Gibson’s lead over Jones narrows in SLO County District 2 Supervisor race
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The pivotal race for San Luis Obispo County District 2 Supervisor is coming to a much-anticipated conclusion.
Wednesday morning Bruce Gibson continues to hold the majority with 53% of the vote, while Jones possesses 47%.
All 29 precincts have reported in-person voting results.
Longtime incumbent Bruce Gibson is facing off against challenger Bruce Jones in a "Battle of the Bruces," that will determine the new board majority.
As of 10 p.m. on Election Night, Gibson led with 58% of the votes, followed by Jones with 42%.
After Jimmy Paulding upset incumbent Lynn Compton in the District 4 race in June, the board make-up once Paulding takes office in January, has two candidates that are conservative-minded, while the other two that are liberal-minded.
While the Board of Supervisors is officially a non-partisan office, each candidate does hold their own political affiliates and beliefs.
The current board majority has leaned right with a 3-2 margin since Lynn Compton defeated Caren Ray in 2014.
Gibson is a Democrat and is endorsed by the San Luis Obispo County Democratic Party, while Jones is a Republican and is endorsed by the San Luis Obispo County Republican Party.
On Tuesday, Gibson is spending his day in the seat both candidates have campaigned for the past several months. He attended Tuesday's regular Board of Supervisors meeting, serving as the board chair.
"We have worked as hard as we possibly can to let people know what's at stake in this election, so I'm feeling very optimistic let's say," said Gibson during lunch break. "To me (Election Day) is always exciting. This is the voice of our democracy, and even in these troubled times, we're going to go out and get to the polls and express what we want to see our local government be."
Jones is spending his day at the county's Republican Party headquarters in Atascadero, where he is making phone calls to voters.
"Of course I'm excited to get through this and see what's shown tonight," said Jones "I'm fairly confident I will win, but you don't know until all the votes are counted."
Gibson said he was happy to see the very long campaign, which has run the course of the entire year finally come to an end and noted what he said were the main issues in the race.
"When I knocked on doors, it's homelessness, water supply and cost of housing for the next generation," said Gibson. "These are issues certainly all over the Central Coast, and folks see them, they feel them, and they live them. I'm excited to bring the resources of county government to try and make progress in all of those."
Jones pointed out what he said were the main concerns of constituents he spoke with over the course of the past several months while on the campaign trail.
"When I walked around neighborhoods, I think the topic I heard most was the concern about public safety," said Jones. "Fire protection, Sheriff protection. I think they're also concerned about water. Even with all our rain today, people in our county are concerned about water."
While the polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday night, both candidates agreed they final result of the race will likely not be known for many more days, or event weeks, as the County Clerk-Recorder office tallies up the thousands of votes expected to be cast.
More updates will be provided as election results continue to roll in.
- For live election results, visit: keyt.com/your-vote.
- For live election interactives, see:
- keyt.com/local-regional-races for local/regional races
- keyt.com/statewide-propositions for statewide propositions
- keyt.com/national-races for national races
- And lastly, for more local voter resources, visit: keyt.com/voterguide
