GeneralitiesSee this ad →
From the Wilpert side · Paid for by DCCC“…what it is – are being forced to leave.
Marni von Wilpert has spent her career fighting back for working families – going after greedy corporations that are making life unaffordable.”Glittering GeneralitiesSee this ad →
Jim Desmond (Republican) and Marni von Wilpert (Democrat) are the nominees for California's 48th congressional district in the November 3, 2026 general election. By their latest FEC reports, Jim Desmond's campaign had raised $3.2 million (through October 14, 2026) and Marni von Wilpert's campaign $5.0 million (through October 14, 2026). Outside groups have reported $311,000 for Jim Desmond and $5.9 million against; $3.0 million for Marni von Wilpert and $1.1 million against. Semblen has analyzed 47 ads in this race; 23 used at least one rhetorical technique, most often glittering generalities and loaded language.
Jim Desmond (REP), Marni von Wilpert (DEM).
10 others filed with the FEC; any ads they ran are below. 47 ads analyzed, 23 with at least one technique in the copy.
Newest first. The paid-for-by line is the advertiser's own filing. Updated 2026-10-30.
Also on every California ballot: 14 statewide ballot measures →The ballot wording and the official arguments, read for rhetorical techniques.
How to vote in California
From California's official election office. Each line links to the official page it came from.
Registration
Register by Mon, Oct 19 (Conditional (same-day) registration Oct 20 - Nov 3). Same-day registration: Conditional registration, provisional ballot, Oct 20 - Nov 3 (passed)Source: sos.ca.gov ↗Source: sos.ca.gov ↗
Early voting in person
Mon, Oct 5 to (Varies by county; VCA vote centers open Oct 24)Source: sos.ca.gov ↗
Checked October 8, 2026. Rules can change; confirm with the official site before you go.
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us
A person reads every report and fixes errors the same day.
Where they stand
From each campaign's own website, summarised in plain English, with a quote where they gave one; under an issue, Senate votes for those who have cast them. Full detail and sources on each profile: Jim Desmond · Marni von Wilpert.
Economy and cost of livingDesmond: stated · Wilpert: stated
Jim Desmond (REP)
Desmond says he wants to make life more affordable by lowering taxes, reducing regulation and curbing rising costs for families and seniors. He also says he would support job growth by backing small businesses and innovation.
“Making life more affordable** by lowering taxes, reducing overregulation, and curbing out-of-control costs that are driving seniors and families out of the state.”
Von Wilpert says she will fight Trump's tariffs and corporations that raise prices, cut red tape to build more affordable housing, and pass the PRO Act to strengthen workers' rights to organize and bargain.
“Marni will cut red tape and make it easier to build more affordable housing to make sure people can live closer to where they work.”
Taxes and government spendingDesmond: stated · Wilpert: stated
Jim Desmond (REP)
Desmond says he wants to lower taxes and reduce overregulation. He also says he would tie federal homelessness dollars to results so tax money is spent wisely.
Von Wilpert says she will repeal Trump's tariffs and oppose cutting education and healthcare funding to pay for wars. She describes herself as a taxpayer watchdog on the City Council who voted against water rate hikes.
Desmond says he would fund treatment-first programs for addiction and mental illness and end the Medicaid rule that blocks funding for larger psychiatric hospitals. He also wants to let doctors and first responders provide involuntary care for people in crisis.
Von Wilpert says she will protect and expand the Affordable Care Act, restore ACA tax credits and add a public option. She also wants Medicare to negotiate drug prices, a cap on out-of-pocket costs, and coverage for dental, hearing, vision and mental health care.
Social Security and MedicareDesmond: no position · Wilpert: stated
Jim Desmond (REP)
No stated position on their website.
Marni von Wilpert (DEM)
Von Wilpert says she will oppose any cuts to or privatization of Social Security and strengthen it for current and future retirees. She also wants to expand Medicare's power to negotiate prescription drug prices.
