2002Final results
2002 election for California's 49th District
U.S. House · California
Darrell Issa (R) won with 77.2% of the vote, defeating Karl W. Dietrich (Lib) by 55.3 points.
Darrell IssaRepublican · winner
77.2%94,594
Karl W. DietrichLibertarian
22.0%26,891
Write-ins and other votesOther party
0.8%1,012
122,497 votes
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 2002
Races before and after
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
No independentDarrell Issa
—
Raised by the campaign
$653.2K
—
Spent by the campaign
$366K
—
Cash on hand
$244K
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 2002.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 2002