Following his decisive first place finish in the primary election tonight, the Scott Peters for Congress campaign released the following statement from Rep. Peters:
“I am extremely grateful to the voters for this overwhelming show of support. Tonight a decisive majority said they want me to continue representing them in the United States Congress, and it’s an honor,” Peters said.
“When I first ran for Congress in 2012, I promised to work with everyone and bring a problem-solving approach to fixing a broken Congress,” he said. “The growing support from election to election shows that voters believe I’ve kept that promise and stayed true to the priorities I laid out: supporting our innovation economy to create the jobs of the future; keeping America safe by pushing for better gun safety laws and funding a robust national defense; keeping our promises to our veterans; making college more affordable and accessible; fighting for equality for all; and protecting our natural environment.”
At 9:55 p.m., Peters had 58% of the vote; Karl Rove protégé Denise Gitsham led the five Republican challengers with 17% and Trump Republican Jacquie Atkinson was in third place with 13.5%. For context, when Peters ran for re-election in 2014, he had three opponents on the ballot. He won that primary with 42.3 percent of the vote and went on to win the General Election by three percentage points in a Republican-leaning turn out year.
Peters enters the general election period with a huge fundraising advantage over either opponent, a bipartisan profile, and a reputation for acting independently, which is proven by his organizational support from across the political spectrum. He has backing from traditionally Democratic groups, as well as from San Diego’s largest business advocacy organizations, such as the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, which typically support Republicans. This leaves both potential opponents with little place to go for local fundraising and support. However, the race could still be hotly contested should national Republicans decide to invest heavily.