2020 San Diego County Board of Supervisors election

The 2020 San Diego County Board of Supervisors election was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, with the primary election held on March 3, 2020. While the San Diego County Board of Supervisors is officially a nonpartisan institution, Republicans controlled four out of the five supervisory seats, while a Democrat held one. However, the election resulted in a Democratic majority for the first time in decades after Nora Vargas and Terra Lawson-Remer respectively won supervisorial elections in the first and third districts.

2020 San Diego County Board of Supervisors election

← 2018November 3, 2020 (2020-11-03)

3 of the 5 seats on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors
 Majority partyMinority party
 
PartyDemocraticRepublican
Seats before14
Seats after32
Seat changeIncrease 2Decrease 2

Results of the elections:
     Democratic gain
     Republican hold
     No election

Chair before election

Greg Cox
Republican

Elected Chair

Nathan Fletcher
Democratic

Background

Even though county supervisor elections are officially nonpartisan in California, Republicans held a 4–1 majority in the San Diego County Board of Supervisors heading into the 2020 election, with the one being a lone Democrat.[1]

Results

In the general election, Democrats Nora Vargas and Terra Lawson-Remer respectively won supervisory seats in the first and third districts, assuring a Democratic majority in the next term and for the first time in a generation.[2]

First district

First round

2020 San Diego County Board of Supervisors election for the first district[3]
CandidateVotes%
Ben Hueso32,26329.29
Nora Vargas20,76718.86
Rafa Castellanos17,93416.28
Sophia Rodriguez16,63415.10
Alex Galicia13,23212.01
Henry Belisle4,0353.66
Camilo Marquez2,6792.43
Tony Villafranca2,5912.35
Total votes110,135 100.00

Runoff

First district runoff results by precinct
  Vargas
  •   50-55%
  •   55-60%
  •   60-65%
  •   65-70%
  •   70-75%
  •   >75%
  Hueso
  •   50-55%
  •   55-60%
  •   60-65%
  •   65-70%
  •   70-75%
  •   >75%
  Tie
  No data
2020 San Diego County Board of Supervisors runoff election for the first district[4]
CandidateVotes%
Nora Vargas131,78356.58
Ben Hueso101,13343.42
Total votes232,916 100.00

Second district

General election

2020 San Diego County Board of Supervisors election for the second district[3]
CandidateVotes%
Joel Anderson59,80335.46
Steve Vaus52,35731.04
Kenya Taylor45,03726.70
Brian Sesko11,4656.80
Total votes168,662 100.00

Runoff

Second district runoff results by precinct
  Anderson
  •   50-55%
  •   55-60%
  •   60-65%
  •   65-70%
  •   70-75%
  •   >75%
  Vaus
  •   50-55%
  •   55-60%
  •   60-65%
  •   65-70%
  •   70-75%
  •   >75%
  Tie
  No data
2020 San Diego County Board of Supervisors runoff election for the second district[4]
CandidateVotes%
Joel Anderson145,10350.05
Steve Vaus144,82149.95
Total votes289,924 100.00

Third district

General election

2020 San Diego County Board of Supervisors general election for the third district[3]
CandidateVotes%
Kristin Diane Gaspar (incumbent)72,59842.82
Terra Lawson-Remer52,89931.20
Olga Diaz44,06325.99
Total votes169,560 100.00

Runoff

Third district runoff results by precinct
  Lawson-Remer
  •   50-55%
  •   55-60%
  •   60-65%
  •   65-70%
  •   70-75%
  •   >75%
  Gaspar
  •   50-55%
  •   55-60%
  •   60-65%
  •   65-70%
  •   70-75%
  •   >75%
  Tie
  No data
2020 San Diego County Board of Supervisors general election for the third district[4]
CandidateVotes%
Terra Lawson-Remer176,59458.12
Kristin Diane Gaspar (incumbent)127,25941.88
Total votes303,853 100.00

Post-election

On January 5, 2021, the Board of Supervisors elected Nathan Fletcher as the new chair, succeeding Greg Cox.[5]

References