“oppose any cuts or privatization, and ensure the program is strengthened for current and future retirees”
Immigration and the borderDesmond: stated · Wilpert: stated
Jim Desmond (REP)
Desmond says he wants to secure the border, enforce existing immigration laws against illegal crossings and overstays, and give Border Patrol more tools and training. He also says he would create an online legal application system, streamline legal immigration, and require asylum claims to be filed at U.S. embassies or designated centers abroad.
Von Wilpert says she will work to get masked ICE agents off the streets and oppose Trump's immigration attacks. She supports reform that keeps borders secure and gives long-term residents and Dreamers legal pathways to citizenship.
“meaningful reform that keeps our borders secure and provides legal pathways to citizenship for hardworking long-term residents and Dreamers”
Von Wilpert says she will fight to codify Roe v. Wade into federal law and reverse Trump's cuts to Planned Parenthood. She says she passed a law in San Diego protecting abortion rights.
Energy and climateDesmond: stated · Wilpert: stated
Jim Desmond (REP)
Desmond says he opposes mandates on electric vehicles and costly energy alternatives and wants families to choose their energy sources, from natural gas to renewables. He says he would also support nuclear power, carbon capture and hydrogen, and cut methane emissions from oil and gas production.
“Allow families to choose the energy sources that work best for them, from natural gas to renewables, without unnecessary mandates or penalties.”
Von Wilpert says she will hold polluters accountable, protect the California coast from new offshore oil drilling, and reverse Trump-era rollbacks of environmental protections. She says climate action will lower costs, strengthen energy independence and create jobs.
Von Wilpert says she will push to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require universal background checks, strengthen red flag laws, crack down on gun trafficking, and hold gun manufacturers accountable. She wrote California's first ban on untraceable ghost guns.
Crime and policingDesmond: stated · Wilpert: stated
Jim Desmond (REP)
Desmond says he would address crime, homelessness and mental health challenges head-on. He describes homelessness as a public safety issue and says his plan would make streets safer.
Von Wilpert says she fully funded the police as chair of the City Council's Public Safety Committee, and she has secured resources for first responders and expanded opioid treatment. She has the endorsement of the San Diego Police Officers Association.
Desmond proposes a Vocational Military Education program offering free vocational training, in fields from plumbing to coding and healthcare, to encourage volunteer military service. He says it would help fill skilled-trade and STEM shortages and give a path for people who do not see college as right for them.
Von Wilpert says she will fight Trump Administration attempts to cut education funding to pay for wars. She also says she will defend LGBTQ+ students, fight book bans and defend full Title IX protections.
Foreign policy and defenseDesmond: stated · Wilpert: stated
Jim Desmond (REP)
Desmond says he supports the military and would encourage enlistment by offering free vocational education and training to those who serve. He says the program would help ensure a strong and capable military.
Von Wilpert says she opposes Trump's unauthorized wars and wants to end the Iran War. She says she will support NATO, stand with Ukraine, push for a two-state solution, and restore USAID funding.
Elections and ethics in governmentDesmond: no position · Wilpert: stated
Jim Desmond (REP)
No stated position on their website.
Marni von Wilpert (DEM)
Von Wilpert says she will ban members of Congress from trading stocks and pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the For the People Act. She also wants to overturn Citizens United to get dark money out of elections.
Something wrong or missing? Each profile has an Accurate? button under every issue; a person reads every note.
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Paste a campaign text message you’ve received. Semblen marks the persuasion techniques in its wording and lists the factual claims it makes. Take your name out first: what you paste is analyzed and kept like any text.
Findings
As of 2026-10-30. Counts are of distinct ads; the same text run many times is one ad.
Ads analyzed
47 · started running between 2026-06-29 and 2026-10-27
$127,500–157,682 on all ads, $105,800–127,638 on flagged ads · Meta reports ranges; these are the sums of their ends
Example
“fighting back for working families” — Glittering Generalities, paid for by DCCC
· the flagged ad with the highest reported spend that shows the most common technique
A small box with these findings and the newest ads, updated as new ads are analyzed. Free for newsrooms, blogs and campaigns alike; it links back here.
