OC Political

San Diego County Supervisor
Kristin Gaspar (R-Encinitas)

Today, San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Kristin Gaspar (R-Encinitas) filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for the 49th Congressional District being vacated by the retiring Darrell Issa (R-Vista).  She is the fifth Republican to enter the race since Issa announced his retirement less than 2 weeks ago.  She joins a Republican field led by State Board of Equalization Chairwoman Diane Harkey (R-Dana Point), Assemblyman Rocky Chavez (R-Oceanside), Councilman Brian Maryott (R-San Juan Capistrano), and attorney Joshua Schoonover (R-San Marcos).  Gaspar’s entry now means there are five Republicans and four Democrats in the race for CD-49, making a traditional Republican vs. Democrat contest in November a near-certainty in CD-49.  Gaspar, Harkey, Chavez, and Maryott live in the 49th Congressional District.  Schoonover lives in the 50th Congressional District.

Gaspar has had a meteoric rise in San Diego County politics, having been first elected to the Encinitas City Council in 2010 at the age of 30.  Instead of seeking a second term on the City Council, she was elected Mayor of Encinitas in 2014.  Instead of seeking a second term as Mayor, she was elected to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors in 2016, defeating incumbent Dave Roberts (D-Solana Beach).  Earlier this month, she became Chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors.

As the Third District Supervisor, Gaspar represents 65,000 (17%) of the 391,000 registered voters in CD-49.  She raised $470,000 in her race for Supervisor in 2016 and loaned herself an additional $40,000.  San Diego County had a rather low campaign contribution limit of $750 during her Supervisorial bid in 2016; it has since been raised to $800.  In her race for Mayor in 2014, she raised $24,000 and loaned herself an additional $5,000.  In her 2010 City Council race, she raised $23,000 and loaned herself an additional $17,000.

While Harkey and Chavez are giving up their re-election bids in order to run for CD-49 since both their seats are up for election in 2018, Gaspar’s Supervisorial seat and Maryott’s Council seat is not up until 2020.  If Gaspar won the Congressional seat, there would be a special election in 2019 to fill her Supervisorial seat.  If Maryott won the Congressional seat, his City Council seat would fall vacant and the Council would either appoint his replacement or hold a special election.  None of the Democrats currently hold elected office.