Mar 5, 2024 - News
San Diego on Super Tuesday: What voters said outside of the polls
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Even in a quiet campaign season, voters had a lot to say outside of San Diego polling places on primary election day.
The big picture: Many voters said homelessness, the economy and their strong feelings about individual candidates inspired them to head to the polls Tuesday.
The San Diego mayoral race:
- "I voted for Mayor Gloria when he first started, but he's a politician for real now. He did not get my vote [this time]." — Henry Ragsdale, 56 (Skyline)
- "I gotta come out here for Geneviéve [Jones-Wright]. … I feel like she actually cares about the people and not just the office." — Monica Harris, 55 (City Heights)
- "I voted for Todd Gloria again. I think it's a really s--t job and he's doing as good as anybody." — Christine Fernandez-Morache, 59 (Allied Gardens)
- I voted for the incumbent [Gloria] … give him another chance to see what he can do. The housing crisis is a big one here. He's tried to tackle it in the past; we'll see how he does." — Benjamin Barrena, 37 (Allied Gardens)
- I had to make a choice, and so I did. I did not vote for the mayor; I voted for Geneviéve. That was the choice I made." — Kirk Logan, 69 (Emerald Hills)
The U.S. Senate race:
- "I'm a little worried that Steve Garvey might have a chance of getting on the ballot, so I figured I'd boost Katie Porter." — Fernandez-Morache
- "Well, you asked me, so I'm just going to tell you: I think we need more representation from people of color, so that's why I voted for Barbara Lee." — Iris Payne, 71 (Spring Valley)
Several people voiced why they supported the Proposition 1 ballot measure:
- As a physician, I voted for it because getting funding "to create more avenues where addiction and substance abuse aren't stigmatized as much and recognized as a primary mental health issue is a big thing for me." — Barrena
- "What we're doing now — just turning people out to the street — it shouldn't be who we are. It might be who we are, but it shouldn't be." — Payne
Others said issues close to home influenced their decisions.
- "In this neighborhood, the most important issue is infrastructure. After what the floods did to this neighborhood, something needs to be done." — Ragsdale, explaining his vote for Tylisa Suseberry for City Council, District 4
- "I specifically made sure that all my candidates that I selected were going to act favorably towards vulnerable parts of the community … making sure all students have access to education and that they're addressing the homelessness issue in a just way." — Lupita Parra, 33 (City Heights)