What it would take for Steve Cohen.
Peters starts 13.8 points ahead on our starting line from recent official results. Campaign work can move about 5,213 net votes toward Cohen, a 1.9-point gain. Winning outright would take a 12.0-point national wave on top of that. Here is the plan that makes Cohen the one standing if one comes.
A long shot on the math: it takes a 12.0-point national wave.
139,234 votes.
That is half of the 278,467 ballots we expect in this race, plus one. Where Cohen stands today, and what is missing:
Starting line: a weighted blend of the official 2022 and 2024 results in this district (President, U.S. Senate, Governor, Attorney General). No 2026 polls have been published. 2026 turnout modeled on 2022, the last midterm.
2% today. A wave changes that.
We ran this race 20,000 times with realistic error on every assumption. Drag the slider to see the odds move as the campaign captures more of what history says is available.
Each simulation draws the starting line with an error of 7 points of margin (no 2026 polls, so the starting line comes from history and carries more error) and lets the plan over- or under-deliver by 30 percent. Seeded and reproducible; the method and data are at the bottom of the page.
The gap closes three ways.
Change minds. Bring out voters who skip midterms. Win back the third-party vote. Every pool below is counted from official precinct returns and published polls.
Who. 3,551 voters who split their ticket in recent elections and lean Peters today.
How. Live conversations on the call list that matters: voters who crossed party lines, plus the undecided. Cohen needs to win 50 percent of the ones now leaning Peters.
Who. At least 17,783 people who voted in 2024 but not in 2022, in cities and unincorporated areas where Cohen's side wins at least 55 percent.
How. Voter ID calls to people who voted in 2024 and skipped 2022, then a ballot chase until each one has voted.
Who. Voters who went third party in recent races, in the cities and unincorporated areas that lean Cohen's way.
How. A direct appeal to voters who went third party last time. They have already shown they will leave the two-party default.
Together: 5,213 net votes against a gap of 38,527. Still 33,314 short. The rest needs a national shift of about 12 points that no campaign controls.
6 cities and unincorporated areas carry 100% of it.
Ranked by the net votes each one gives the plan. The darker the county, the more of the upset lives there.
- 01+2,547San DiegopersuadeStarting line Peters +26. 2.4% split their ticket.
- 02+1,016Unincorporated San Diego CountymobilizeStarting line Cohen +23. 2.4% split their ticket. About 8,916 more ballots in 2024 than in 2022 (estimate).
- 03+768SanteemobilizeStarting line Cohen +16. 2.3% split their ticket. About 8,867 more ballots in 2024 than in 2022 (estimate).
- 04+431PowaypersuadeStarting line Cohen +1. 3.7% split their ticket.
- 05+231EscondidopersuadeStarting line Cohen +7. 2.4% split their ticket.
- 06+220CoronadopersuadeStarting line Cohen +1. 5.4% split their ticket.
The hidden path.
San Diego carries the most.
San Diego gives this plan more net votes than any other place: 2,547. It sits at Peters +26 on our starting line, and 2.4 percent of its voters split their ticket in recent elections.
Unincorporated San Diego County is a turnout race.
Cohen's side leads Unincorporated San Diego County by about 23 points on our starting line, and it cast about 8,916 more ballots in 2024 than in 2022 (an estimate). Roughly that many of its 2024 voters sat out the last midterm; bringing enough of them back nets 681 votes there.
Coronado splits its ticket the most.
Of the cities and unincorporated areas in this plan, Coronado has the highest share of ticket splitters: 5.4 percent. That is where a persuasion call is most likely to reach someone open to crossing over.
The honest math.
Every lever at its historical ceiling moves 5,213 net votes. The gap is 38,527. That is the measure of what a strong campaign adds: 1.9 points of margin, and first position if the national mood breaks.
Where voters cross over.
Every dot is a precinct. If no one split a ticket, every dot would sit on the line. The orange ones are where Cohen's side lost voters it won further up the ballot.
- Precincts
- 562
- Slope
- 0.987
- R²
- 0.970
- Residual SD
- 3.8 pts
- Crossover precincts
- 199
Weighted least squares, one point per precinct, weighted by ballots cast. Orange precincts sit more than one residual standard deviation below the line: Cohen's side did worse there in this race than the top of the ticket predicts. Hover any dot for the precinct.
Voting starts October 5.
- Now to October 4Find them
Voter ID calls across the persuasion list in these cities and unincorporated areas. Every conversation tags the voter: with Cohen, with Peters, or undecided. The undecided become the persuasion universe; the supporters become the ballot chase list.
- October 5 to 16Persuade
Second conversations with every undecided and soft voter, built around the one issue they named on the first call. The goal is 3,551 net votes from people who have crossed party lines before.
