51st District Race Does Not End Nicely

In the 51st congressional district it looks as if Rep. Bob Filner will get to keep his job.

As of midnight on Tuesday, Filner had been declared the winner with 60 percent of the vote and 42 percent of precincts reporting.

After the race, Filner said he was glad he won but that it was still too early to enjoy it. His opponent, Nick Popaditch, however, said he wanted more and that Filner didn't quite play fair.

"That's the thing: This man has run a dirty campaign, and people are upset," Popaditch told NBCSanDiego. "We ran a very clean campaign, and we got a better message. We got a better direction for this country."

"It's sort of a bittersweet, because Democrats are doing so badly all over the country," Filner said. "I feel good about here in San Diego, but we got a big job to do to turn around this economy." 

In the other closely watched congressional race in San Diego County on Tuesday, Republican Brian Bilbray again vanquished Francine Busby in the 50th District, besting her with 58 percent of the vote, with 55 percent of precincts reporting. Bilbray got some more good news Tuesday night when he learned his son, also named Brian Bilbray, bested Paul Brown in their race for the Imperial Beach City Council.
 

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