It’s no secret that Democratic leaders want to elect one of their own to the all-Republican San Diego County Board of Supervisors this fall. Tuesday’s vote shows their best chance is probably in termed-out Republican Ron Roberts’ heavily Democratic District 4.
Democrat Nathan Fletcher, a former assemblyman, was the top vote-getter with almost 29 percent. Republican Bonnie Dumanis, a former district attorney, came in second with 27.5 percent. Three others also ran for the seat.
Fletcher did well throughout the 4th District, which covers central San Diego and includes La Jolla and downtown to the west and Kearny Mesa and southeastern San Diego to the east.
RELATED: Republican Law Enforcement Candidates Win Big In San Diego County
He received at least 17 percent of the vote in precincts with more than two voters. Among the places where Fletcher was the top vote-getter were Mission Valley, Pacific Beach, Hillcrest, Golden Hill and parts of Kearny Mesa.
Dumanis performed best in the north, including winning precincts in La Jolla, Bay Ho and North Clairemont. She was also the top vote-getter in Loma Portal and in some southeastern San Diego precincts.
The election highlighted the Democratic strength in the district. When you combine Fletcher’s votes, with those won by the three other Democrats in the race, they captured 72 percent of the votes.
In the race for termed-out GOP Supervisor Bill Horn’s North County seat, Republicans were the ones with a voter registration advantage.
San Marcos Mayor Jim Desmond, a Republican, got 45 percent of the vote, with Democrat Michelle Gomez, a governmental affairs legislative analyst, coming in second with 22 percent. Desmond could have won outright if he had captured more than 50 percent of the vote.
He dominated throughout the district, which stretches from Oceanside and Carlsbad to the west and to Borrego Springs to the east. Desmond won three-quarters of the District 5 precincts, including San Marcos and all of the precincts east of Interstate 15.
Gomez, who lives in Oceanside, won some scattered precincts, including in Carlsbad and Vista. Oceanside Councilman Jerry Kern, a Republican, finished third in the race, but actually won more precincts than Gomez.
Together, Desmond and Kern received 65 percent of the vote.
The vote totals may change slightly as absentee and provisional ballots are counted over the next few weeks. The 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.
