Democrat Terra Lawson-Remer takes early lead in San Diego County supervisor race
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Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photo: Courtesy of the County of San Diego and Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Democrat Terra Lawson-Remer took an early lead in her bid for reelection to represent District 3 on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
Why it matters: The winner of this race, one of the county's most expensive and competitive, determines party control of the five-member board that sets policy and manages a $8.5 billion budget.
Driving the news: Lawson-Remer had a double-digit edge over former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer in initial poll results Tuesday night.
By the numbers: As of 6am Tuesday, she had received about 56% of the vote while Faulconer had 44%.
- Out of the 210,530 votes counted so far, Lawson-Remer holds a 24,086 vote lead.
- County election officials had tallied nearly 1 million ballots, mostly mail-in, with 49% voter turnout.
What they're saying: "I feel very good about our first results, but I think it's still too close to call tonight," Lawson-Remer said at the San Diego County Democratic Party's watch party at The Westin Gaslamp Quarter.
- "We know that this race matters and what happens tonight is going to have a huge impact on the future of San Diego County," she said.
- Lawson-Remer thanked volunteers and recognized the campaign's successful ground game of door knocking and phone banking.
- She said for the next four years, she'll continue to fight for issues like homelessness, housing costs, protecting beaches and coastlines, and making progress for working families.
Catch up quick: Republicans long dominated San Diego's county government, but lost control in 2020 when Lawson-Remer took the District 3 seat and Nora Vargas won in District 1.
- The Democratic power shift in the city and county followed changes in voter registration — 41% of county voters are Democrats and 27.7% are Republicans.
State of play: The county's two other supervisor races were largely uncontested with incumbents taking large leads with initial polling results.
- In District 1, Democratic board chair Nora Vargas had secured about 62% of the vote ahead of Republican challenger Alejandro Galicia.
- In District 2, Republican Joel Anderson had received about 61% of the vote over Democratic challenger Gina Jacobs.
What's next: Unofficial results will continue to be posted Wednesday, and votes will continue to be tallied through Nov. 15.
- County officials will have until Dec. 5 to certify the election results.
Editor's note: This is a developing story and will be updated.