SAN MARCOS (KGTV) — A political shift could change who represents North County in Washington.
In San Marcos, which is now part of the newly redrawn 48th Congressional District, Democrat Marni Von Wilpert is declaring victory after early election results show her with a significant lead over Republican Jim Desmond. The race has not been called, and Desmond is not conceding.
The district has been held by Republicans for years, but it could soon have a Democrat representing it. ABC 10News spoke with voters in San Marcos about the results so far and why they think the race is turning out the way it is.
For some Democratic voters, this is the change they've been hoping to see.
"I think it wasn't so much a matter of personality this time. I think it was change, and one of them represented establishment, and one of them represented change more, and that one I believe won," San Marcos resident Debra Taylor said. "I voted for change. Yeah, I voted for things not being the way they are right now."
The 48th District was redrawn because of Prop 50, which was passed last November. The map now stretches from North County into Riverside County. For Republicans, the early results are raising questions about what went wrong, with some pointing the finger at the new map.
"It just got out of hand. I don't think it's fair. I think somebody needs to either step in and create a law or something that will make it fair and not just whatever some politician dreams up what the lines are," San Marcos resident Richard Arnoult said.
Arnoult added, "I think the Republicans dropped the ball, you know, they had a whole bunch of money allegedly that they were going to throw into the campaign across the United States. I never saw much of it until the last day or two, which is way too late."
Von Wilpert declared victory on Election night, and in a statement said "The voters of this district are sending a clear message, they're tired of a corrupt Congress and out of control costs and ready for a representative who will fight for them."
Meanwhile, Desmond is not conceding and said on election night that he remains optimistic.
"I'm optimistic. Unfortunately, you know, for Republicans, they tend to vote late or go to the polls today, and so we haven't seen any of those ballots yet. So I'm hoping, I'm positive, and like I said, it's still not over yet," Desmond said.
While early numbers show a possible Democratic flip, the race has not been officially called.
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