Decision 2024: What to Know
- San Diego Voter's Guide: Everything you need to know about voting in the 2024 Presidential Election
- When is the deadline to vote? Election Day is Nov. 5, 2024. For more important dates, click here.
- Where to vote early: Early voting is underway now through Election Day. Starting Nov. 2, more than 200 locations opened for in-person early voting. Find a location here.
- How to vote by mail: Every San Diego County voter receives a ballot in the mail. Fill it out, sign it, and return it at hundreds of drop-off locations across the county.
- Who is on the ballot? Enter your address here to find candidates on the state and national level. Follow NBC 7's Decision 2024 for more on local measures and candidates.
- What propositions are on the ballot? Here are all 10 California ballot propositions for the 2024 election, explained
- Report a problem: Here's how to report incidents at the polls
It is not surprising to see two Republicans facing off in the GOP stronghold 75th Assembly District, which covers East County and portions of inland North County. However, the race has become a flashpoint, enough so that a politically diverse coalition has rallied behind one of the candidates from across party lines.
"This is a true statement. This is the most weird, unusual situation in my career since 1999 in San Diego politics,” Republican State Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones said.
Jones joined Democratic Congressman Scott Peters, Republican County Supervisor Joel Anderson and leaders of local labor and police unions from across the political spectrum in calling on 75th Assembly District constituents to vote for Andrew Hayes.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
"I've never seen anything like it in in all my years here, three decades in San Diego,” said political analyst John Dadian. “It literally was everything from soup to nuts, had law enforcement, had firefighters, had liberals, had conservatives, had Republicans, Democrats.”
Hayes, the Lakeside School Board president, is running against former San Diego City Councilmember Carl DeMaio. Hayes cinched the endorsement of the San Diego GOP.
“Like several other campaigns that are close, it's gotten pretty nasty because it's competitive, quite honestly,” Dadian said.
“Absolutely no one in San Diego is surprised that a few career politicians and political party operatives got together [Wednesday] to attack Carl DeMaio with a bunch of last-minute false attacks because he has fought these same politicians’ tax-raising schemes for years and they are worried he will upset the Sacramento status quo,” said DeMaio campaign spokesperson Jen Jacobs in a statement.
The race also made headlines earlier this month, when questions arose about DeMaio's residency, and earlier this year, when figuring out who to endorse led to a shake up within the leadership ranks within the San Diego GOP.