San Diego Dems to pick new leader in contentious race
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County Democrats are in the thick of choosing a new party leader.
Why it matters: The San Diego County Democratic Party's next chair will face a hefty to-do list, including orchestrating candidate recruitment, organizing volunteers and coordinating campaign spending in next year's mid-term elections.
Driving the news: Will Rodriguez-Kennedy, the party's past chair, and Sara Ochoa, the former vice chair for the south area, are running against each other in an already-contentious race.
- The party's central committee — composed of about 80 party activists, elected officials and their alternates — will vote on the party's next leader at its Aug. 19 meeting.
- Party clubs are hosting virtual forums between the candidates on Aug. 4 and 11.
The race between Rodriguez-Kennedy and Ochoa — both long-time party activists with deep ties to local officials — has grown negative.
- Anonymous letters have been sent to committee members attacking each candidate, which Rodriguez-Kennedy told Axios could be from a third party "trying to create chaos," while Ochoa told Axios the letters created a sense that the race is becoming "super toxic."
The big picture: Rodriguez-Kennedy stakes his case on the party's success with voter turnout in the 2020 election, when it took over the San Diego mayor's office and county board of supervisors.
- He argues that the 124,735 fewer people who voted countywide in 2024 — with Kamala Harris amassing 123,278 fewer votes here than Joe Biden did in 2020 — suggest local Democrats failed without his leadership.
- He's promising a 2026 strategy that will deploy party volunteers more efficiently so they can reach voters in more races with their finite resources.
The other side: Ochoa said the party's structure is already in place and sound, but it needs steady leadership to guide enthusiasm within the organization.
- "People in the community are looking for the Democratic Party to lead," she said.
Rodriguez-Kennedy stepped down as chair in May 2022 over sexual assault allegations by a man who later dropped his lawsuit and withdrew the allegations.
- The district attorney declined to file charges after a "thorough review" of the allegations, which Rodriguez-Kennedy always denied.
State of play: The position is vacant because former chair Kyle Krahel-Frolander, a staffer for Rep. Mike Levin, announced he's running for the county supervisor position that opens in 2026 with Supervisor Jim Desmond being termed out.
- The San Diego County Democratic Party's acting chair, Ross Pike, is not seeking the position permanently.