Bruce Gibson ahead in early results for SLO County District 2 supervisor
The competition for San Luis Obispo County’s marquee race is narrowing, but at the end of counting on Election Night, Bruce Gibson still held onto his lead in his bid for reelection as District 2 supervisor.
This doesn’t come as a surprise, as Democrats voted early in larger numbers than Republicans.
With all precincts reporting, including mail-in votes received before Election Day and votes cast at the polls on Election Day, Gibson had 52.8% of the vote to Bruce Jones’ 47.2%.
That leaves Gibson with a 653-vote lead, 6,166 to 5,513. By the end of the night, Jones had made a big push with in-person voters, who favored him 1,369 to 339. Gibson built his lead from mail-in voters by a margin of 5,827 to 4,144.
Turnout stands at 33.6% currently.
“That’s a very good start,” Gibson said of his lead early in the evening. “We know that it’s going to take some time to count all the mail-in ballots and the ones that were cast at the polls today, so we’re patiently waiting for the results.”
Jones agreed that it’s too early to tell what the results of the District 2 race will be. During the June primary, Gibson started with a strong advantage, only to see the Republican candidates start catching up as more ballots were counted, Jones said.
“I think it’s just like the primary where he had a lead because Democrats tend to vote early in the mail,” Jones said.
With a 30-day ballot-counting process, Jones said he doesn’t expect to see results for the District 2 race any time soon.
“We’ll just wait,” Jones said. “I didn’t expect to have any idea tonight where we stand.”
The candidates are competing for a four-year seat that will decide the balance on the board, which is currently split 2-2.
The newly redrawn District 2 is a blend of liberal voters on the North Coast from Cayucos and up, along with more conservative voters from Atascadero and San Miguel in the North County.
Gibson’s early lead isn’t a surprise, given the pattern seen in the mail-in ballots.
According to the Clerk-Recorder’s Office, 38.7% registered Democrats in District 2 had submitted their ballots by Monday morning vs. 28.3% of registered Republicans.
Gibson, a Democrat, was elected to the board in 2006. Jones, a Republican, is a retired orthopedic surgeon who served on the Templeton Area Advisory group after moving here from Missouri four years ago.
This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 8:12 PM.