Follow Marni von Wilpert in office
Marni von Wilpert won. Get what Marni von Wilpert says in office by email, analyzed for rhetorical techniques, once sworn in. And an email if the result changes: a recount or a call reversed. One-click unsubscribe.
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Each side is the campaign plus the groups backing it. How a group is placed is explained below the table.
Side
Ads
With at least one technique
Most common
Desmond (R)
25
12 of 25 (48%)
Loaded Language (6), Glittering Generalities (5), Transfer (3)
All from the campaign; no ads here from groups placed on this side.
Wilpert (D)
14
8 of 14 (57%)
Loaded Language (4), Name Calling (3), Flag-Waving (2)
Wilpert's campaign
12
7 of 12 (58%)
Loaded Language (3), Name Calling (3), Flag-Waving (2)
2 groups backing Wilpert
2
1 of 2
Glittering Generalities (1), Loaded Language (1)
Not placed on a side (4 sponsors)
8
3 of 8
Glittering Generalities (3), Bandwagon Appeal (1)
Read this before comparing the sides. Ads that attack an opponent use these techniques far more often than ads that introduce a candidate, whoever runs them, so the side running more attack ads shows a higher share. A technique is about wording, not about whether an ad is true. These are online ads only (Meta and YouTube), not television.
How a group is placed: by its own filings with the Federal Election Commission. A group is with a candidate when it reported spending to support that candidate, or to oppose the other one in the general election. The parties' own committees are with their nominee. Spending against a candidate in a primary places a group nowhere, and neither does our reading of its ads: a group with no such filing is listed as not placed. The sponsor table gives the reason for each.
Decide what counts
Not everyone would call every technique a problem. Untick the ones you'd call ordinary persuasion and the count updates.
49% of the 47 ads here use at least one of the techniques ticked below (23 ads).
Leaving out the softer ones (loaded language, glittering generalities, slogans, exaggeration, repetition): 30% of ads.
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Money in this race
From FEC filings for 2025–26. Outside spending is money a group spends on its own about a candidate — TV and online ads, mail, canvassing. It is not a donation to the campaign, and the candidate does not control it. Supporting means it was spent to help that candidate win; Opposing means it was spent to defeat them, usually on attack ads. Groups report it within 24 or 48 hours as the election nears. Raised is the campaign's own fundraising, as of its latest quarterly report. Largest donors come from each outside spender's own FEC receipts, with each donor's share of its itemized receipts; donors under $100,000 are not named. People are shown with the employer and occupation they reported. A donor that is itself a political committee is shown with its own largest donors. Companies and nonprofits don't report their funders to the FEC, so the trail ends there, and the page says so.
$3.2M through 2026-10-14individuals $2.4M · PACs $328K · candidate's own money, incl. loans $532 · from the candidate's other committees $401K · cash on hand $718K
HMP— $4.4M opposing DesmondLargest donors:
HOUSE MAJORITY FORWARD $93.7M (39%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); Reid G Hoffman $8.5M (4%), Greylock Partners, Partner; ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FUND $5.0M (2%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); Fred Eychaner $5.0M (2%), Retired; UNITED ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ISSUES FUND $4.8M (2%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC)HEALTH CARE SAVES LIVES— $847K opposing DesmondLargest donors:
