Senate hopefuls Schiff, Garvey face off in fall; San Diego House incumbents all head to general election

On March 5, San Diegans and their fellow Golden State residents will be selecting candidates to face off in a handful of seats representing our region on the national stage.

Voters are being asked to narrow down a field of candidates to replace the late Sen. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), whose office is currently filled by Laphonza Romanique Butler, who was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom after Feinstein died in September of last year.

Also on Tuesday, county residents will be voting for hopefuls in a handful of U.S. House of Representatives races.

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All races this March will determine which two candidates head to a run-off in November.

U.S. Senate

Adam Schiff and Steve Garvey will face off in November in the race to fill California's Senate seat, NBC News projects.

The contest to replace Dianne Feinstein, the longest-serving woman in the Senate when she died last year, had been a competition among three of the country’s leading Democrats in a state where the party has a 2-1 advantage over Republicans -- before baseball star-turned-celebrity pitchman Steve Garvey entered the race as a Republican. The former player for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres was a first-time candidate with few policy positions.

All of the candidates, regardless of party, went up against each other on the same primary ballot. Now the top two vote-getters move on to the general election in November.

The other contest is to decide who will fill the seat until Jan. 3 currently being occupied by Butler. Schiff and Garvey will also face off in that contest, NBC 7 projects

U.S. Representative: 48th Congressional District

Constituents in the 48th Congressional District, by far the biggest district in San Diego County geographically, live as far north as Valley Center, Fallbrook, Borrego Springs, Ramona, Julian, Poway, Santee, Alpine, Pine Valley and all the way south to the U.S.-Mexico Border. The district also contains some communities even farther north, up in southwestern Riverside County, including Murrieta and Temecula.

The incumbent Darrell Issa, a Republican who won the seat in the last Congressional election, was projected by NBC News to win the race, with Democrat Stephen Houlahan trailing in second.

U.S. Representative: 49th Congressional District

Mike Levin, a Democrat, currently holds the 49th, having occupied that role since winning it in 2019, following Issa's "retirement" the previous year. Levin, who is a resident of San Juan Capistrano, represents the district, which is made up mostly of San Diego County residents from Encinitas, Carlsbad, Oceanside and Camp Pendleton.

Levin led the field in the first dump of primary votes, with NBC 7 projecting him to face off against Republican Matt Gunderson in the fall.

U.S. Representative: 50th Congressional District

The 50th District is comprised some of San Diego's wealthiest communities, including Coronado, La Jolla, Point Loma and Del Mar, as well as Southeast San Diego, downtown San Diego, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, but also the inland areas of San Marcos and Escondido. Prior to winning the seat in 2023, Peters represented the 52nd District for 10 years beginning in 2013.

In the 2024 primary, NBC News projected Peters to win, with Peter Bono, a Republic challenger, projected by NBC News to square off with Peters in the general election.

U.S. Representative: 51st Congressional District

People voting for their representative in the 51st Congressional District live in El Cajon, La Mesa, Rolando, Mission Valley, Serra Mesa, Mira Mesa and Miramar, Scripps Ranch, and parts of Rancho Penasquitos. They are currently represented by Sara Jacobs, a Democrat seeking re-election for the third time.

With 56% of returns in, NBC News projected Jacobs to win the primary election, with the network projecting Bill Wells, the mayor of El Cajon, to be her competition in November's runoff.

Candidates for 51st Congressional District on what they would prioritize in their term

U.S. Representative: 52nd Congressional District

Rep. Juan Vargas, a longtime fixture in San Diego politics, is the Democrat who represents the 52nd in Congress. His constituents live in the South Bay communities of Chula Vista, National City, Imperial Beach and Otay Mesa, as well as portions of Southeast San Diego.

In the 52nd, NBC News projected the incumbent Vargas to best his lone challenger, Republican Justin Lee, with the pair meeting again in the general election.