The 2012 San Diego mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the mayor of San Diego. Incumbent mayor Jerry Sanders was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election.

Municipal elections in California are officially non-partisan, though some candidates do receive funding and support from various political parties. The non-partisan primary was held Tuesday, June 5, 2012. As no candidate received a majority of primary votes to be declared elected outright, the top two finishers, San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio and Congressman Bob Filner, advanced to the November general election. Filner was elected mayor with a majority of the votes in the November election.

The top two candidates received official support from their respective parties in the primaries and the general election; DeMaio was endorsed by the California Republican Party and Filner was endorsed by the California Democratic Party.

Candidates Declared Carl DeMaio, member of the San Diego City Council (Voter registration: Republican) Bonnie Dumanis, District Attorney of San Diego County (Voter registration: Republican) Bob Filner, U. S. Representative (Voter registration: Democratic) Nathan Fletcher, state Assemblyman (Voter registration: Republican (until March 2012), Independent (after March 2012)) Tobiah Pettus, businessman (Voter registration: Republican)

Declined Kevin Faulconer, member of the San Diego City Council (Voter registration: Republican) Steve Francis, businessman and mayoral candidate in 2005 and 2008 (Voter registration: Republican) Christine Kehoe, state Senator (Voter registration: Democratic)

Campaign The mayoral race received national attention in March 2012 when The New York Times columnist David Brooks penned a column praising the moderate Nathan Fletcher and decrying the San Diego GOP's decision to back "orthodox conservative" Carl DeMaio over Fletcher for the post.Brooks, David. A Moderate Conservative Dilemma. The New York Times. 2012-03-29. Retrieved 2012-04-10. Brooks was criticized by Reason's Matt Welch, who pointed out that DeMaio is openly gay and described him as having libertarian leanings.Welch, Matt. David Brooks and the Liberal Media Lament That a Gay-Baiting GOP "Moderate" Mayoral Candidate in California Can't Beat an "orthodox conservative." Who Is, uh, Gay. And Libertarian.. Reason.com. 2012-04-03. Retrieved 2012-04-10. A few weeks after the local Republican party endorsed DeMaio, Fletcher announced he was leaving the Republican party and becoming an independent."Nathan Fletcher Announces He's Leaving The Republican Party", KPBS, March 28, 2012

In the primary election held June 5, DeMaio placed first with 31.4 percent of the vote, followed by Filner with 30.5 percent.San Diego mayor's race: Filner, DeMaio headed for Nov. runoff. Los Angeles Times. 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2012-06-06. Trailing were Fletcher with 24.1 percent and Dumanis with 13.3 percent. As the top two vote-getters, DeMaio and Filner advanced to the November ballot. Filner was then elected mayor with 52.5 percent of the votes in the November election.

Primary election Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin oferror CarlDeMaio BonnieDumanis BobFilner NathanFletcher Other UndecidedSurveyUSA/KGTVSurveyUSA/KGTV May 28–30, 2012 542 ± 4.3% 31% 11% 28% 23% 3% 4%SurveyUSA/KGTVSurveyUSA/KGTV May 11–13, 2012 525 ± 4.4% 31% 13% 21% 21% 6% 8%SurveyUSA/KGTVSurveyUSA/KGTV April 9–12, 2012 532 ± 4.3% 28% 13% 20% 26% 4% 10%SurveyUSA/KGTVSurveyUSA/KGTV January 30–February 3, 2012 511 ± 4.4% 25% 14% 24% 13% 11% 13%SurveyUSA/KGTVSurveyUSA/KGTV September 23–27, 2011 588 ± 4.1% 25% 16% 25% 10% 9% 16%

Results

General election Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin oferror CarlDeMaio BobFilner UndecidedPharos ResearchPharos Research October 19–21, 2012 708 ± 3.7% 38.3% 46.8% 15.1%SurveyUSA/KGTVSurveyUSA/10News October 12–14, 2012 601 n/a 40% 47% 13%SurveyUSA/KGTVSurveyUSA/KGTV September 21–24, 2012 581 ± 4.1% 38% 50% 12%SurveyUSA/KGTVSurveyUSA/KGTV August 20–23, 2012 553 ± 4.3% 41% 47% 12%SurveyUSA/KGTVSurveyUSA/KGTV June 6–11, 2012 537 ± 4.3% 43% 46% 11%

Results

References