Voters will be going to the polls today in Santa Cruz County—as well as parts of Santa Clara, Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties—to decide who will replace Abel Maldonado, recently appointed Lieutenant Governor. The seat is being contested by Democrat John Laird, Republican Sam Blakeslee, Independent Jim Fitzgerald and Libertarian Mark Hinkle. A victory by Laird would bring the Democrats just one seat short of the two-thirds supermajority they need to pass a state budget. Worried by this prospect, Republicans have been out in force on behalf of Blakeslee, who is said to have a slight lead. While more people are registered as Democrats in the district, they are believed to be less likely to vote than Republicans.
While Blakeslee spent Monday in San Luis Obispo, Laird was in his stronghold of Watsonville, making his last-ditch pitch to citizens to get out and vote. Santa Cruz County Clerk Gail Pellerin said voter turnout should be high if the number of mail-in ballots are any indicator. So far, some 100,000 people across the district have sent back their ballots.
