Republican Kristie Bruce-Lane is once again trying to flip a North County Assembly seat, in a race that has turned ugly with efforts by each candidate to cast the other’s politics as extreme. But her Democratic opponent Darshana Patel is far ahead in campaign fundraising, pulling in nearly three times as much this year in the race for the District. Bruce-Lane narrowly lost in 2022 to incumbent Brian Maienschein, who is now termed out and running to become San Diego’s next city attorney. Now the businesswoman and victims advocate faces Patel, a scientist and school board trustee, to represent nearly 465,000 people in northern San Diego neighborhoods, Escondido and San Marcos. The district has been held by a Democrat since 2018, when Maienschein left the Republican party. Bruce-Lane, 52, lives in 4S Ranch resident with her husband and son and runs a nonprofit called the Thumbprint Project Foundation that aims to help homeless children affected by domestic violence. She’s also a former member of the Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s board of directors. Bruce-Lane did not respond to multiple requests from The San Diego Union-Tribune for an interview. She also did not respond to multiple invitations to participate in two Q&A series with Assembly candidates. Her campaign has focused its attention on cutting taxes and the region’s high cost of living, as well as on homelessness, crime and education, and has touted the candidate’s work experience and community service. Patel, 50, who lives in Rancho Peñasquitos with her family, is a research scientist who since 2016 has served on the Poway Unified school board — a post she says she ran for because of financial mismanagement at the time. Patel says her experience on the school board — and as a California School Boards Association delegate and member of the state’s Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs — has shown her how state policy impacts local communities. “I’ve seen policies just not being effective or introducing unfunded mandates, especially in public education, and it just makes it harder for those of us on the ground level to deliver the changes that our community wants,” Patel said. That’s why she says her campaign is focused on affordability, from the cost of housing to child care to healthcare. But both candidates and their parties have also heavily relied on attacking each other. Bruce-Lane’s recent social media posts and mailers sent to voters in the district have been dominated by various attacks on Patel, calling her “dishonest” and “radical.” She and the GOP have hammered Patel on her record at Poway Unified, including the controversy that led to the superintendent’s ouster. Patel has defended the school board’s response and decision to fire her. Patel’s campaign has also decried yard signs that have popped up in the district featuring what appears to be her campaign logo accompanied by the message “defund the police,” apparently created by her critics. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has sent mailers pointedly contrasting the candidates’ stances on abortion, saying Bruce-Lane opposes it. Patel’s campaign has created a website calling the Republican “far-right,” and a page on Patel’s campaign website attempts to rebut her opponent’s attacks. As of last month, nearly 38% of the 76th District’s just over 277,000 registered voters were Democrats, while Republicans made up nearly 31% and about 25% listed no party preference. But the outcome in recent elections has reflected a closer partisan split. In the three-way March primary, Bruce-Lane — the lone Republican — finished with 49.5% of the vote. Patel finished 15 points behind her, ahead of fellow Democrat Joseph Rocha, a Marine officer and attorney. The Democratic Party has since heavily invested in the race in the hopes of keeping the seat. The state party has spent nearly $2.9 million on Patel’s campaign this year, while the California Republican Party has donated about $752,000 to Bruce-Lane. Patel has raised nearly $4.2 million this year and Bruce-Lane about $1.3 million in the same time period. Bruce-Lane’s top donors include a number of business groups and public safety organizations; Patel’s biggest contributions come primarily from labor unions, as well as healthcare and firefighter organizations. Both candidacies may also have also benefited from the spending of a handful of independent expenditure committees, which don’t coordinate with campaigns. Six such committees have spent $334,000 to boost Bruce-Lane, chief among them a law enforcement group called the California Correctional Peace Officers Association’s committee that has spent at least $247,000 on mailers. Meanwhile, the union-sponsored Nurses and Educators California has spent more than $135,000 to oppose Bruce-Lane and $98,000 to back Patel. Independent expenditure committees have spent a total of about $436,000 to support Patel this year; a group sponsored by a laborers’ union has spent the biggest chunk, about $135,000.