SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Phones out and eyes glued to screens, San Diego County Democrats packed Stone Brewing in Liberty Station for a watch party as primary results rolled in.
The crowd gathered closely around live results trackers, waiting to see how the night would unfold — and came away with at least one certainty: their party will be represented in the gubernatorial race on the November ballot.
Shay Franco-Clausen, co-chair of the California Democratic Party's LGBTQ Caucus, said the outcome was far from guaranteed heading into the night.
"We weren't sure how this election would turn out. This was a very big toss-up, I think, in all the races. But, I feel like its, everyone here is really excited about what we're going to do next."
Will Rodriguez-Kennedy, chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party, said the primary process did what it was supposed to do.
"In the grand scheme of things, the primary tested the candidates, the bad ones fell out, the ones who weren't going to make it also fell out, and so now we're going to have the result that we all expected."
Not all of the night's results were expected, though. Franco-Clausen said some of the other races caught her off guard.
"I'm shocked by all of them. How about the (Superintendent of Public Instruction) race? I didn't see Sonja Shaw coming in over Richard Barrera. It was a little shocking, but he's still in the race."
As results continued to come in, Democrats at the watch party said there is still work ahead — and hope that work will lead to meaningful change.
Rodriguez-Kennedy said the moment calls for bold action, not caution.
"This is not the time for going along to get along, this is not the time for moderation, this is the time to, like, really look at the problems, see what's working, see what's not, and really try new things for the people."
The focus for the party now shifts to unifying behind a single candidate ahead of the general election.
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