By Miriam Raftery

March 5, 2024 (San Diego) – All five San Diego Congressional members have strong leads in the primary election, unsurprisingly given the power of incumbency and name recognition.

The key question is who will run off against them in November--and the early results have strong indicators of those outcomes.

Photo:  James Kimber(D) will square off against Duncan D. Hunter (R) in November.

By Trevor Hill

June 4, 2014 (San Diego)--This Tuesday’s primary election yielded unsurprising results as far as Congressional districts are concerned. All five incumbent representatives on the ballot in San Diego County were the top vote-getters—but challengers will get a second chance in run-off races slated for November’s general election.

In East County races, November will pit two veterans, Democrat James Kimber (25%) and Republican Congressman Duncan  Hunter(70%), against each other in the 50^th district, which includes most areas north of I-8 in the inland region and other communities. Libertarian Michael Benoit actively campaigned and participated in debates, but received only 5% of the vote. Kimber, a career medical professional, has made expanding and improving healthcare coverage a cornerstone of his campaign against fiscally conservative Hunter, who has sought to repeal the Affordable Healthcare Act.

June 9, 2010 (San Diego) – Francine Busby, who received 43% of the vote in her 2006 run against incumbent Congressman Brian Bilbray (R-San Diego) has won the Democratic primary by a nearly 66% to 34% margin over consumer attorney Tracy Emblem.

“I’m looking forward to working with Tracy and her campaign team to return responsible and representational government to our district,” Busby told East County Magazine. “We worked hard, and it’s good to be moving on from here.” 

A member of the Cardiff School Board, Busby has pledged to restore ethics to the district formerly represented by jailed Congressman Duke Cunningham, who was convicted of bribery. Busby has taken zero money from political action committees (PACs), raising $364,000 from individual donors as of the last reporting filing.