On September 26, 2019, Issa announced that he was running for California's 50th congressional district in the 2020 election. The incumbent was Republican Duncan D. Hunter, then under indictment. In December 2019 Hunter pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, and he resigned from Congress effective January 13, 2020, leaving the seat vacant. The 50th had absorbed much of Issa's former base in heavily Republican inland San Diego County. Issa placed second in the March 3, 2020, blanket primary and ultimately beat Democratic challenger Ammar Campa-Najjar by nearly 30,000 votes. Issa said he could switch districts because he owns his mother's home in Bonsall while living and raising his family in Vista.