The San Diego County Board of Supervisors District 5 election could give Democrats something they’ve never had before — a supermajority.
Republican Rebecca Jones and Democrat Kyle Krahel are vying to replace Republican Jim Desmond, who is termed-out. Jones is leading over Krahel in early returns Tuesday night.
KPBS spoke with county GOP Chair Paula Whitsell at the Reform California gathering. She said she thinks Jones is "gonna come out fine."
"She worked very hard and she has a strong constituency in that, in that jurisdiction," she said. "So I think she'll do great.”
Why it matters
For nearly three decades, Republicans had a lock on county government. That changed in 2020, when Nora Vargas and Terra Lawson Remer won their seats and joined Nathan Fletcher on the board.
Jones is San Marcos' mayor and has served on the city council for nearly 20 years. She’s running on that record, touting her mayoral accomplishments. Those include making the city a major healthcare hub.
Kaiser Permanente recently opened its hospital there, and Scripps has announced plans to finally build the hospital that’s been in development for around 20 years.
As a SANDAG board member, Jones has pushed for projects to ease congestion on state Route 78. She's declined multiple requests for an interview with KPBS.
Krahel is the former district director for Rep. Mike Levin, D-Oceanside, and former chair of the San Diego Democratic Party. If elected, Krahel said he will tackle the affordability crisis on day one.
“My opponent's had 20 years to address these issues, and frankly, it's only gotten more and more expensive in San Marcos and other places in North County under her watch," he said. "I don't think having another lifetime politician, somebody who's literally been in it for 20 years, is going to make things more affordable.”
By the numbers
The race is officially nonpartisan. Meaning voters won’t see an R or D next to the candidates’ names. So name recognition matters greatly. Jones has out-raised Krahel 3 to 1, but Krahel said he’s not concerned.
“It helps to have some money to be able to bring that out, but folks are so upset at the state of our country and how expensive it is to afford to live here in North County that they're doing their research," he said. "Folks know which candidates actually starting to fight up and fight back against these costs of living.”
