Thirty-one votes.
That’s the number currently separating Oceanside mayoral frontrunner and incumbent Esther Sanchez and District 3 Councilman Ryan Keim after updated election results from the San Diego County Registrar of Voters as of Nov. 15.
Sanchez moved ahead of Deputy Mayor Keim 50.02% to 49.98%, or 37,982 votes to 37,951 votes, after Keim took an early lead after Election Day Nov. 5.
The leader in the race for city treasurer also swapped since just after Election Day, with challenger Phyllis Dominguez ahead by 853 votes compared with incumbent Victor Roy:
✔ Phyllis Dominguez: 24,183 votes, 35.30%
✔ Victor Roy: 23,330 votes, 34.05%
✔ Jack Fernandes: 20,995 votes, 30.65%
Oceanside residents were handily approving an extension of Measure X, a sale tax originally approved in 2019, by an additional 10 years. As of Nov. 15, the measure was winning 69.42% to 30.58%, or 53,643 votes to 23,633 votes.
About 73% of ballots in San Diego County have been counted, with the next update expected by Nov. 21, according to the registrar. The current number of ballots tallied countywide is 1,451,500.
In the District 3 council race, Jimmy Figueroa and Laura Bassett remained the top vote-getters:
✔ Jimmy Figueroa: 10,000 votes, 47.49%
✔ Laura Bassett: 8,638 votes, 41.02%
✔ Tom DeMooy: 1,618 votes, 7.68%
✔ Austin Sorenson: 800 votes, 3.80%
In District 4, incumbent Councilman Peter Weiss maintained a significant lead in his race for reelection:
✔ Peter Weiss: 8,838 votes, 45.49%
✔ Amber Kae Niuatoa: 5,645 votes, 29.05%
✔ Omar Hashimi: 4,947 votes, 25.46%
Niuatoa acknowledged the vote gap in comments she posted Nov. 14 on Instagram and Facebook.
“Thank you to the amazing 5,500+ residents of District 4 that entrusted me with your vote,” Niuatoa wrote. “We knew it would be a tough race with 3 people on the ticket. And this will be the second time (the current) D4 incumbent will take the seat even though more people voted against him than for him.”
Although Weiss was ahead of his two opponents, their total votes combined were more than his alone, according to the Registrar of Voters’ numbers.
“That being said, maybe it’s time for primaries in O’side. What say you?” Niuatoa said. “Either way, I am extremely grateful and honored to have taken on this adventure.”
City Clerk Zeb Navarro ran unopposed and will win reelection, according to the unofficial returns.