By Ken Stone, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Janessa Goildbeck campaign photo

August 18, 2023 (San Diego) - Democrat Janessa Goldbeck on Thursday conceded her loss in Tuesday’s county supervisor election, saying in a statement: “It appears that our campaign does not have a path to victory.”

That means fellow Democrat Monica Montgomery Steppe, the San Diego councilwoman with a sizable lead in the District 4 race to fill the Nathan Fletcher vacancy, will face Republican Amy Reichert in a Nov. 7 runoff.

“I just called Councilmember Montgomery Steppe to congratulate her and her team on a decisive first place finish,” Goldbeck said. “It’s clear that San Diegans want strong Democratic leadership on the county Board of Supervisors, and Councilmember Montgomery Steppe will deliver that.”

In its latest tally, posted Thursday, the county Registrar of Voters Office had Montgomery Steppe boosting her lead to 41.4% with Reichert at 28.9% and Goldbeck nearly 25%. Republican Paul McQuigg trailed at 4.7%

Reichert led Goldbeck by 3,591 votes — and the voter office estimated that only 6,000 ballots were left to count.