Winning for a Latino Navy Veteran in Most Expensive ‘Red to Blue’ House Race in 2018

In 2018, N&P partner Cristina Parrinello led the research efforts for U.S. House candidate Gil Cisneros, a Latino and Navy veteran, in CA-39. N&P supported Cisneros’ campaign through a competitive primary in which six Democrats, seven Republicans, and four independent candidates ran for the seat.

Cisneros advanced to the general election where N&P research revealed that Cisneros’ opponent repeatedly aligned herself with the Trump administration, material that contributed to the campaign’s award-winning digital and mail pieces. Cisneros ultimately won CA-39 by a margin of fewer than 8,000 votes. In total, over $37 million was spent during the race, making CA-39 the most expensive non-special election House race in U.S. history, and flipped Orange County from Red to Blue in an historic sweep for Democrats.