In the final stretch before polls close in the District 1 county supervisor special election on Tuesday, candidates have focused their efforts on the not-so-simple act of getting residents to vote. They’re going door-to-door in neighborhoods across the South Bay, firing off phone calls and hosting walks with supporters throughout the district’s communities. That’s on top of the dozens of different mailers that have been sent to voters and the millions of dollars that have been spent since the race began in late January. Candidates and community advocates hope it’s enough to mobilize voters to participate in the region’s first local election since last November’s presidential contest, and since Donald Trump’s return to the presidency. “It is, at least in South Bay, their first chance to express their thoughts on the current political climate,” said Mason Herron, a political consultant who has been tracking the race’s voter turnout and campaign spending. Seven candidates are running for the seat vacated early this year by Nora Vargas, who announced in December that she would not serve the second term to which she’d just been elected. The move left the district without representation in the tumultuous first few months of the Trump administration, as the president began slashing much of the federal government, launched a border crackdown and enacted crippling tariffs. Those federal efforts could have major implications for the district. And some of the district’s local issues could have national ones — including the binational Tijuana River sewage crisis. But voter engagement in the District 1 special election has been a mixed bag, advocates and many of the candidates say. Some residents are unaware the election is happening. Others have heard about it but don’t know much beyond that. Some who were already politically active are eager to vote — even more than they were in November, they say. “I did vote for Nora (Vargas), but I kind of felt like she was gonna win anyways,” said Ruby Zamora Baker, an elementary school teacher who lives in Chula Vista. She said she was disappointed when Vargas stepped down, “but then excited when I saw who the choices were.” Some voters, fueled by their dissatisfaction with the Trump administration, see this election as an important step to fighting it. And results in other special elections around the country have already reflected greater energy among Democrats than in November. Clariza Marin, a Chula Vista resident and community advocate, is eager to fill the seat so advocates can determine how their new supervisor can help or hinder their efforts to respond to Trump policies that she says hurt the community. “In order for us to determine what the best strategies are moving forward, we need to know what we’re up against,” Marin said. Todd Theriac of Chula Vista’s ballot is being inserted into the ballot box by one of the poll workers. Theriac took advantage of early voting at the voting center at City Hall over the weekend for the District 1 county supervisor special election on Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Chula Vista, CA… (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune) District 1 includes the cities of Chula Vista, National City and Imperial Beach, the San Diego neighborhoods of Nestor, San Ysidro and Barrio Logan and the unincorporated areas of Bonita and Spring Valley. The seven people running to represent it include Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre, Chula Vista Councilmember Carolina Chavez, energy consultant Elizabeth Efird, businessman Louis Fuentes, Chula Vista Mayor John McCann, San Diego Councilmember Vivian Moreno and Lincoln Pickard. The outcome of the election could be determined in the April 8 primary if any one of the seven candidates wins more than 50% of the votes cast. Otherwise, the top two finishers will move on to a special general election to be held July 1. The election results must be certified by May 8, though election officials say they could be certified earlier. Many of the candidates’ campaigns expect to see the race go to a runoff in July, due to the sheer number of candidates in the race and the difficulty of any one of them winning a majority outright. “There’s enough diversity of candidates on the ballot right now. I don’t foresee a scenario where somebody gets 51 plus,” said Jeremy Addis-Mills, Moreno’s campaign spokesperson. More than 370,000 ballots were sent out to registered voters in the district, and as of Friday afternoon, more than 47,000 — around 12.5% — had been returned, said Antonia Hutzell, a spokesperson for the county Registrar of Voters. Hutzell said that the registrar can’t predict what turnout will ultimately be, but she noted that it’s typically lower in special elections. Fewer than a quarter of registered voters cast a ballot in the 2023 special election for District 4 supervisor, after Nathan Fletcher resigned following sexual misconduct allegations. The District 1 race has posed some challenges to voter outreach, says Itzel Maganda Chavez, the civic engagement director for Alliance San Diego, which has organized voter education efforts over the last few months, including sending mailers to low-propensity voters and launching a texting campaign. With seven candidates in the race, Chavez says it can be difficult for voters to do thorough research on all of them. Special elections also run on shorter timelines than general elections, so Alliance hasn’t been able to do the kind of more extensive outreach they typically would before an election — such as fundraising and bringing on a team to make calls and go door to door. There has also been the added struggle of getting voters’ attention. “With everything else that is happening in the political world, it has been even more of a challenge to really emphasize the importance of this election, because we’re competing with so many other headlines,” she said. But Herron, the political consultant, said there’s also reason to believe that voter turnout could be higher than in other special elections. Mail-in voting has given voters a more direct and easier way to vote. And high spending on election education materials may translate into more residents knowing about — and participating in — the election, he said. “I think that helps, because it reminds voters there’s an election and it makes them feel like they are making an informed choice,” Herron said. “Theoretically, at least, they don’t feel like they’re guessing.” Millions of dollars have been raised in the race so far, between the campaigns themselves and funding from independent committees that support or oppose them. As of March 22, the biggest sums have been raised and spent by committees backed by two labor unions, campaign finance disclosures filed late last month show. One committee backed by construction union LIUNA Local 89 had raised more than $675,000 so far this year in support of Moreno and spent nearly $363,000. Another committee backed by the same union and created to oppose Aguirre had raised more than $346,000 and spent close to $300,000. A committee supporting McCann called Citizens for a Better South Bay had raised more than $289,000 and spent nearly $235,000. And a committee supporting Chavez had raised about $125,000 and spent $86,000. Of the campaigns themselves, McCann has raised the most money — more than $230,000 — and had by far the most cash on hand, with more than $133,000. The Aguirre campaign had just under $38,000 on hand and Moreno just under $60,000, while Chavez had about $5,000. The other candidates had raised little, if any, campaign money. Local political parties have also weighed in. The Republican Party of San Diego County has endorsed McCann and contributed $35,250 to his campaign. Aguirre is endorsed by the San Diego County Democratic Party, which has also given her campaign $35,250. As it stands, the four-person Board of Supervisors is deadlocked between two Democratic supervisors and two Republicans. That means the results of the special election could impact how the board will vote on partisan issues for nearly the next four years. ...read more read less