North County’s 49th Congressional District Seat Flipped in 2018. Will That Happen Again?

Speaker 1: 00:00 The 49th congressional district includes San Diego's coastal North County from Del Mar up to Dana point in orange County. It was a hotly contested race two years ago when Democrat Mike Levin rested the house seat from the Republicans. This year 11 is challenged by her Republican brand Marriott, who is hoping the blue wave that swept through the district might recede again here to give us some perspective on the races KPBS reporters. Sherlyna Chatwani Shelina thanks for joining. Speaker 2: 00:25 Hi, glad to be here Speaker 1: 00:27 Back in March and the primary, uh, people said this could be a tight race because Brian Marriott actually started primary night ahead of Levin, but that changed and 11 ultimately won with 60% of the vote. So tell us, what is 11 now campaigning on what accomplishments does he have to show? Speaker 2: 00:44 So in the March primary, it was really interesting because it seemed like there were more registered Republican voters then, and now it's looking like, uh, orange County and San Diego County registrar of voter data shows that there are slightly more democratic voters this time, 38% compared to 36% and about a quarter, our independence. And so that could significantly change things. And when we see that live and ultimately won by 60%, but now it's looking like they're even more democratic voters this time, um, which may reflect him securing the seat, but in terms of what he's campaigning on, um, Levin has really built a lot of his issues around fighting climate change, um, around figuring out a solid waste site for the nuclear waste on Centeno fray. Um, getting it off of the beach and putting it in a federal repository, um, as well as a lengthy history of veterans bills. And he points towards the veterans bills to, uh, show that he is bi-partisan, here's what he has to say about that. Speaker 3: 01:53 Well, I've tried to be a bipartisan leader in Congress, and I think the record speaks for itself. Uh, you know, I sit on three committees, I'm the chairman of a veterans affairs subcommittee where I've helped to introduce 20 bills, bipartisan bills, 12 of which it passed the house four of which have already been signed into law by president Trump, look at my own record and I'm very proud. We've done a very good job in trying to represent our community. Speaker 2: 02:20 And in my interview with Levin, he talks about how they recently just passed another piece of bipartisan veteran legislation, uh, not too long ago. Okay. Speaker 1: 02:28 So he's saying that he's right in the middle. What does Marriott have to say about that? How's he challenging Levin? Where, where does he think he might have some leverage to actually unseat him? Speaker 2: 02:38 It says that, you know, essentially that's not true. Um, he claims that Levin is a very liberal side of the spectrum and that he wants to do things like have public healthcare. He's, here's what he has to say about that. Speaker 3: 02:52 I mean, Mike is a very, very ambitious, progressive he's part of a progressive caucus that has ideas about nationalizing energy sector, our healthcare sector. And that means putting you and your family on a government run plan quickly. I mean, that's their plan and that's not what families want. Speaker 2: 03:08 So Marriott's point here is that voters in the district want a little bit more variety. They want to have options. They want to be able to choose a private health care plan if they want to. And that's actually a huge part of his campaign platform. And so, you know, he thinks with that sort of issue, he could really flip the seat because he thinks that voters want to have those options. Speaker 1: 03:31 So now in terms of San and freight, does Marriott have anything to say about the dangers of storing nuclear waste on the beach? There Speaker 2: 03:38 Marriott's point is that under a Republican government, things would have happened more quickly, um, that Levin hasn't used the issue in and turn it into a bipartisan issue. And that's the reason why we've seen little progress on the moving of nuclear waste into a federal site. And so his retort is essentially that he could be doing more though. Levin has run numerous task force, including including the former chairman of the nuclear regulatory commission to address the issue of nuclear waste. Speaker 1: 04:15 How does president Trump play into this race? Is he an asset or a handicap for Marriott? Speaker 2: 04:20 I asked Maryann about that, um, and about sort of the impression that Republicans might be getting or that Democrats might be getting is either side of the spectrum here, I'm in this race, it has become a very divisive race. And he says that while the president has at times said things that can be very crass, it's coming from a place of having experience with business. He's a businessman and Marianne is also a businessman and he relates to that. And what he says is that he doesn't think it's going to hurt him, but that he will focus more on channeling the business side of his experience into the work that he's doing and leaving the, uh, sort of divisiveness behind him. Speaker 1: 05:13 And then in terms of fundraising, um, Levon has raised half a million, but a Marriott has raised almost 400,000 himself, not a shabby amount. Um, is there a sense that Marriott has quite a bit of financial backing? Well, Speaker 2: 05:30 I'm not, I'm unclear on where he's getting his campaign finances from, but it is evident that he does have ties to the business community. He is a businessman. Um, and so maybe that is giving him some leverage in terms of, uh, being able to, uh, raise funds for his campaign. But ultimately I, I'm not quite sure how much of a difference the, the finances really make at this point in this race, because it is swing district. And so I think it will really mostly depend on voter turnout and that quarter of independence who could go either way at this point. So, and, and I think that Maryon, and both Levin understand that that's the case. Speaker 1: 06:15 Hey, thanks so much, obviously, a race worth watching Shalina. Thank you for your insights. Thank you. We've been speaking with KPBS reporter Sherlyna Chet Lani.