San Diego voters appeared ready to elect a city government made entirely of Democrats, after the one endorsed Republican on the city ballot came out of Tuesday's election with disappointing results.
Republicans saw their best shot of taking back a seat on the city council in District 2, where incumbent Councilmember Jennifer Campbell has faced backlash from some constituents unhappy with her votes on short-term home rental regulations and a perceived lack of responsiveness to their concerns.
But as of early Wednesday morning, Campbell's challenger, Linda Lukacs, had just under 45% of the vote. The County Registrar of Voters estimates there are roughly 500,000 ballots yet to be counted, though it's unclear how many of those belong to voters in District 2.
Lukacs posted to her campaign Facebook page on Wednesday: "Regardless of the outcome of this election, I’d like to personally thank everyone for their tireless support and belief in our campaign. It’s absolutely heartwarming to appreciate that people shared my dream and dedicated so much of their time for a common goal of making our home, our district, and our city ever more wonderful for us and for the future."
District 2 covers Clairemont, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach and Point Loma.
Early results in District 6, which includes Kearny Mesa, Mira Mesa, University City and Sorrento Valley, showed Kent Lee winning with 57% of the vote compared to challenger Tommy Hough's 43%.
Lee, who led the nonprofit that produces the San Diego Asian Film Festival, campaigned on more pro-housing policies compared to Hough, a former radio host who sought to capitalize on anxieties around growth and change in the district's low-density neighborhoods.
"I think this has always been a race that's been about building a coalition and a community, and looking at how we can best represent everyone that's in District 6," Lee said Tuesday night. "To see the results so far, I think we're super optimistic."
District 6 incumbent, Chris Cate, could not run for re-election because of term limits. After 2020's Democratic sweep of city races, he became the last Republican elected to city government. Both Lee and Hough are Democrats.
Incumbent Councilmembers Monica Montgomery Steppe of District 4 and Vivian Moreno of District 8 handily won re-election, each holding more than 60% of the vote as of Wednesday morning.
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Voting may be over, but a number of key races across the country have yet to be decided. -
We have updates on local and statewide races, as election results continue to roll in. Plus, a local artist is being honored in Washington D.C. this weekend for his portrait of Dr. Anthony Fauci.
