DeMaio frontrunner in 75th Assembly race but who will he challenge?

Out of a field of six candidates, two have taken the lead for the race for 75th Assembly District, a Republican and a Democrat, with a result that may have been by design.

Early results showed Carl DeMaio ahead with 44% of the vote in the hours after the California Primary Election Tuesday. While it seemed fellow Republican candidate Andrew Hayes would emerge as the frontrunner in the heavily red district, Democrat Kevin Juza has taken the second place spot with 19% of the vote, compared with Hayes' 16%, early votes show.

Assemblywoman Marie Waldron, R-Valley Center, who currently holds the seat, is barred from running for re-election because of term limits.

With just over 2,000 votes separating the two, it's too soon to tell who DeMaio will face in the November General Election. But if it is Juza, that could be in DeMaio's favor in the predominately Republican district.

In a strategic move, DeMaio paid for TV ads and even a website for Juza in the runup to Super Tuesday. The ads appeared as if they could have come from Juza's team, except for disclosures at the bottom of the website and at the end of the TV spot that revealed that the ads were paid for by the DeMaio camp.

The goal may have been to have Hayes, a fellow Republican, end up in third place in the primary, therefore knocking him out of the running and creating less competition among conservative voters.

The ploy is not new and has been used by campaigners in the past. Politico reported Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff may have used a similar tactic in the U.S. Senate race with a TV ad that contrasted himself with Republican candidate Steve Garvey. The ad describing Garvey as too conservative may have helped to secure a spot for the less-threatening former MLB payer as his runoff opponent instead of the Democratic challengers Katie Porter and Barbara Lee.

DeMaio, a former San Diego City Council member, has frequently sought political office but has been unsuccessful in past campaigns for Congress and San Diego mayor.

Hayes, president of the Lakeside Union School District Board of Trustees, received Waldron's endorsement as well as that of the San Diego County Republican Party, among others.

Democrat and teacher Christie Dougherty, retired government employee Joy Frew and Republican Jack Fernandes, a biotech entrepreneur, have fallen behind in early voting.

Click here to see preliminary results for San Diego County, state and Congressional races.