Marni von Wilpert had breast cancer. Now she wants to fight for health care in Congress

Marni von Wilpert did not expect a routine mammogram to become part of her campaign story.

But in late spring, the San Diego City Council member learned she had stage 2, grade 1 breast cancer. After surgery, she said, the cancer was gone, her lymph nodes were clear, and she would not need chemotherapy.

“Because we caught it early, my surgery was incredibly successful,” von Wilpert says.

The diagnosis came as the bisexual Democrat was moving from a crowded primary into a House race. Von Wilpert will face Republican Jim Desmond in November for California’s redrawn 48th Congressional District, an open seat being vacated by Republican Rep. Darrell Issa. The district stretches across parts of San Diego and Riverside counties and includes Palm Springs.

Von Wilpert marching at the San Diego Pride Parade on July 18, 2026. Daniel Knighton/Getty Images

She has spent hours in doctors’ offices and waiting for test results, thinking about how different the experience could have been without insurance or access to care.

“I really couldn’t stop thinking about how fortunate I was that I was having access to health care that I could afford,” she says.

That perspective sits at the center of her pitch to voters. Von Wilpert says she would fight to protect Medicaid and Medicare, restore funding for reproductive and preventive health services, and pass the Equality Act.

She also speaks about transgender rights in personal terms. Before running for Congress, she volunteered at name- and gender-marker change clinics, helping people update identity documents.

Marni von Wilpert courtesy Marni von Wilpert for Congress

Von Wilpert says Republicans are targeting trans people to distract voters from policies that hurt working families.

“They’re trying to distract people by bullying and beating up on our transgender siblings,” she says. “I’m very proud to stand up for all of us in our community.”

Von Wilpert worries that President Donald Trump’s attacks on election legitimacy could fuel more political violence if Republicans lose. Her campaign is answering with a ground game that included 26,000 door knocks and nearly 17,000 phone calls during the primary.

Still, not every part of her life has been swallowed by politics or cancer.

Von Wilpert became engaged to her girlfriend during the primary. For months, the campaign left little time to think about the wedding. With the primary behind them, the couple has begun turning the engagement into a plan. They expect to marry in 2027.

“Now that the primary is over, we actually had time to look at a wedding venue,” she says.

This article is part of The Advocate's Sept-Oct 2026 print issue, on newsstands September 1. Support queer media and subscribe — or download the issue through Apple News+, Zinio, Nook, or PressReader starting August 20.

Nancy Pelosi on the Sept-Oct 2026 issue of The Advocate Photography by Mike Nelson