San Marcos Mayor Jim Desmond bested three challengers and overcame a spurious last-minute campaign violation complaint to garner 45 percent support among June 5 primary election voters in his bid for San Diego County’s District 5 Supervisor. As a Republican, he will face legislative analyst and Democrat challenger Michelle Gomez Nov. 6.

Speaking with the Borrego Sun after his primary victory, Desmond first expressed his appreciation that the Sun was the first newspaper to endorse him.

As for the primary, “Naturally, I was very pleased with the results of the election,” he said, but did express a slight disappointment.

“I would have preferred over 50 percent,” to avoid a runoff.

Desmond’s spirits remain high ahead of the general election, coming partly from his close following of primary results as they came in.

He remained at or close to 45 percent across the county from start to finish, and he expects to start and remain ahead during the vote tally in the fall.

“I am confident of a win in November,” he said, adding, “When I win (not “if”), I look forward to serving all the residents of the San Diego County.”

Election officials quickly shelved a campaign violation complaint in what Desmond described as “a late campaign hit with no time to recoup.”

The complaint was reported in the San Diego Union-Tribune May 31, but election officials responded quickly in deciding on June 1, the Friday before the election, that no violation had occurred.

The Sun will be querying candidates Desmond and Gomez on their qualifications and positions on issues in a written Q & A format. We expect to publish their responses to the same questions in a late-August or early-September edition.