Former San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott, a Democrat, held an early lead in the primary election for California Senate District 40 when the first batch of voting results was released Tuesday night, while Republican Kristie Bruce-Lane was leading fellow Republican Ed Musgrove for second place.
With the top two vote-getters moving on to November’s general election, Tuesday’s primary was expected to act as an elimination round between the two Republican candidates in a state Senate district that covers San Marcos, Escondido, Poway, Santee, Alpine, Fallbrook, Ramona and several northern neighborhoods in the city of San Diego.
Elliott, 57, said before Tuesday’s primary that she expected to move on to the general election to face one of the Republicans given the three candidates’ party affiliations. Elliott, Musgrove and Bruce-Lane are seeking to replace Brian Jones, a Republican who has reached his term limits.
Jones endorsed Musgrove, a 63-year-old San Marcos City Council member and former sheriff’s captain, who grew up in Poway and then served in the U.S. Army before joining the Sheriff’s Office. But it was Bruce-Lane, a 53-year-old businesswoman and nonprofit leader, who opened an early lead over Musgrove.
Together, the two Republicans garnered more than half of the votes in the first batch that was released. The first results released Tuesday included ballots returned by mail and at official ballot drop boxes before Election Day, plus ballots from early voting at the County Registrar’s office, according to the Registrar.
District 40 was the only state Senate race in San Diego County to feature more than two candidates, and also the only Senate race that did not feature an incumbent.
In other local state Senate races, incumbent Sen. Steve Padilla, a Democrat, held a large lead in early voting over Republican challenger Art Hodges in District 18, according to the first batch of voting results released Tuesday night. Meanwhile, incumbent Democrat Catherine Blakespear also held an early lead, though much narrower, over her Republican challenger, Laura Bassett, in District 38, which also includes a portion of Orange County.
In District 32, which covers just a small portion of rural San Diego County, plus parts of three counties in the Inland Empire, Republican incumbent Kelly Seyarto held a commanding early lead over Democratic challenger Tiffanie Tate.
In primaries for state Assembly, only two of San Diego County’s seven races featured more than two candidates, and both of those featured strong incumbent Assembly members.
In Assembly District 78, incumbent Democrat Chris Ward held a large lead over Republican challenger Payton Galvez, while Libertarian Antonio Salguero was a distant third.
Likewise, in Assembly District 80, incumbent Democrat David Alvarez held a strong early lead over Republican challenger Alejandro Galicia, with Democrat Zenith Khan trailing far behind.
The top two vote-getters in those districts will face off in November’s general election.
The other five Assembly primaries featured just two candidates each.
In District 74, which is split between San Diego and Orange counties, incumbent Republican Assembly Member Laurie Davies held a narrow initial lead over Democratic challenger Sergio Farias.
In District 75, incumbent Republican Carl DeMaio held a large lead in the early voting results over Democratic challenger Gerald Boursiquot.
In District 76, incumbent Democrat Darshana Patel held a narrow lead in early voting over Republican challenger Carrie Espinoza Villanueva; in District 77, incumbent Democrat Tasha Boerner held a strong early lead over Republican challenger Trinity Hannaway; and in District 79, incumbent Democrat LaShae Sharp-Collins opened with a strong lead over Andrew Lawson.
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