The race for the County Supervisor seat in District 5 in San Diego is turning into a battle for control within the local Republican Party, as State Assemblymember Carl DeMaio challenges the party's traditional power structure.
The two main Republican candidates are San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones and Vista Mayor John Franklin — both from the same party, sharing similar policy positions, and from the North County region. But DeMaio and his Reform California organization are backing Jones, while most of the County Republican Central Committee supports Franklin.
In February 2026, the central committee could not make an official endorsement decision because DeMaio lobbied to block a vote until a candidate achieved a supermajority — leaving the party without any endorsement. DeMaio subsequently issued what he called an "official voting guide" bearing the party symbol, leading the California Republican Party to send a letter demanding he stop the violation on May 14, 2026.
DeMaio is spending millions of dollars to attack a Republican candidate — merely to settle a personal grudge from the 2020 election.
Analysis
The District 5 race reflects a deeper power struggle reshaping Republican politics in Southern California.
The DeMaio model being pursued is not new in America — it is the "outsider takeover" tactic that Trump employed at the national level in 2016: breaking down traditional party machinery and replacing it with an outside organization controlled entirely by one person. Reform California in this scenario functions no differently than a sub-party, but remains accountable only to DeMaio and not to any voters or members beyond him.
His issuance of a voter guide bearing the elephant symbol — the Republican Party's symbol — and claiming to be the "Official Central Committee Slate" is a direct violation of the political brand of an organization with tens of thousands of registered members. The legal response from the California Republican Party on May 14, 2026 demonstrates the seriousness of this precedent.
Former party chair Corey Gustafson has accused DeMaio of "spending millions of dollars against Republican candidates" — if true, this would be a rare occurrence: a Republican figure openly using PAC money to attack fellow party candidates to settle personal grievances from the 2020 congressional race. The outcome of this election will show whether San Diego County Republican voters still believe in traditional party mechanisms — or are ready to accept an alternative center of power.
Diaspora Impact
Vietnamese-American real estate investors in Southern California, particularly in North County San Diego areas such as Mira Mesa, Poway, and Escondido — where there is a substantial Vietnamese community — will be watching this race closely. The County Supervisor seat in District 5 controls land use planning, approves construction projects, and sets local tax policy. Given Jones's history of voting to raise sales taxes in San Marcos in 2024, Vietnamese business owners and investors in the region need to monitor the tax positions of the winning candidate.
First-generation elderly refugees living in unincorporated areas within District 5 will also be directly affected by social service budget decisions approved by the County Board of Supervisors — including medical transportation programs and housing assistance for low-income seniors.