With the primary a week away, a poll released Tuesday shows Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar and Republican Darrell Issa as the favorites to advance to November in the race for the 50th Congressional District.

A San Diego Union-Tribune/10 News poll of 552 likely voters conducted by SurveyUSA shows Campa-Najjar, a business owner and lecturer at San Diego State University, and Issa, a former congressman, leading a crowded field with 35 percent and 21 percent, respectively.

They’re followed by Carl DeMaio, a conservative radio host and former San Diego councilman, who polled at 15 percent and was the only other candidate to register double-digit support.

The poll’s margin of error is 5.2 percentage points.


Twelve percent were undecided about next week’s primary, where the top two vote-getters will advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation.

The 50th District, which includes parts of East County, inland communities in North County and a southern portion of Riverside County, has more registered Republicans than Democrats. Of the likely voters surveyed, 45 percent identified as Republicans and 35 percent identified as Democrats.

The poll, conducted Thursday through Sunday by telephone interviews and electronic surveys, suggests that the repeated negative campaign attacks traded between DeMaio and Issa over the past several months are resonating with voters.

The two have included pointed barbs about each other in TV ads, mailers, and forums, all largely focusing on who is a “true conservative” and the strongest, most ardent supporter of President Donald Trump.


Voters who have a negative opinion of DeMaio have nearly doubled, rising from 22 percent in January to 42 percent in last weekend’s poll. Similarly, voters who have a negative opinion of Issa also climbed in the past month, growing from 29 percent in January to 44 percent this month.

Negative perception of Campa-Najjar has remained relatively flat at 29 percent in the latest poll, up only 1 percentage point from the previous month.

The poll also sought to shed light on the highest priority issues for residents in the district and found that those issues have remained constant.

Voters indicated that “holding the president accountable” was the top priority, slightly ahead of “border security.” Those issues polled at 20 percent and 17 percent respectively.


Other top issues for likely voters included the “character of the candidate” (16 percent), “rallying around the president” (13 percent) and climate change (12 percent).

The survey also found that 48 percent believe undocumented immigrants should be deported back to their native countries, compared to 33 percent who said they should be allowed to stay.

The closeness of the top candidates in the poll reflects how up-for-grabs the 50th Congressional District is, now that it lacks an incumbent.

Former Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, an Alpine Republican who served in Congress since 2009, resigned last month after he pleaded guilty to a felony involving illegal campaign spending. The seat is vacant and will remain so until after the general election.


Voters have already begun returning their mail ballots and will have the option to cast ballots in person at their designated polling location on Tuesday.