Coastal North County cities clinch Levin’s re-election bid in the House

Running up large margins in North County helped U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, the Democratic incumbent, defeat Republican challenger Brian Maryott in a second consecutive election cycle.

The 49th congressional district, which runs through coastal North County into Orange County, was one of the tightly contested races that Republicans thought they could flip in a “red wave” that never materialized. Republicans took control of the House, but they will have a narrower majority than anticipated. Democrats will retain control of the Senate.

Maryott, a certified financial planner who lives in San Juan Capistrano, led Levin by 11 percentage points in the Orange County portion of the district as of Nov. 17. He also carried the small portions of Bonsall and Fallbrook in San Diego County that are in the 49th district.

But Levin led by about 13 percentage points in the San Diego section of the district, where nearly twice as many votes were cast. Among all voters, Levin led 52.6% to 47.2%. The 14,000-vote difference came from the congressman’s margins of victory in Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, and to a lesser extent Solana Beach and Del Mar. Each coastal North County City, in addition to Vista, went blue.

The Associated Press called the race for Levin on Nov. 16, but certification of the results is still pending. There are about 15,000 ballots still to be counted as of Nov. 17, according to the Registrar of Voters.

Levin, who also lives in San Juan Capistrano, released a statement on his re-election Nov. 16 that mentioned the work Democrats have done on health care, climate change and care for veterans.

“I am particularly honored to have been able to work across the aisle to build bipartisan, common-sense coalitions to tackle many of these issues,” he said. “There is much more to be done, and I look forward to the challenge.

Maryott said Nov. 17 on Twitter that he had called to congratulate Levin on his victory. He added that “we are leading with politics in this country and every day it’s getting worse.”

“But people must come first, and the obligation to deliver them tangible results should be paramount,” Maryott said. “Let’s hope some of the fresh new leaders in Congress will help.”