SEIU CALIFORNIA STATE COUNCIL FOR WORKING PEOPLE $590K (24%); DIGNITY CA SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION SEIU LOCAL 2015 $403K (17%); PACE OF CALIFORNIA SCHOOL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION - LOCAL, STATE, FEDERAL CANDIDATES $200K (8%); SUPPORTING CHAMBERS FOR SENATE 2024, SPONSORED BY LABOR AND NONPROFIT ENVIRONMENTAL AND HE $138K (6%); COMMITTEE FOR WORKING FAMILIES, SPONSORED BY LABOR ORGANIZATIONS $118K (5%)48TH ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT— $339K opposing DesmondLargest donors:
Stephen English $225K (53%), Retired, Retired; Wendy Munger $200K (47%), Retired, RetiredEQUALITY PAC— $135K opposing DesmondLargest donors:
TORRES VICTORY FUND $2.3M (26%) (its largest donors: ABORN, KARA $5.9M); PETROFF, TIMOTHY $2.2M (25%); EQUALITY PROJECT $1.2M (13%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); EQUALITY COALITION $365K (4%) (its largest donors: PHIFER, BEVERLY $154K); EQUALITY PROJECT PAC $202K (2%)NO GOING BACK PAC INC.— $134K supporting Desmondand 7 more
Bundled through PACs
none reported · FEC bulk data of 2026-11-01
47 PACs gave directly — alphabetical; the legal limit is $5,000 per election
$5.0M through 2026-10-14individuals $3.9M · PACs $803K · party $3,363 · candidate's own money, incl. loans $1,975 · from the candidate's other committees $275K · cash on hand $659K
PROJECT 218— $900K supporting WilpertLargest donors:
DEMOCRACY MATTERS $5.9M (50%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); Keith Behner $250K (2%), Retired; Amos Hostetter $250K (2%), Retired; James Millstein $250K (2%), Millstein & CO., Consultant; Samuel Walton $250K (2%), Restoration Works, ExecutiveSERVING CA— $653K opposing WilpertLargest donors:
Irwin Jacobs $800K (65%), Retired, Retired; SERVANT-LEADER FUND, INC. $250K (20%) (its largest donors: WITH HONOR FUND III, INC. $3.8M; WITH HONOR FUND II, INC. $840K; ARTICLE ONE ACTION FUND $250K, an organization)EQUALITY PAC— $515K supporting WilpertLargest donors:
TORRES VICTORY FUND $2.3M (26%) (its largest donors: ABORN, KARA $5.9M); PETROFF, TIMOTHY $2.2M (25%); EQUALITY PROJECT $1.2M (13%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); EQUALITY COALITION $365K (4%) (its largest donors: PHIFER, BEVERLY $154K); EQUALITY PROJECT PAC $202K (2%)HEALTH CARE SAVES LIVES— $125K opposing Wilpert, $322K supporting WilpertLargest donors:
SEIU CALIFORNIA STATE COUNCIL FOR WORKING PEOPLE $590K (24%); DIGNITY CA SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION SEIU LOCAL 2015 $403K (17%); PACE OF CALIFORNIA SCHOOL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION - LOCAL, STATE, FEDERAL CANDIDATES $200K (8%); SUPPORTING CHAMBERS FOR SENATE 2024, SPONSORED BY LABOR AND NONPROFIT ENVIRONMENTAL AND HE $138K (6%); COMMITTEE FOR WORKING FAMILIES, SPONSORED BY LABOR ORGANIZATIONS $118K (5%)ELECT DEMOCRATIC WOMEN— $390K supporting WilpertLargest donors:
URBANOWICZ, WENDY $1.4M (43%); PRO-CHOICE DEMOCRATS $500K (16%) (its largest donors: DURKIN, THOMAS $191K; ELECT DEMOCRATIC WOMEN $115K); PRO-CHOICE WOMEN $465K (15%) (its largest donors: WILLIAMS, JERRY SR $285K)and 16 more
Paid for by MARNI VON WILPERT FOR CONGRESSfrom 2026-10-233 variantsspend $2,300–2,99750,000–64,997 impressions
Jim Desmond is under investigation for conflict of interest, and he took $144,000 from real estate developers all while our housing costs skyrocket.
Marni von Wilpert prosecuted corporations that cheat working people. She’ll fight the corruption that’s driving up the cost of everything.
no techniques found
Looks up the ad's factual claims in fact-checkers, primary sources and wire reporting. Takes up to a minute.
Marni von Wilpert won. Get what Marni von Wilpert says in office by email, analyzed for rhetorical techniques, once sworn in. And an email if the result changes: a recount or a call reversed. One-click unsubscribe.
Confirming also makes your free Semblen account, with a 14-day Pro trial. No card.
