BLAKESPEAR LEADS PACK IN RACE FOR DISTRICT 38 SEAT

Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear and small-business owner Matt Gunderson appear to be headed for a November general election runoff for state Senate District 38 in a race between a Democratic Party progressive and an anti-tax Republican.

The first returns Tuesday night showed Blakespear outpacing both Gunderson and fellow Democrat Joe Kerr, with nearly 48 percent of the vote compared with 40 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

The three candidates squared off Tuesday in the race for the district, which runs from southern Orange County through coastal North County and down to San Diego’s Mission Beach.

Blakespear has brandished her environmental bonafides, which have included adopting an Encinitas building ordinance that limits the use of natural gas in new construction and supporting a San Diego Gas & Electric alternative, known as San Diego Community Power. She also supports efforts to address burdensome housing costs through building subsidized housing and fast-tracking approval of accessory dwelling units.

Gunderson has called for the building of more dams to address drought, freezing fuel taxes to give drivers relief from spiking gas prices and imposing harsher penalties for crimes that include guns. He’s opposed to stricter gun-control laws and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s handling of the pandemic.

The other three state Senate races in San Diego County are composed of only two candidates, who will automatically advance to the Nov. 8 general election.

In District 18 — covering portions of the city of San Diego, the county’s South Bay, as well as parts of Imperial, San Bernardino and Riverside counties — Chula Vista City Council member and California Coastal Commission member Steve Padilla, a Democrat, will face off against Republican Alejandro Galicia, a Navy veteran.

In District 32 — which includes central San Diego County and parts of Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties — Democrat Brian Nash, an analytics consultant, challenges Republican state Assemblymember Kelly Seyarto.

In District 40 — which includes Escondido, Poway, Santee, the Mira Mesa and Rancho Bernardo neighborhoods of San Diego, Descanso, Lakeside and Ramona — Republican state Sen. Brian Jones is running against Democrat Joseph Rocha, an attorney and veteran of the Navy and Marines.