The November runoff elections are now set in a pair of closely contested local Assembly races and crowded Chula Vista City Council races, after all the results from the March primary were certified by election officials Thursday.
In Chula Vista, Michael Inzunza, a city commissioner, will face Leticia Munguia, a longtime labor organizer, in District 3. In District 4, Cesar Fernandez, a school board trustee, and Rudy Ramirez, a former council member, will face off for the seat vacated by Andrea Cardenas, who has pleaded guilty to felony charges; in the meantime, the council was meeting to appoint a temporary replacement Thursday evening. Just 64 votes separated Ramirez from his nearest rival.
Elsewhere in the county, Republican Andrew Hayes and Democrat LaShae Sharp-Collins are officially advancing to their respective Assembly runoffs in November, after a primary in which mere hundreds of votes awarded them each a spot in two of the county’s most competitive legislative races, results certified Thursday confirmed.
Hayes beat out three Democrats, including one his top Republican opponent had supported, to make the final leg of the 75th Assembly District race an all-Republican affair. And in the all-Democratic 79th District race, Sharp-Collins secured her spot in a runoff against Colin Parent over Lemon Grove Mayor Racquel Vasquez by a margin of just 121 votes.
A total of 704,068 ballots were counted in March’s primary election — for a voter turnout of 36.5 percent, according to county election officials. The top two vote-getters in each race, except the presidential primary, will advance to the fall runoff regardless of political party.
In a district that has heavily favored Republicans, Hayes will go head-to-head with former San Diego City Councilmember and congressional candidate Carl DeMaio for an open seat representing a wide swath of inland North and East County, as incumbent Marie Waldron faced term limits.
Although DeMaio finished first by a comfortable, 24-point margin, the race between Hayes and his Democratic opponents was much closer. Hayes beat out Democrat Kevin Juza for a runoff berth by just 654 votes. The DeMaio campaign had promoted Juza in the apparent hope of facing him in the Republican-leaning district.
Hayes said Thursday he looked forward to pushing to cut taxes and improve public safety and affordability. “Sacramento is not working for San Diego County,” he said. “Carl DeMaio is a career politician who is all talk, no action, and has never delivered results for San Diego.”
DeMaio took a similar swipe at his opponent and fellow Republican.
“From the get-go, I knew that no matter who was my opponent in the runoff, I would be up against the anointed candidate of the Sacramento swamp and the special interests,” he said. “I represent someone who’s going to try to fix the broken system in Sacramento, and my opponent represents the status quo, the same-old, same-old.”
Sharp-Collins, an educator, will face off against La Mesa Councilmember Colin Parent to represent the 79th district, which stretches from southeastern San Diego to El Cajon, replacing Akilah Weber as she runs for state Senate.
“As I reflect on this journey, I remain committed to serving the City of Lemon Grove,” said Vasquez. “I will consider my next steps carefully, but one thing is certain: Our fight for a brighter future continues.”
Most of the results of other local races have been clear, if not official, for weeks.
In the 76th Assembly District in northern San Diego and North County, Republican Kristie Bruce-Lane — who narrowly lost in 2022 to incumbent Brian Maienschein, now termed out — will be facing off against Democrat Darshana Patel, a scientist and Poway Unified school board member. And in the Democratic-leaning coastal 77th, Democratic incumbent Tasha Boerner will battle Republican James Browne, whom she beat by 18 points in the primary.
In local congressional districts, all four incumbents secured their spot in their runoffs.
In the 48th Congressional District, Democrat Stephen Houlahan will again challenge Republican incumbent Darrell Issa, while Rep. Mike Levin, a Democrat running for a fourth term in the 49th, will face Republican Matt Gunderson. In the 50th, incumbent Democrat Scott Peters will face Republican Peter J. Bono, and in the 51st, incumbent Democrat Sara Jacobs’ November opponent will be El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, a Republican.
In the city of San Diego, Henry Foster III won a City Council seat outright — avoiding a runoff in the District 4 special election — and will be sworn in Monday morning. Coleen Cusack will challenge incumbent Stephen Whitburn for his District 3 council seat, while Council President Sean Elo-Rivera will face Terry Hoskins in District 9.
In the mayor’s race, incumbent Todd Gloria will face police officer Larry Turner. And in the race for city attorney, which saw only two candidates run, Chief Deputy City Attorney Heather Ferbert will again face Assemblymember Brian Maienschein.
And in the race for Chula Vista city attorney, Marco Verdugo, a private attorney working for the cities of Coronado and Solana Beach, won out. He is expected to take the oath of office Tuesday.
For the full final election result totals, visit sdvote.com.
Staff writers Tammy Murga and David Garrick contributed to this report.