Paid for by DESMOND FOR CONGRESSfrom 2026-10-212 variantsspend $800–99860,000–74,998 impressions
My opponent doesn’t even live in the district she wants to represent. I do. I’ll fight for every single person in the 48th to lower costs and make our community even better, because this is my home.
Glittering Generalities: Vague, emotionally positive promises with no specifics about how costs would be lowered or the community improved. Flagged: “make our community even better, because this is my home”.
Paid for by DESMOND FOR CONGRESSfrom 2026-10-153 variantsspend $1,400–1,69727,000–37,997 impressions
I live here and I raised my family here. As Mayor and Supervisor I delivered on housing, roads, and public safety.
Now I’m asking for the chance to do the same for you in Congress.
no techniques found
Looks up the ad's factual claims in fact-checkers, primary sources and wire reporting. Takes up to a minute.
Paid for by DESMOND FOR CONGRESSfrom 2026-10-153 variantsspend $1,300–1,59778,000–88,997 impressions
I’m not running for a party or a person. I’m running to represent you.
Every vote I take in Congress will come down to one question: is this good for the people back home?
no techniques found
Looks up the ad's factual claims in fact-checkers, primary sources and wire reporting. Takes up to a minute.
Paid for by DESMOND FOR CONGRESSfrom 2026-10-13spend $100–1995,000–5,999 impressions
Hold it, Marni. You didn’t care when we had to go. Now YOU want to go...to congress!?
Our taxes built San Diego’s public restrooms, and Marni von Wilpert voted to lock them up.
I will protect our public spaces and the tax dollars that pay for them.
Paid for by MARNI VON WILPERT FOR CONGRESSfrom 2026-10-122 variantsspend $3,000–3,59860,100–70,998 impressions
ICE agents came for a father outside an elementary school. His daughter ran screaming to him as they took him away. Other kids were left asking if they were citizens themselves.
This isn’t law enforcement. It’s terror against children.
Paid for by MARNI VON WILPERT FOR CONGRESSfrom 2026-10-125 variantsspend $7,600–8,895169,000–195,995 impressions
Trump and the Republicans are raising our premiums and taking away health care from millions of Californians, all to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.
I’ll fight those cuts and fight to lower drug costs.
Card Stacking: Presents a one-sided causal claim that health care cuts exist solely to fund billionaire tax cuts, omitting any other context or counterarguments. Flagged: “all to pay for tax cuts for billionaires”.
Paid for by DESMOND FOR CONGRESSfrom 2026-10-12spend $500–59915,000–19,999 impressions
For over 100 years, parking at Balboa Park was free. My opponent voted to end that, twice. If she’ll charge you to visit a park you already pay for, imagine what she’ll charge you once she gets to Washington.
Appeal to Fear: Invites the audience to imagine worse future charges if the opponent is elected, building anxiety from a single parking decision. Flagged: “imagine what she’ll charge you once she gets to Washington”.
An ad is on this page because its own "Paid for by" line is a campaign in this race; or it comes from a national Senate group and ran mostly in CA; or it ran mostly in CA and names a candidate — unless its sponsor is a campaign for some other office. Ads from outside groups appear alongside the campaigns' own.
Campaigns run one text as many separate ads. Identical text from the same sponsor is one card here, marked with its number of variants.
A technique is a specific rhetorical move in the wording, found by our model and explained in one line. It is not a claim that the ad is false.
Claims are checked when a reader asks: press "Check this ad's claims" on a card. Running a check and seeing its verdicts are part of Semblen Pro, because each check costs money to run; anyone can see which claims an ad makes. The ten ads with the most money behind them in each race are checked ahead of time.
Claim verdicts say what the cited sources say. A verdict that an ad is wrong or misleading is shown only when it cites an established fact-checker or an institutional record — Congress, a federal agency, a court — and its confidence is not low; a weaker one is not shown at all. Each verdict shows what it rests on and how confident it is. If we got one wrong, press Disagree: a verdict that readers dispute and no one defends comes down.
Video ads come from the campaigns' own YouTube channels; the transcript is analyzed. Meta ads are analyzed on their text; their video and images are not, yet.