How relevant are Second Amendment supporters in San Diego County elections? In a county-wide election, it could mean as much as a 2-4% margin. Let’s look at two unopposed, county-wide races. With 92% of the vote in:
- Sheriff Bill Gore, running unopposed, had 100% of the vote with 240,394
- County Treasurer Dan McAllister, running unopposed, had 100% of the vote with 246,890
That’s a difference of almost 6500 votes. Gore, noted for his deliberate defiance of the Peruta decision, earned 6500 votes less than the unopposed, incumbent County Treasurer (an office which has nothing to do with gun permits and/or regulations). When the remaining 4000 or so votes come in, I expect that difference to be about 7000.
Were those 7,000 voters refusing to vote for Gore based on his anti-gun policies? Maybe not but it’s worth exploring. More important to note is that Second Amendment supporters COULD move a close, county-wide election. The San Diego NRA Members Council might understand this, recruit and endorse candidates for Sheriff and Superior Court Judges, and win a few close elections.
When that close election turns out FOR the pro-freedom candidate, Second Amendment supporters should trumpet their success–it might cause incumbents (with tepid records on this issue) to start thinking twice about enacting anti-freedom policies.