UPDATE: 3:00 p.m., March 9, 2020
Sara Jacobs, an anti-poverty advocate and granddaughter of Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs holds a strong lead over her top competitors in the race for the 53rd Congressional District with 29.5% of the vote. City Councilwoman Georgette Gómez follows in second with 18.6% and Chris Stoddard trails with 14%.
The top two finishers will move on to the November general election.
Original Story
More than a dozen candidates are running to represent San Diego in the 53rd Congressional District. The seat was left open after Democratic Rep. Susan Davis announced last year she was retiring from the seat which she has held since 2001.
The 53rd covers a large part of the county including sections of San Diego, El Cajon and Chula Vista. The district's most recent voter registration breakdown showed Democrats with about a 2-to-1 advantage over Republicans. There are 185,000 registered Democrats, 94,000 registered Republicans and 14,000 independent voters.
Fifteen candidates appeared on the March primary ballot, although one of them, professor and policy director Tom Wong, dropped out of the race months before the vote.
The Democrats in the race were children's anti-poverty advocate Sara Jacobs; businesswoman and former U.S. Marine Janessa Goldbeck; San Diego City Council President Georgette Gómez; progressive policy adviser Joaquín Vázquez; father and business owner Jose Caballero; retired special agent John Brooks; special education teacher Joseph Fountain; Eric Roger Kutner; educator Annette Meza; and rideshare driver Suzette Santori.
The Republicans in the race were licensed nurse and mother Famela Ramos; pilot/officer/realtor Chris Stoddard; and software developer/businessman Michael Patrick Oristian.
Fernando Garcia ran without a party preference and listed his occupation as a CEO and business owner.
Davis did not endorse anyone in the race.
The general election will be held in November.
