2024 San Diego mayoral election explained

The 2024 San Diego mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 to elect the mayor of San Diego, California. The primary election was held on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, after which incumbent mayor Todd Gloria and police officer Larry Turner advanced to the general election.

Municipal elections in California are officially non-partisan, although most members do identify a party preference. A two-round system is used for the elections, starting with primaries in March followed by runoff elections in November between the top-two candidates in each race.^[1]

Candidates

Advanced to general election

• Todd Gloria, incumbent mayor (2020–present) (Party preference: Democratic)^[2]
• Larry Turner, police officer (Party preference: independent)^[3]

Eliminated in primary

• Jane Glasson^[2]
• Geneviéve Jones-Wright, lawyer (Party preference: Democratic)^[2]
• Daniel Smiechowski, real estate professional^[2]

Declined

• Scott Peters, U.S. Representative for (ran for re-election)^[4]

Primary election

Lawsuit

In February 2024, San Diego resident Helen Michelle VanDiver filed a lawsuit alleging that candidate Larry Turner was not a resident or registered voter in the city prior to filing his nominating papers, claiming instead that he was primarily living in El Cajon. Turner denied the allegations, stating that he and his family have lived in East Village since early 2023. Judge James Mangione of the San Diego County Superior Court originally set the hearing date for March 23, after the primary election; however, after Turner advanced to a runoff with mayor Gloria, VanDiver's attorney announced they would drop the case following harassment sent her way, including an alleged attack on her son.^{[5] [6]}

Results

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Todd Gloria	Larry Turner	Undecided
SurveyUSA	October 18–21, 2024	530 (LV)	± 4.8%		47%	31%	22%
SurveyUSA	September 11–15, 2024	581 (LV)	± 4.9%		37%	33%	30%
Competitive Edge Research	May 6–15, 2024	413 (RV)	–		40%	32%	28%

Todd Gloria vs. Scott Peters

Todd Gloria vs. generic opponent

Results

See also

• 2024 San Diego City Council election

Notes

Partisan clients

External links

Official campaign websites

• Alex Brown for Mayor
• Todd Gloria for Mayor
• Larry Turner for Mayor
• Professor Thomas Nguyen for Mayor

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2024 Elections . Office of the City Clerk of San Diego . May 17, 2023 . May 18, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230518025913/https://www.sandiego.gov/city-clerk/elections/city/2022elections . live .
2. Web site: Garrick . David . It's official: Here's who's running for elected office around San Diego County next year . . 31 December 2023 . 9 December 2023.
3. Web site: Jennewein . Chris . September 21, 2023 . Marine Veteran, Police Officer Larry Turner to Run for Mayor of San Diego . October 4, 2023 . . en-US . September 29, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230929000457/https://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2023/09/20/marine-veteran-police-officer-larry-turner-to-run-for-mayor-of-san-diego/ . live .
4. News: Lewis. Scott. October 28, 2023. Politics Report: Why the Mayor Didn’t Attract a Major Opponent. Voice of San Diego. San Diego, CA. July 24, 2024. December 11, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231211143440/https://voiceofsandiego.org/2023/10/28/politics-report-why-the-mayor-didnt-attract-a-major-opponent/. live.
5. News: Challenge to Larry Turner's mayoral candidacy to be ruled on after election . . February 20, 2024 . August 25, 2024 .
6. News: Lawsuit challenging Larry Turner's eligibility for San Diego mayoral race withdrawn . . March 8, 2024 . August 25, 2024 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825232027/https://www.kpbs.org/news/politics/2024/03/08/lawsuit-challenging-larry-turners-eligibility-for-san-diego-mayoral-race-withdrawn . live .