Despite spending millions of dollars, sending thousands of mailers and trading hundreds of barbs, 75th Assembly District candidates Carl DeMaio and Andrew Hayes weren’t at the top of some voters’ minds on Election Day.
“There’s so much political advertising,” Sarah Fox said before casting her ballot at Reidy Creek Elementary School in Escondido. “It’s like white noise.”
The two Republican candidates waged a fierce battle for the open seat in red-leaning North and East County.
DeMaio, a former San Diego city council member and radio host, tried to push Hayes out of the running during the primary by backing a Democratic opponent. Supporters of Hayes, a former district director for Brian Jones and Lakeside Union School Board member, filed campaign finance complaints about DeMaio.
Their slugfest tied the Republican Party of San Diego in knots. And their campaign flyers created mountains of mail at many households in the district.
But dozens of voters lined up at vote centers including the elementary campus and Elks Lodge Tuesday said they didn’t notice.
“I didn’t know it was super contentious,” Fox said. “I think it’s probably not good to have that contention within a party.”
Many others said they had no opinion on the race, didn’t know the candidates or were still studying the ballot as they waited to vote.
But the handful of voters familiar with the race said DeMaio had a slight advantage: name recognition.
Chip Methany arrived at the Reidy Creek vote center in a Trump hat and American flag t-shirt, said he chose DeMaio.
“All I know is that he’s a good conservative and that’s why I’m voting for him,” Methany said.