Did SLO County voters prefer Harris or Trump for president? See latest local results
In the race for president, San Luis Obispo County residents significantly favored Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump in early results, even while the Republican candidate led the race nationally.
As of 12:20 a.m., the SLO County Clerk-Recorder’s Office reported that 55.7% of SLO County voters backed Harris compared to Trump’s 42%.
“We are not a red county, and the results of the election show that,” SLO County Democratic Party leader Tom Fulks told The Tribune on Election Night.
These results represent 75,199 mail-in ballots returned before Saturday and 7,349 votes cast Tuesday at the polls representing 45.2% of registered voters in the county. As of 12:20 a.m., 100% of precincts were reporting.
The margin was slightly larger than what Joe Biden garnered in the 2020 presidential election, when local voters backed him over Trump 55.2% to 42.2%.
Nationally, however, former President Donald Trump secured enough votes to win the presidency as of early Wednesday morning, numerous media outlets reported.
With about 200 people at its peak, attendees of the local Democrats’ Election Night party at Benny’s Pizza Palace and Social Club in San Luis Obispo remained in high spirits for their local candidates, clinking glasses and cheering for their speeches, even as Trump led nationally in the presidential race.
Before 10 p.m. on Election Night, Fulks remained positive about the national race.
“We’re in the exact same position we were in four years ago,” Fulks said. “We’re going to wake up tomorrow, and it’s going to look a lot different than it does right now.”
Later in the night, Trump claimed victory in a speech to his supporters in Florida.
SLO County Republican Party leader Randall Jordan told The Tribune that the president-elect’s local supporters were “just elated” to see Trump back in office.
About 125 people attended the Republican Party’s Election Night celebration, Jordan said.
“It was amazing. Every time that a state would be committed to Trump and he would get the Electoral College totals, a big whoop and a holler would erupt,” Jordan said. “It felt a lot like 2016.”
Statewide, Harris was leading Trump 57.3% to 40.1% with all precincts reporting as of 9:40 a.m. on Wednesday.
As of Oct. 21, roughly 83% of eligible people were registered to vote in SLO County, over 180,000 voters.
The pool was comprised of 38.4% Democrats, 34.9% Republicans and 18.3% listing no party preference, according to the California Secretary of State.
The current count includes mail-in ballots received up to the weekend before Election Day and votes cast at the polls on Tuesday.
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 8:19 PM.
