Waldron likely to retain 75th State Assembly seat

Incumbent 75th District Assemblywoman Marie Waldron, R-Escondido, was holding a strong lead in her reelection bid against behavioral health care provider Karen "Kate'' Schwartz as of Saturday, Nov. 7.

While the race started neck-and-neck, results tallied by Friday night showed Waldron holding a 53.4% to 46.6% lead over Schwartz. Waldron received 97,134 votes to Schwartz' 84,712.

Waldron took about 56% of the vote during the March primary, versus Schwartz, who earned nearly 38%.

According to San Diego County, "approximately 317,000 vote-by-mail and 25,000 provisional ballots still must be processed. Ballots that are postmarked on or before Election Day also remain to be counted."

The election will be officially certified on Dec. 3.

Waldron, who prior to her election to the seat in 2012, served on the city of Escondido city council for more than a decade, now serves as the state Assembly minority leader, a position she has held for the past two years.

Schwartz has been a behavioral health care provider for the past 35 years and serves on the Fallbrook Regional Health District Board.

The 75th District covers much of northern San Diego County, including Escondido, Fallbrook and San Marcos, and also covers Temecula in Riverside.

Waldron's office did not respond for comment as of Saturday morning, but she did address questions posed by the newspaper in the weeks leading up to the election.

When asked how she can make an impact in her district, considering the political and social climate in the country, Waldron said, "I continue to work on solving issues that affect my constituents.

"As mentioned above, my office helped thousands of constituents get responses from EDD, and I have been actively working and passing legislation on wildfire funding and protections and expanding mental health access," she said. "The biggest problems we face in our state require bi-partisan solutions. I work across the aisle to ensure workable ideas and efficiencies can become a reality to help our residents. Big issues like wildfire protection, rolling blackouts (PSPS events), healthcare and education need deliberate and non-political solutions. These policy discussions are a strong point for me as I have worked hard to build relationships with colleagues who share concern on these issues regardless of party affiliation."

Waldron said as a small business owner for 25 years, she can help support and build the local economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I understand how government action, inaction and regulation can take its toll," she said. "Because of my experience I was appointed and serve on the Governor's Task Force for Economic Recovery and the Small Business Subcommittee to work on recommendations to the Governor's office and GoBiz regarding safely and quickly developing programs and incentives for business to safely open. The key to getting our economy back is supporting businesses – especially small businesses that provide most of the jobs in our state."

Jeff Pack can be reached by email at [email protected].