GOP Rejoins District 51 Race

Democrats Senator Juan Vargas and Denise Ducheny were both expected to move on to the general election

Analysts predicted the race for the newly formed U.S. Congressional District 51 would be between two Democrats but the early results suggest that may not be so.

In early results, Democrat Senator Juan Vargas had a 27 point lead to the nearest competitor Republican Michael Crimmins.

β€œIt’s a very exciting night. We feel good. The people responded to our message and so far we’re doing well,” Vargas said.

Vargas said he looks forward to a spirited campaign against Crimmins despite all the predictions he would be facing Ducheny.

β€œThe media was trying to pick the candidates instead of the people. And the people get to choose and not the media,” Vargas said.

Denise Ducheny, who many expected would move on to the general election, was lagging according to early results. She appeared to be a good seven points behind Crimmins. 

NBCSanDiego caught up with Denise Ducheny Tuesday at her Barrio Logan campaign headquarters. She was making calls to voters, hoping to win some last minute support.

Ducheny is no stranger to politics. She served six years in the Assembly and eight years in the Senate before being forced out due to term limits in 2010.

The person elected to replace her after mayoral candidate Bob Filner left to run his campaign was Juan Vargas. Vargas currently holds the seat. We weren't able to catch up with him this afternoon. His staffers say he is focused on talking to the voters.

When we spoke to Ducheny, she said this primary race is just phase one and she feels confident her record will speak for itself.

Michael Crimmins told NBCSanDiego "the cake is baked" implying he was already out of the race.

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