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Q&A: Recapping the wild and weird week for Reps. Darrell Issa and Duncan Hunter

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Political intrigue swirled around San Diego-area Reps. Darrell Issa and Duncan Hunter this past week amid developments that raised questions about their futures. Here’s a recap of what happened and a look at what may be coming next.

Issa, a nine-term congressman, announced he is not running for re-election. Why?

Issa once seemed as safe as any incumbent around, but that changed with Donald Trump. Issa became an early Trump supporter, but that backfired on him and triggered a broad political movement against him in his 49th District. He nearly lost the 2016 election to a little-known Democrat and his outlook was worse this year. Nothing he tried improved his prospects in the 49th, which straddles northern San Diego and southern Orange counties. So he decided not to run again.

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How does that leave the race in the 49th District?

It’s an absolute free-for-all now. A small handful of Democrats already were running, but Issa’s exit changed the dynamic of the campaign. Now several Republicans are contemplating getting in and they don’t have the ties to Trump. Republicans still have a voter-registration advantage, but the 49th has been trending Democratic for some time.

Issa said he wouldn’t run in the 49th District. Is he retiring from Congress?

Actually, he never said that, but that’s what we all assumed. The day after his announcement, The Hill, which covers Congress, reported that sources said Issa was considering running in the neighboring and more solidly Republican 50th Congressional District, which covers east and north inland San Diego County. That speculation has been out there for a while, but it picked up steam with this latest report. Still, such a move would only happen if incumbent Duncan Hunter stepped down.

Why would Hunter do that?

Hunter for months has been under criminal investigation by the FBI for personal use of campaign funds. He’s admitted doing so, but says it was an innocent credit-card mix up and repaid the campaign some $60,000.

So all’s well?

Hardly. The investigation is continuing and may be intensifying. The Union-Tribune’s Morgan Cook this past week reported a federal grand jury has been convened to look into the matter and has issued at least one subpoena. Hunter could get indicted and step down from office as part of a plea deal. He says it won’t come to that and maintains he has done nothing wrong other than make some innocent mistakes.

So what was Hunter’s reaction to the news that Issa was eying his seat?

He said hadn’t heard about it or talked to Issa about it. But he seemed OK with the idea. Here’s how he put it to The Hill:

“If I was to blow up in the air, then he would be running for it. If I was to blow up, then he would run for the seat.

“If I blow up, yes. Why wouldn’t he run for my seat if I was to blow up in the air?”

Did Hunter do anything about it?

He announced he was running for re-election the next day. That seemed to be a given, but all the hubbub apparently made him think that would be a wise thing to do.

What happens next?

The filing deadline to become an official candidate for Congress is in the coming weeks. That should bring clarity to all this.

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