- October 17 to 26Bank the ballots
California mails a ballot to every active registered voter starting October 5. Ballots postmarked by November 3 count if they arrive by November 10, and conditional voter registration is open through Election Day. Chase every supporter's mail ballot request until it is returned, and move supporters to early voting while it is open.
- October 27 to November 2Turn them out
The drop-off voters: people who voted in 2024 and skipped 2022. At least 17,783 of them live where Cohen is favored. Ballots postmarked by November 3 count if they arrive by November 10.
- November 3Election day
Polls and vote centers are open until 8 p.m. California allows conditional voter registration through Election Day. The last calls go to identified supporters who have not voted, with their polling place in hand.
No wishful thinking.
Official results in this district: Harris carried the 2024 presidential race by 18.2 points; Schiff carried the 2024 U.S. Senate race by 13.1 points; Newsom carried the 2022 governor's race by 10.4 points.
- Cohen wins 50 percent of the ticket splitters now leaning Peters.
- In Unincorporated San Diego County and Santee, 35 percent of the people who voted in 2024 but skipped 2022 come back and vote.
- The national environment moves about 12.0 points toward Cohen's side between now and November 3.
- No 2026 public poll exists for this race, so the starting line is a weighted blend of official recent results; the first real poll will move it.
2,857 conversations.
That is how many live voter conversations this plan takes: about 54,529 dials to 18,176 households, before the last ballot is cast.
Call list: every ticket splitter and undecided voter in the targeted places (you cannot tell which way they lean before the call), every targeted drop-off voter, and the reachable third-party voters. About 69 households for every 100 voters on the list, three attempts each, and a 5.24 percent live answer rate per attempt, the per-program average across 1.2 million real 2026 dials in our published benchmarks.
We run this list.
Calls are the voter ID and ballot chase engine of this plan. They find the persuadable voters and the supporters, so every other dollar lands on the right door. The full call program for this list is an estimated $6,756 at our published rates: 18,176 households, three attempts each.
Professional live callers working exactly these precincts: persuasion on the ticket splitters, voter ID on the fence, ballot chase on every absentee request until it is returned. A live dashboard shows every conversation as it happens. Days to launch, not weeks.
Who is on the ballot.
Steve Cohen (R)
Former KUSI-TV news director who led the San Diego station's newsroom for 20 years, capping a broadcast journalism career of about five decades. He has managed newsrooms in New York, Detroit, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
Scott Peters (D)
U.S. Representative since 2013 who served two terms on the San Diego City Council, becoming its first council president, and chaired the Unified Port of San Diego. Previously an environmental attorney in private practice and the San Diego County Counsel's office.
Cash on hand $2,598,276 and $1,810,961 raised since January 1, 2025, per FEC reports through June 30, 2026.
What changed, and when.
We re-run this race as new polls, fundraising reports and early vote counts arrive. Every change to the numbers is logged here.
- September 26, 2026Underdog plan published
Starting line: Peters +13.8. Steve Cohen needs 38,527 net votes. Odds 2% today, 4% with the plan.
Questions
Can Steve Cohen win California's 50th Congressional District in 2026?
Only with help from the national environment. Campaign work can move about 5,213 net votes; the gap is 38,527. The rest would take a 12.0-point national shift.
Where are the votes Steve Cohen needs?
Ranked by net votes in the plan: San Diego, Unincorporated San Diego County, Santee, Poway, Escondido. Persuadable voters are counted from ticket splitting in 2022 and 2024 official returns; turnout targets are people who voted in 2024 and skipped 2022.
How many voters does Steve Cohen need to persuade?
About 1,776 voters who lean Scott Peters today, each worth two votes of margin when they switch. That is 50 percent of the 3,551 persuadable voters leaning Scott Peters.
When does early voting start in California in 2026?
California mails every active registered voter a ballot starting October 5, 2026. Ballots postmarked by November 3 count if they arrive by November 10, vote centers open before Election Day, and conditional voter registration is available through Election Day.
Who made this analysis?
The Political Group, an independent campaign services firm, from official California Secretary of State precinct returns, Census data, FEC filings and published polls. It is not affiliated with any candidate or party.
Method and sources
Precinct math from official California Secretary of State returns for 2022 and 2024, projected onto current district lines. Polls, ratings and fundraising as published on the dates shown. This is independent analysis by The Political Group, as of September 26, 2026. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by any candidate or party, and it is written for every campaign that starts behind.
Statistics: a weighted least squares crossover regression on every precinct, and 20,000 seeded Monte Carlo simulations. The baseline error (7 points of margin) and plan efficacy spread (30 percent) are our stated assumptions. Download the precinct data (CSV, ready for JASP). Free to cite under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page.
- California Secretary of State, Statement of Vote
- California Statewide Database (precinct results and block conversions)
- Proposition 50 congressional districts (AB 604)
- FEC candidate filings (OpenFEC)
- 2026 voter contact benchmarks (The Political Group)