2020 San Diego elections
Municipal elections are scheduled in San Diego in 2020 for mayor, city attorney, and city council. The primary election occurred Tuesday, March 3, 2020, and the general election is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Five of the nine council seats will be contested. No council incumbents are standing for reelection.
![]() | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
5 of the 9 seats on the San Diego City Council | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||
|
Municipal elections in California are officially non-partisan, although most members do identify a party preference. A two-round system will be used for the elections, starting with primaries in March followed by runoff elections in November between the top-two candidates in each race.
Mayor
City Attorney
City Council

Seats in districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 were up for election. Incumbents Mark Kersey (District 5) and Scott Sherman (District 7) were ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits. The other three incumbent council members chose to run for higher office rather than seek reelection: Barbara Bry (District 1) for mayor of San Diego, Chris Ward (District 3) for California's 78th State Assembly district, and Georgette Gómez (District 9) for California's 53rd congressional district.[1]
District 1
District 1 consists of the communities of Carmel Valley, Del Mar Mesa, Del Mar Heights, La Jolla, Pacific Highlands Ranch, Torrey Hills, Torrey Pines, and University City. No Republican candidates contested the race.[2][3]
Primary election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Democratic | Joe LaCava | 10,355 | 24% | |
Democratic | Will Moore | 7,054 | 16% | |
Democratic | Aaron Brennan | 6,399 | 15% | |
Democratic | Sam Nejabat | 5,884 | 14% | |
Independent | Lijun (Lily) Zhou | 3,910 | 9% | |
Democratic | James P. Rudolph | 3,505 | 8% | |
Democratic | Harid "H." Puentes | 3,340 | 8% | |
Democratic | Louis A. Rodolico | 2,484 | 6% | |
Total votes | 42,911 | 100% | ||
General election | ||||
Democratic | Joe LaCava | |||
Democratic | Will Moore | |||
Total votes |
District 3
District 3 consists of the communities of Balboa Park, Bankers Hill/Park West, Downtown San Diego, Golden Hill, Hillcrest, Little Italy, Mission Hills, Normal Heights, North Park, Old Town, South Park, and University Heights.
Primary election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Democratic | Stephen Whitburn | 14,844 | 31% | |
Democratic | Toni Duran | 10,836 | 23% | |
Democratic | Chris Olsen | 9,705 | 20% | |
Republican | Michelle Nguyen | 8,340 | 17% | |
Democratic | Adrian Kwiatkowski | 3,996 | 8% | |
Total votes | 47,721 | 100% | ||
General election | ||||
Democratic | Stephen Whitburn | |||
Democratic | Toni Duran | |||
Total votes |
District 5
District 5 consists of the neighborhoods of Black Mountain Ranch, Carmel Mountain Ranch, Miramar, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Encantada, Rancho Peñasquitos, Sabre Springs, San Pasqual Valley, Scripps Ranch, and Torrey Highlands.
Primary election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Democratic | Marni Von Wilpert | 18,084 | 40% | |
Republican | Joe Leventhal | 16,778 | 37% | |
Democratic | Isaac Wang | 8,764 | 19% | |
Republican | Simon Moghadam | 1,836 | 4% | |
Total votes | 45,462 | 100% | ||
General election | ||||
Democratic | Marni Von Wilpert | |||
Republican | Joe Leventhal | |||
Total votes |
District 7
District 7 consists of the neighborhoods of Allied Gardens, Del Cerro, Grantville, Linda Vista, Mission Valley, San Carlos, Serra Mesa, and Tierrasanta.
Primary election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Democratic | Raul Campillo | 15,025 | 36% | |
Republican | Noli Zosa | 12,783 | 31% | |
Democratic | Wendy Wheatcroft | 8,526 | 20% | |
Democratic | Monty McIntyre | 5,558 | 13% | |
Total votes | 41,892 | 100% | ||
General election | ||||
Republican | Noli Zosa | |||
Democratic | Raul Campillo | |||
Total votes |
District 9
District 9 consists of the communities of Alvarado Estates, City Heights, College Area, College View Estates, El Cerrito, Kensington, Mountain View, Mount Hope, Rolando, Southcrest, and Talmadge.
Primary election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Democratic | Kelvin H. Barrios | 7,426 | 32% | |
Democratic | Sean Elo | 4,819 | 21% | |
Independent | Johnny Lee Dang | 3,473 | 15% | |
Republican | Andrew Gade | 2,222 | 9% | |
Democratic | Ross Naismith | 1,997 | 9% | |
Democratic | Sam Bedwell | 1,986 | 8% | |
Democratic | Alex Soto | 1,564 | 7% | |
Total votes | 23,487 | 100% | ||
General election | ||||
Democratic | Kelvin H. Barrios | |||
Democratic | Sean Elo | |||
Total votes |
References
- Garrick, David (December 7, 2019). "Forty candidates battling for seven open seats in San Diego next year". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- Bowen, Andrew (January 23, 2020). "Different Shades Of Blue In City Council District 1 Race". KPBS Public Media. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- Garrick, David (November 9, 2019). "Five Democrats battling to replace Bry on San Diego council". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- "Election History - Council District 1" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- "Election History - Council District 3" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- "Election History - Council District 5" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- "Election History - Council District 7" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- "Election History - Council District 9" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved April 11, 2020.