By Ken Stone
Times of San Diego
SAN DIEGO — The race to replace Rep. Susan Davis in Congress came into sharper focus Thursday with two fellow Democrats saying they are considering a run in San Diego’s 53rd District and two others saying “count me out.”
A little before 6 p.m. Thursday, San Diego City Council President Georgette Gomez tweeted “[thank you] all 4 your love & support – I’m strongly considering it — will have an announcement soon.”
Earlier, Sara Jacobs said on Twitter that many people have encouraged her to make a second run for Congress — after a failed June 2018 primary bid in North County’s 49th District, ultimately won by Rep. Mike Levin.
“I appreciate their faith in me and am seriously considering it,” said Jacobs, a granddaughter of Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs.
Meanwhile, emphatic no’s came from Sacramento, with Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego tweeting: “There is ZERO chance I will run for Susan Davis’ congressional seat. Final. Now stop texting/asking… I’ve got work to do.”
And state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins of San Diego said: “While I appreciate the consideration, I want to make it clear that I am running for re-election to the California State Senate.”
Republican Morgan Murtaugh — who challenged Davis in 2018 as possibly the youngest candidate in the country — said in a statement that she was honored and humbled by the “overwhelming amount of people who have reached out and asked” if she would be running again.
“After serious reflection and prayer,” she said, “I have decided that although I plan on running for office again in the future, I will not be running for Congress in 2020. That said, I look forward to seeing how this election plays out and hope that the Republican Party can put forth a strong enough candidate to win this seat.”
Murtaugh, endorsed by the San Diego County Republican Party, lost her November 2018 race to Davis 69.1% to 30.9%.
Davis announced her intention to retire after her current, 10th term Wednesday, and told KPBS on Thursday she doesn’t yet know what she want to do in San Diego but won’t run for office again.
If Gomez and Jacobs join the field, it will have at least four Democrats vying in the deep-blue district. Already announced are Jose Caballero and Joaquín Vázquez.
They — and any other potential candidates — face an Oct. 5 deadline to enter the race. That’s the date a state Democratic Party conference meets to consider state endorsements in the March 2020 primary.
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Stone is a contributing editor of Times of San Diego, which shares news with San Diego Jewish World under the auspices of the San Diego Online News Association