San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria takes an early lead over challenger and political newcomer Larry Turner.
Prior to his election as mayor in 2020, Gloria served eight years on the San Diego City Council and four in the California Assembly. He has campaigned on the city's relatively low violent crime rate, his efforts to encourage more housing construction and his expansion of sanctioned campgrounds and parking lots for people experiencing homelessness.
Turner, a Marine Corps veteran and San Diego police officer, denies San Diego has a shortage of market-rate housing and disagrees with the consensus among experts that increasing the housing supply is key to lowering costs. He has also attacked Gloria's housing policies as leading to “oversaturated communities” with inadequate infrastructure and parking. He also opposed Gloria's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for city employees, which has since been lifted, saying it exacerbated the city's shortage of police officers.
Why it matters
The mayor is by far the most powerful position in San Diego city government, overseeing the vast majority of city staffers and the city's budget of nearly $6 billion.
A second term for Gloria would allow him to continue his push to increase San Diego's housing supply, while a victory by Turner could lead to new restrictions on home building, such as rolling back the city’s incentives for building accessory dwelling units.
Since 2022 every elected office in San Diego has been occupied by a registered Democrat. Gloria's reelection would continue the city's leftward shift. If Turner wins, he would be the only "no party preference" elected official in city government and his victory could be seen as a sign of discontent with the Democratic establishment.
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A closer look
San Diego voters have historically favored incumbents, and Gloria held a major advantage in fundraising and high-profile endorsements throughout the race. But Turner benefited from a last-minute flood of cash — not to his official campaign but to the conservative Lincoln Club of San Diego, which endorsed Turner.
The vast majority of the funding — at least $1.45 million — came from Steven Richter, a retired attorney from Point Loma. The Lincoln Club spent the money on yard signs and digital and TV ads seeking to attack Gloria's record and promote Turner as an independent.
Counting the ballots
According to the County Registrar of Voters, the first returns available around 8 p.m. on election night only include mail-in ballots and vote center ballots received before Election Day.
After that, results on election night will include only the vote center ballots cast on Nov. 5. The Registrar continues to count remaining ballots and post returns until the election is certified on Dec. 5.
Here's everything you need to know about election security in San Diego County.
