John McCann and Paloma Aguirre Lead Race for San Diego County Board of Supervisors
A runoff for the vacancy will determine partisan control of county government.
The special election occurred today in California to fill a vacancy on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. The election is officially nonpartisan, though all of the candidates identify with a political party. A candidate must obtain a 50%+1 majority to be elected outright today. Otherwise, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff scheduled for July 1, 2025.
The special election for District 1 on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors was called following the resignation of Chair Nora Vargas, a Democrat, for personal reasons. She represented this district from January 2021 to January 2025. She was re-elected to a second term 62.5-37.5 against Republican Alejandro Galicia in November 2024. However, she decided not to be sworn into office.
District 1 comprises the communities of Chula Vista, National City, Imperial Beach, San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, East Village, Golden Hill, Grant Hill, Lincoln Park, Memorial, Mount Hope, Mountain View, Nestor, Sherman Heights, Southcrest, Stockton, Bonita, Sunnyside, Lincoln Acres, La Presa and parts of Spring Valley.
San Diego County Board of Supervisors (2 Democrats, 2 Republicans, 1 Pending):
For District 1, Republican John McCann and Democrat Paloma Aguirre will advance with 42.4% (28,065) and 32.3% (21,408) against Democrat Vivian Moreno with 13.5% (8,926), Democrat Carolina Chavez with 7.7% (5,123), Republican Louis Fuentes with 1.6% (1,053), Independent Elizabeth Efird with 1.6% (1,026), and Republican Lincoln Pickard with 0.9% (618). 66,219 votes counted.
McCann has served as Mayor of Chula Vista since 2018. He carried the endorsement of the San Diego County Republican Party.
Aguirre has been Mayor of Imperial Beach since 2022. She previously was a member of the Imperial Beach City Council from 2018 to 2022. She had the support of the San Diego County Democratic Party.
In the 2020 election, Democrats won control of the San Diego Board of Supervisors for the first time in decades. That majority was maintained in 2023 following a special election and in 2024 during the regular elections for Districts 1, 2 and 3. Partisan control was once again on the line with this latest special election. That fate will now be determined by the runoff between a Democrat and Republican.
According to 2024 estimates, San Diego County is the second most populous county in California and the fifth most populous county in the United States. For a majority of the 20th century, San Diego County supported Republican candidates for President. In 2008, the county flipped to Democrats at the presidential level and has continued to favor Democrats every cycle since then.
In the 2024 presidential election, Democrat Kamala Harris won San Diego County with a 56.9-40.1 finish against Republican Donald Trump. Moreover, Harris carried District 1 on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors with a 67.0-31.0 margin against Trump. These results came as Harris was carrying her home state 58.5-38.3 in her ultimately unsuccessful national campaign.