Tuesday's was an election for the rock-ribbed voters, the lean and the mean of the electorate, not the flighty will-o'-the wisps who blow in only when they smell national sizzle in the sweepstakes.
From my North County listening post, you could hear the harsh crack of the whip as the political hard-liners, both liberal and conservative, set the table for what promises to be a much more raucous feast in November.
TV Turn-Off: The only real chance Steve Francis, the mayoral challenger from Carmel Valley, had was to force a runoff with San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, thus extending the campaign to the madding crowds of November's general election.
Not to be. Right-of-center primary voters heard the shrill dog whistles from the GOP and San Diego's establishment. This silent majority of tuned-in voters threw its weight behind Sanders.
For his part, Francis threw a $4 million kitchen sink at Sanders, but after San Diego, once near bankruptcy, earned its bond rating back, Francis' balloon lost much of its gas.
To outpoll Sanders, Francis needed a huge wave of lightly informed voters willing to entertain a new telegenic personality in the mayoral office.
Instead, Tuesday created a chilly pool of clued-in primary voters for Francis, the candidate who appeared to be buying the office at the expense of his principles.
For Sanders, on the other hand, the turnout turned out to be a nice, warm hot tub.
Here Comes the Judge: Though the field was more complicated in the city attorney race – instead of two major candidates, four – the result had a similar feel as the mayoral election.
The solid (stolid?) right-of-center candidate exceeded expectations.
Some observers felt in the closing days that Scott Peters, council president from District 1, was surging for a second-place finish ahead of Judge Jan Goldsmith and District 5 Councilman Brian Maienschein, two Republicans fighting over inland North County and right-of-center votes.
Benefiting from a stripped-down electorate that responded to his basic message – I'm the sober Republican unsullied by the city's rank litter box – Goldsmith cruised to a first-place finish ahead of City Attorney Michael Aguirre, the incumbent who must look at Tuesday's results and feel a sense of foreboding.
Most of Peters' – and all of Maienschein's – votes appear headed toward Goldsmith.
As for Peters and Maienschein, they have to feel chastened for their hubris in imagining that voters would forgive them for playing so central a role in the city's financial near-meltdown.
If Aguirre is to be re-elected in the November runoff, he clearly needs a sea change in the voting pool.
Lightner Strikes GOP Rivals: Only in a primary can the winner seem a likely loser in November. That's the harsh reality in District 1's council race to replace Scott Peters, who's out because of term limits.
Sherri Lightner finished first in the three-person field, nosing out Phil Thalheimer by three points. Thalheimer edged Marshall Merrifield by four.
The underlying story is that Thalheimer, who ran a strong but losing race four years ago against Peters, and Merrifield, an appealing fresh face, were fighting for the same Republican votes in the primary.
In a head-to-head matchup, either Thalheimer or Merrifield would have defeated Lightner, a Democratic policy wonk backed by Councilwoman Donna Frye.
To win in November, Lightner must hope for the same thing as Aguirre – a tsunami of voters whose affiliations are more fluid than typical primary voters.
It's DeMaio, By George George: In District 5, the Energizer GOP candidate trounced the repetitively named George George, the last-minute, union-backed candidate who dreamed his deep community roots could counter a yearlong campaign that poured lots of dollars and sweat into the race.
George or no George, Carl DeMaio was going to be the slam-dunk winner in District 5 after Republicans Mitz Lee and Bob Ilko thought better of running.
Just as savvy voters don't like candidates buying offices, they don't appear to like unions doing all the heavy lifting for candidates. Say what you will about him and his money, DeMaio worked tirelessly to win votes. (In the case of placing campaign signs on George's Rancho Bernardo property, he might have tried a little less hard.)
For his part, retired Fire Chief George ventured relatively little, and gained nothing but an interesting story to tell his grandchildren.
Demo Droop: In one potentially interesting partisan race in North County, two Democrats competing for the right to challenge Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, in the fall failed to set the electorate on fire. In fact, Bilbray drew 47,000 votes and the two Democrats – centrist Nick Leibham and progressive Cheryl Ede – combined for about 33,000.
What do these numbers tell us? Well, Republicans tend to be more faithful voters in uninteresting elections. (In the February presidential primary, the turnout numbers appeared to favor Democrats.)
In winning his party's nomination, Leibham will have to pray for a perfect Obama storm that pushes legions of Democrats and hopeful independents to the polls.
To pull off a historic upset, Leibham's camp might consider sending some money to the Libertarian campaign of Wayne Dunlap, an educator and former chairman of the Torrey Pines Community Planning Board.
The last, and virtually only, time a Democrat won a partisan race in North County, the Libertarian candidate polled exceptionally well, in the 10 percent range, draining votes from the Republican front-runner.
Logan Jenkins: (760) 737-7555; logan.jenkins@uniontrib.com.
