UCSD Professor Nathan Fletcher Wins Primary Election

UC San Diego professor Nathan Fletcher won the Tuesday primary election for San Diego County Supervisor, District Four. Fletcher won by roughly one percent of the vote, securing 22,983 votes in total (28.86 percent).

“I am honored and humbled by the outpouring of support,” said Fletcher in his victory statement following Election Day. “The results sent a clear message: voters want a County Supervisor who will stand up for our values, fight to make change in County Government, and stand against Trump’s hateful agenda.”

Fletcher is a Professor of Practice in the UCSD Political Science Department, teaching classes on public service, government, and politics since 2013. His more popular courses are “How to Win or Lose an Election,” and more notably, a course called “The Voting Rights Act of 1965,” which was featured in The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Fletcher will face the primary election runner-up Bonnie Dumanis, a long-time District Attorney, who won by 27.58 percent, or 21,966 votes. While votes are still being counted, it is clear that Fletcher and Dumanis have secured the top two spots to proceed in a runoff election in November, because no candidate received a majority of the votes. Both Fletcher and Dumanis campaigned for Mayor of San Diego in 2012, but neither advanced to the general election.

If Fletcher wins the runoff election, he will be the only Democrat to sit on the Board of Supervisors, an officially nonpartisan office currently held by all Republicans. From 1995 to 2012, all five Supervisors were white, male, and San Diego State University graduates. Democrat Dave Roberts won a seat in the 2012 race, but lost reelection in 2016 after allegations of workplace harassment.

Fletcher’s political affiliation has shifted over the past decade during his government involvement. He was elected to the State Assembly in 2008 as a Republican, for which he served two terms. He then changed his affiliation to Independent in his 2012 campaign for Mayor of San Diego, but did not advance to the general election. He is now a registered Democrat for the office of County Supervisor. He has since received endorsements from top Democratic figures and organizations such as Vice President Joe Biden, Governor Jerry Brown, and the San Diego Democratic Party.

Other candidates in the primary race for District Four County Supervisor were State Assemblymember Lori Saldana, retired Chief of the San Diego Fire Department Ken Malbrough, and private sector lawyer Omar Passons.

The runoff election will be held on Nov. 6.

Anabel King is a Staff Writer at The Triton. You can follow her @anabelkingg.