Rep. Scott Peters has won a second term representing a large section of San Diego county in California, besting Republican challenger Carl DeMaio after a tight contest, according to the Associated Press.
At 5 p.m. Friday, the San Diego County registrar of voters released new numbers widening Peters’ lead over DeMaio to nearly 4,500 votes.
With the final votes still being counted, Peters led with 51.3 percent of the vote compared to 48.8 percent for DeMaio. The registrar said there are still roughly 10,000 votes to be counted in the district, but Peters appears to be prevailing, denying DeMaio, an openly gay Republican backed by House GOP party leaders, a seat in Congress.
The Peters campaign instantly reacted to the news, expressing gratitude for the win after a very tough election night for Democrats.
“We are thrilled with today’s vote update, particularly given the tough election night Democrats had across the country,” the campaign said in a statement.
DeMaio’s campaign remained silent Friday night and Saturday morning. Earlier Friday the campaign posted an update on Facebook.
“Reading through hundreds of messages of support from emails, facebook, texts, etc. I’m filled with appreciation!” the post said. “A supporter send me this picture of Election Night, and it reflects the diverse and strong coalition we have brought together.”
“Next count at 5 p.m. TODAY and we are optimistic. #Believe,” it said.
The vote-counting will continue Saturday, with the majority of the remaining 10,000 counted by 5 p.m. West Coast time.
DeMaio could demand a recount, but only after the registrar certifies the election, which he has until Dec. 2 to do. Any recount would cost the requester thousands of dollars a day to complete.
The DeMaio campaign in its final weeks was rocked by charges of sexual harassment when Todd Bosnich, the former campaign policy director, charged that DeMaio sexually harassed him and then offered him $50,000 to keep quiet.
DeMaio also accused Bosnich of burglarizing the campaign, an incident he said involved smashing computer screens, cutting phone lines and stealing a campaign strategy book. He also said he fired Bosnich for plagiarizing a National Journal report for a policy briefing on congressional pensions.
Two weeks before the election, San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against either DeMaio or Bosnich.
Peters, 56, cast DeMaio, 40, as a Tea Party conservative firebrand that didn’t represent the more moderate Democratic-leaning district. DeMaio, who promised to help make the Republican party more inclusive and diverse, advocated for tighter border security, fiscal responsibility, economic policies that spur job creation and better treatment for veterans.
