Salud Carbajal defeats Justin Fareed in 24th Congressional District race

Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal defeated Republican opponent Justin Fareed by about 7 percentage points in the contentious and expensive race for the 24th Congressional District seat long-held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Lois Capps.

With all 448 precincts reporting, Carbajal defeated Fareed with a strong 53.8 percent 46.2 percent in the traditionally Democratic-leaning district.

Carbajal, 51, is a three-term Santa Barbara County supervisor and a former member of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve who immigrated to the United States from Mexico at age 5.

Fareed, 28, is vice president of his family’s Santa Barbara-based athletics company ProBand Sports Industries and a self-described “third-generation rancher” who came within less than one percentage point of challenging long-time U.S. Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, in 2014.

Both men are running for the seat being vacated by the retiring Capps, who has represented the district — which encompasses San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, as well as a sliver of northern Ventura County — since 1998.

Capps came within 3 percentage points of losing to Republican challenger Chris Mitchum two years ago.

The Congressional race had become one of the most expensive in the country, with Carbajal receiving nearly $3 million in campaign donations, Fareed rasing more than $2 million, and millions more funneled in by the congressional committees of the Democratic and Republican parties.

This story was originally published November 8, 2016 at 8:27 PM with the headline "Salud Carbajal defeats Justin Fareed in 24th Congressional District race."