Live Results
Kristie Bruce-Lane and Darshana Patel are leading in early returns Tuesday night for Assembly District 76 and Joseph Rocha is a distant third.
The 76th District covers a wide swath of North County inland. It includes San Pasqual Valley to the east, Carmel Valley to the west and San Marcos to the north.
The district leans Democratic, with nearly 38% of the voters registering as a Democrat versus 30% Republican.
Counting the ballots
According to the County Registrar of Voters, the first returns available around 8 p.m. on Election night only include mail-in ballots and vote center ballots received before Election Day.
After that, results on election night will include only the vote center ballots cast on March 5. The Registrar continues to count remaining ballots and post returns until the election is certified on April 4.
Why it matters
Two Democrats, Darshana Patel and Joseph Rocha, and a Republican, Kristie Bruce-Lane, are running to replace termed-out Brian Maienschein.
Maienschein was a Republican but switched party in 2019 because "Donald Trump has led the Republican Party to the extreme on issues that divide our country."
The GOP is hoping to switch the seat back to Republican.
By the numbers
Bruce-Lane has amassed a big war chest aiming for the General Election. She has not spent much money on the primary campaign. According to the latest campaign finance report (as of Feb. 22), she has $276,847.50 in her account.
Meanwhile, Patel and Rocha have $49,694.95 and $31,663.04 cash on hand, respectively.
Looking ahead
The Republicans are hoping that the two Democrats in the primary will split the vote, ensuring that Bruce-Lane will make it through to the General Election in November.
Democrats are betting on Patel to make it through, having endorsed her for the primary. They think she is the stronger candidate to beat Bruce-Lane, who previously ran for this seat and lost to Maienschein in 2022.
