Indian American Democratic attorney Anuj Dixit plans to run against Republican Rep. Darrell Issa in California’s 48th Congressional District once new maps are finalized.
Dixit, a voting rights attorney from Riverside County, says his decision is tied to Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed redistricting plan in response to Texas Republicans’ move to redraw House districts at the behest of President Donald Trump to gain five seats.
“Over the next two months, I will fight to pass Governor Newsom’s redistricting plan and then do my part to get rid of whatever MAGA extremist is left in my home of Riverside County,” Dixit posted on X. “When the maps pass, I will run against Darrell Issa in CA-48.”
“As a voting rights attorney, l’ve dedicated my career to protecting free elections, securing fair districts, and ensuring people have a voice in our democracy,” he wrote. “That commitment is rooted in my story as the son of immigrants and the son of a U.S. Air Force veteran, raised on March Air Force Base.”
“It’s what guided me in court as I fought back against the MAGA Republican attempts to silence voters and undermine our democracy for their own gain,” he stated. “I got into this race to make Southern California more affordable for the middle class and to stop corrupt, self-dealing MAGA congressmen who sell out our communities.”
READ: Jasmeet Bains to run for Congress from California (
Maps for new House of Representatives districts going before California voters Nov. 4 are designed to dilute — if not outright erase — Republican voters’ influence in Riverside County by splitting up red cities that form a backbone of support for Republicans Ken Calvert of Corona and Issa of San Diego County.
If approved by voters, Proposition 50, also known as the Election Rigging Response Act, would obliterate Calvert’s purple district, potentially jeopardizing his three-decade run on Capitol Hill. Issa would go from a safe red district to one with a plurality of Democratic voters.
The new maps drawn by Democrats leave existing districts in San Bernardino County and eastern Los Angeles County relatively untouched, letting incumbents of both parties run for safe seats.
California Democratic leaders, who used their supermajority to zip Prop. 50 through the legislature, argue the new maps wouldn’t be needed if Texas’ Republican majority, prompted by Trump, hadn’t redrawn the Lone Star State’s House districts to add more red seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
A resident of the Inland Empire, a metropolitan area centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, Dixit “will make it easier to open a business, find a good-paying job, and help more Americans get ahead in life,” according to his website.
READ: Tech entrepreneur Ethan Agarwal enters California Governor race (
He will lead the charge on going after big businesses that buy elections and dodge taxes and fight to cut middle-class taxes and make California more affordable, it says.
Dixit, according to his website, grew up on March Air Force Base in Riverside County, grounded in the values of service, hard work, and community. “He grew up believing in the American Dream: if you work hard and treat people the right way, you can build a better life. But for too many working and middle-class families here in the Inland Empire, that dream has slipped further and further out of reach.”
“Dixit’s commitment to justice was forged in tragedy. He lost his grandparents, aunt, and cousins in the Pan Am 103 (Lockerbie) bombing, and came of age in the shadow of 9/11,” it says. “Those moments cemented his determination to fight for what’s right and defend the values that bind us together as Americans.”
Off the campaign trail, Dixit helps run his family’s health clinic, which provides essential care to patients in the community, the website states. He a graduate of UCLA and Columbia Law School.