By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Darrell Issa announcing his candidacy at an El Cajon press conference earlier this year.

November 8, 2020 (San Diego) – Former Congressman Darrell Issa will return to Congress, where he served for 18 years.  Issa, a Republican, declared victory in the 50^th Congressional district race after the Associated Press projected that he has won the race. He currently leads 53.7% to 46.3%, a margin of 22,470 votes, according to the California Secretary of State’s website.  His opponent, Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar posted on Facebook that he has called to congratulate Issa.

Unlike the Presidential race, in which Donald Trump has yet to concede, both Issa and Campa-Najjar sought to put a sometimes bitter campaign behind them and offer praise for each other to unite the district.

In a statement on his Facebook page, Issa thanked all voters as well as his supporters and volunteers.  “Whether you supported me in this election or not, I will work tirelessly in Congress for all who call the 50^th District their home, for the State of California which I love so much, and for our great country.”  Issa thanked his opponent for a “spirit campaign” adding “I wish him the best moving forward.” He praised his endorsers and primary opponents, adding, “I hope to continue to work with all of you for the betterment of our community.”

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: A defenders' group in La Mesa, armed with knives, confronted racial justice protesters

November 8, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) –Facebook has removed the Defend East County (DEC) page along with other Facebook pages linked to the site, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported on November 6.  Facebook also banned DEC founder and administrator Justin Haskins, after he posted the message “Lock and load, then pray.  Today’s the day. We pray for peace and prepare for war,” on Election Day.  

Facebook announced in August that it would be taking action to restrict “militarized social movements and violence-inducing conspiracy networks.”  That effort took on new urgency after the FBI arrested members of a right-wing militia group who were reportedly plotting to kidnap Michigan’s governor.

East County News Service

November 7, 2020 (La Mesa) – The Boys & Girls Clubs of East County (BGCEC) recently honored husband-and-wife philanthropists Ron and Mary Alice Brady of La Mesa. The Bradys were the inaugural recipient of the BGCEC Community Award in recognition of their longstanding charitable commitment and dedication to supporting children in the East County.

By Ben Christopher, CalMatters

CalMatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.

Photo:  Then Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris walks on stage during a gun safety forum, Oct. 2, 2019, in Las Vegas. Today, Joe Biden announced Sen. Harris as his running mate. Photo by John Locher, AP Photo

November 7, 2020 (Sacramento) - The victory of Joe Biden and California’s junior senator, Kamala Harris in the 2020 presidential race brings to a close one of the most protracted post-Election Day waiting games in modern political history. It also opens up a relatively rare thing in the Golden State: the prospect of an open Senate seat.

By Ben Christopher, CalMatters 

CalMatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.

Photo:  Volunteer poll worker David Saunders helps a voter at a Los Angeles Elementary School polling place on Election Day. Early California results provided some answers but remaining questions. Photo by Tash Kimmell for CalMatters

November 7, 2020 (Sacramento) - California’s app-based corporate luminaries such as Uber and Lyft just waged the most expensive state ballot measure campaign in U.S. history—and it paid off big time, allowing those companies to thwart the will of all three branches of California government. 

November 6, 2020 (San Diego's East County) - San Diego County is expected to see its first widespread rains in months this weekend and the County of San Diego and CAL FIRE have free sandbags to help residents in unincorporated communities protect their homes and properties.

The National Weather Service is forecasting rain and winds around San Diego County this weekend, meaning this could be a good time to pick up some free sand and bags.

Update November 9, 2020: Metschel has opened a lead of 57 votes. Letitia Dickerson has pulled into second place,with Stephanie Harper just 13 votes behind Dickerson

By Briana Gomez

Miriam Raftery and Jonathan Goetz also contributed to this story

Photo, Michelle Metschel (Left) and Stephanie Harper (Right)

November 4, 2020 (El Cajon) – Demonstrating that every vote counts, the top two candidates in El Cajon’s City Council District 2 were tied at 936 votes each through most of the night. This morning, Michelle Metschel has nosed ahead by a slim 44 vote margin (1,061 to 1,017) in a race that’s still far too close to call at 21.1% to 20.23%. A close third is Letitia Dickerson with 19.81 percent of votes.

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  Dr. Wilma Wooten briefs local media on the coronavirus numbers and purple tier ranking. Image from livestream

November 4, 2020 (San Diego) - Rising coronavirus cases pushed San Diego County into the “purple” zone on Wednesday, raising the possibility of new restrictions if the case rate does not fall by next week.

