By Miriam Raftery
Photo: Andrew Hayes has moved into 2nd place in 75th Assembly district; LaShae Sharp-Collins has pulled within 183 votes of Racquel Vasquez in the 79th district
March 9, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – Latest election results released at 5 p.m. this evening show results have flipped in the Assembly district 75—with two Republicans now in the first and second place positions poised to run-off in November, if these positions hold.
Andrew Hayes, a Lakeside school board member and long-time aide to Senator Brian Jones and Supervisor Joel Anderson, has narrowly pulled ahead of Democrat Kevin Juza, a business consultant. Carl DeMaio, founder of Reform California and conservative talk radio host, remains in first place. Currently DeMaio has 43.21%, Hayes 18.65% and Juza 18.18%. With just 555 votes separating Hayes and Juza, however, this race is still too close to call. Three lesser-known candidates are trailing far behind.
The race has also tightened in the 79th Assembly District, where three Democrats are vying for the two top slots to advance to the November general election.
La Mesa Councilman Colin Parent still has a solid lead with 39.95% of the votes tallied so far. But educator LaShae Sharp-Collins, though still in third with 29.91%, has edged closer to Lemon Grove Mayor Vasquez, who has 30.14%. Vasquez has a razor thin lead of only 183 votes.
Countywide, 54,000 votes remain to be counted, but it’s unknown how many of those are in these two Assembly districts.