Politics & Government

DeMaio, Filner Brace for November Runoff After Close Primary Race

Nathan Fletcher trailed with 23.98 percent, followed by Bonnie Dumanis with 13.1 percent.

Updated at 2:26 a.m. Wednesday

Councilman Carl DeMaio will face off in November against outgoing congressman Bob Filner for mayor of San Diego after finishing only 2 percentage points apart Tuesday in a tight primary battle.

With 100 percent of the vote counted, DeMaio, who had been steadily ahead in polling in recent months, finished with  ahead with 32.11 percent of the vote, just ahead of the 30.11 percent for Filner, the lone Democrat in the race.

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Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher trailed with 23.98 percent, followed by District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis with 13.1 percent. Tobiah Pettus was far back, with less than 1 percent of the vote.

With Filner pulling away from Fletcher late in the evening, he went on an early victory lap at Golden Hall downtown, saying he was "better prepared" to be mayor than anyone else.

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"I'm looking forward to bringing real change to City Hall," Filner told Patch.

Fletcher announced in March that he was leaving the Republican Party to become independent, though the mayor's office is non-partisan.

The announcement prompted gains in polling for the assemblyman, who had been in third. Since then, he has see-sawed with Filner, a Democrat, for second place.


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