After Vista Republican Darrell Issa decided not to seek a 10th term in office, Democrats put millions of dollars into flipping his congressional seat.
inewsource has mapped the election results by precinct, which shows that candidates in Issa’s 49th District performed the best in their home territories.
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The top two Democratic finishers were strongest in their respective counties. Environmental attorney Mike Levin, a South Orange County native, received a larger share of votes in his home county than in San Diego County. Former nonprofit CEO Sara Jacobs, raised in Del Mar, captured more votes in San Diego County.
Jacobs, who is in third place with 15.4 percent of the vote, hasn’t conceded. She told supporters Wednesday she’s waiting to see if the remaining mail-in ballots could put her ahead of Levin, who had 17.2 percent of the vote on Wednesday.
Republican candidate and San Diego County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar managed to win three precincts near Encinitas, where she was mayor from 2014 to 2016. She finished fifth in the congressional contest.
Republican Diane Harkey of Dana Point finished first in the primary with 25.6 percent of the votes, winning precincts in Rancho Santa Fe, Camp Pendleton and Dana Point. She is a member of the state Board of Equalization.
In the 50th District, Democratic candidates barely made a dent in challenging Republican Duncan Hunter, who is under investigation by the FBI for possibly misusing campaign funds.
Hunter, who captured 48.7 percent of the vote, won almost all of the district’s 348 precincts. His closest challenger, Ammar Campa-Najjar, won eight precincts, including ones in San Marcos and Escondido. He won 16.3 percent of the vote in the seven-candidate contest.
The San Diego County Registrar of Voters Office plans to update the vote totals daily at 5 p.m., beginning Thursday, a county spokesman said. The official election results will be certified on or before July 5.
