Mayor Gloria holds comfortable lead in early results
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Mayor Todd Gloria declares victory late Tuesday at the Westin Gaslamp. Photo: Andrew Keatts/Axios
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria has a comfortable lead in his reelection campaign against independent police officer Larry Turner, based on the first batch of results.
Why it matters: The race became a referendum on public concerns with housing costs, homelessness and crime in California's second largest city.
By the numbers: As of Wednesday morning, Gloria had 54.6% of the vote while Turner received 45.4%.
- Out of the 364,063 votes counted so far, Gloria holds a 33,423 vote lead.
State of play: Gloria declared victory in a speech to supporters at the Westin Gaslamp late Tuesday.
- "Thanks to all of you tonight, we are not turning San Diego around, we are going to move forward," he said, referencing Turner's campaign slogan.
What he's saying: Mayors across the country faced significant voter frustration this cycle, Gloria said.
- "All of us have served under the most difficult of circumstances: pandemic, recession, inflation, social unrest... I feel like I'm being treated the same way as other mayors, although some of those folks are not getting reelected tonight, and I am."
Zoom in: Gloria, a two-term city councilman and two-term state assemblyman, had a significant name recognition advantage over Turner, a first-time candidate.
- He was also the only Democrat on the ballot, and Democrats represent 46% of registered city voters.
Yes, but: Late contributions to Turner of roughly $1.5 million from a little-known lawyer named Steven Richter shook up the race.
- Big money donations from well-known establishment players to Gloria's campaign materialized in response.
- "San Diego belongs to the people and we cannot be sold off to the highest bidder," he said during his speech Tuesday, referencing the donations.
What's next: The registrar estimates it has 590,000 countywide votes remaining. 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 story has been updated with new information throughout.