Update Noveber 9, 2020:  Dustin Trotter has pulled ahead of Samm Hurst by a slim 14 vote margin, with more votes remaining to be tallied. See all current results at SDVote.com.

Term limits win approval; Assemblyman Voepel is reelected

By Mike Allen

November 4, 2020 (Santee) -- With about 64 percent of the vote tallied as of early Nov. 4, Mayor John Minto was leading challenger Councilman Stephen Houlahan in the Santee mayoral race.

Minto, who was elected mayor in 2016, has 53 percent of the vote to Houlahan’s 47 percent. Minto was out campaigning late on Election Day, and said he felt confident about his prospects to retain the mayor’s job.

In District 4, Samm Hurst, a UCSD professor, held a 4 percentage lead over Dustin Trotter, a contractor. The vote separation as of the latest tally totaled only 246.

Houlahan and Hurst ran on a platform that included opposition to Fanita Ranch, the controversial housing project which Minto voted to approve just weeks before the election. The project has long divided the community in a battle that has spanned 20 years.

Trump calls for counting of legally-cast ballots to stop;  Biden takes slim lead overnight in two key battleground states.  Both candidates retain paths to victory.

By Miriam Raftery

November 4, 2020 (San Diego) – With millions of votes remaining to be counted in key battleground states, both President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden retain potential paths to victory.  Though some predicted a blue wave, the end result is a nail-biter in which neither candidate appears to have an overwhelming mandate from voters.

As of this morning, Biden has 227 electoral votes and Trump 213, as both edge closer to the 270 needed for victory. 

Update November 9, 2020:  Barbara Bry has conceded the race to Todd Gloria.

By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

Photos: Barbara Bry (left, twitter profile picture), Todd Gloria (right, wikipedia profile picture)

Nov. 3, 2020 (San Diego) – Two democrats vied for the position of San Diego Mayor: Todd Gloria and Barbara Bry. Gloria, as of election night, has a sizable lead, with 56.29% of the vote over Bry at 43.71%.

Both gave election night speeches. Bry spoke earlier in the evening and thanked supporters of this “independent woman.”

Gloria, a third generation San Diego resident, talked about “breaking barriers.” If he prevails, which appears likely as of election night, he will be the first openly LGBTQI, first Filipino, elected Mayor of San Diego, and first Latino/Native American in recent memory.

Mara Elliott has a substantial lead over candidate Cory Briggs. She had 67.59% of the vote over Briggs, 32.41%, in the race for San Diego City Attorney.

The five odd numbered City Council seats 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9, in the City of San Diego, were up for election.

By Henri Migala

Photo: Steve Vaus (left), Joel Anderson (right)

November 3, 2020 (San Diego's East County) - County Supervisor District 2 candidates Steve Vaus and Joel Anderson are virtually tied at the latest update provided by the San Diego Registrar of Voters unofficial election results.

At the latest update, posted at 10:26 p.m., Steve Vaus held a slight lead with 50.94% of the votes, and Joel Anderson having 49.06%.

Vaus and Anderson are running to fill the seat being vacated by Dianne Jacob due to term limits.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors controls a $5 billion budget and makes decision over a wide variety of social service programs, and on issues affecting your health and safety. Four billion, or 80%, of that budget is related to state and federal programs the county is required to administer, and one billion, or 20%, can be used for the Supervisors to establish their priorities.  Most of the $1 billion comes from local property taxes, so it is important for local citizens to know the supervisors’ priorities.

By Kendra Sitton

November 3, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- In the race to replace Representative Susan Davis in the 53^rd District, Sara Jacobs took a decisivie lead over City Council President Georgette Gomez. As of 10 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, Gomez trailed by over 40,000 votes and conceded the race to Jacob.

Both candidates ran as progressives in a heavily blue district.

Georgette Gomez is San Diego’s current City Council President and representative of District 9. Before holding office; she was an environmental justice organizer.

Sara Jacobs has not held elected office before but she is the granddaughter of Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs. She has previously worked in the State Department and is a childhood anti-poverty advocate.

Both women are vying to fill the seat vacated by Susan Davis who is retiring. She previously held the seat for almost 20 years and was considered more moderate than her district.

November 3, 2020 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Magazine will be livestreaming a special election night show  with East County elections results from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.  Watch live at https://www.facebook.com/EastCountyMagazine. 

Also follow EastCountyMag on Twitter for results.