For decades, El Cajon has been a Republican stronghold. Every mayor since the 1990s has been a registered Republican and while the area has gradually trended more Democratic, voter registration still leans red by a small margin.
So, even during what could be a year of electoral misery nationwide for Republicans, it’s not the kind of place you’d think an out-and-out socialist would find much purchase against a dyed-in-the-wool Republican. But that’s exactly what’s on the ballot for El Cajon voters.
The race for mayor of El Cajon between independent socialist candidate Alexander Kraft and longtime incumbent Republican Bill Wells has been a surprising flashpoint this election cycle.
First elected as in 2013, Wells has parlayed his staunchly conservative background into a status as an electoral juggernaut, routinely winning his races by at least 40 points. Those overwhelming victories have come even as some of his actions have been condemned by activists – those have included efforts to get the El Cajon Police Department to collaborate more closely with immigration officials. Kraft, a union official endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, has condemned those actions while campaigning as a proud socialist.
Still, for many voters stopping by El Cajon’s Foothills Church to drop off ballots or vote in person on Tuesday morning, the race was an afterthought.
Eric, a 45-year-old El Cajon resident said he leans Republican and has known of Bill Wells for years. Still, he said he didn’t vote in this year’s mayoral race.
“I may have just glanced over it. Didn’t even see it on there,” he said.
He wasn’t the only one who would have likely supported Wells who left the ballot blank. Lauren Boyer, a 36-year-old Republican, also didn’t vote in the mayoral race. But when asked about Kraft’s socialist views said his potential win was “a terrifying thought.”
That may be good news for Kraft. Over the past months, he’s mounted a more robust campaign than Wells has ever faced. He’s not only become a darling of the social media left via snappy direct-to-camera videos, he’s also held in-person events multiple times a week as he’s attempted to surf the broad disdain with the status quo into office.
For some voters on Tuesday, that pitch has resonated.
Elizabeth Martinez, a 21-year-old, said her boyfriend first introduced her to Kraft after seeing one of his videos on social media. They were intrigued by his markedly different pitch for El Cajon.
“I follow [Kraft] on Instagram and I’ve seen what he’s saying and what he stands up for and it makes me really happy. I would love to see that kind of change and that man have some sort of say in El Cajon,” Martinez said. “He says all the right things and he’s cool – and I like his moustache.”
Selena Vargas, a 33-year-old health care professional, also voted for Kraft.
“I think it’s time for a change in El Cajon. I don’t like the political views of the current mayor,” Vargas said.
She said she thinks many people in El Cajon feel the same way. She pointed to opposition at City Council meetings to Wells’ overtures to ICE as proof.
“I think lots of people want a new point of view,” Vargas said.
But overall, most voters on Tuesday morning approved of Wells. Alex Calderson, a 52-year-old former marine and police officer, was one of them. He said he comes from “conservative values” and he felt Wells represented them well. He’d even met Wells before and felt like he was a nice guy.
“He’s pretty well grounded as far as these conservatives. He’s not coming up with all these really loopy propositions,” Calderson said.
Much of Wells’ campaign has centered on Kraft’s socialist background. He’s characterized him as running on a radical socialist agenda that presents grave danger to El Cajon.
For some voters, Wells’ condemnations have resonated.
Chad Alvanes, a 51-year-old, said he’d voted for Democrats his entire life. This year, though, he was voting exclusively for Republicans. Part of what’s motivated him was fear of socialism. He specifically opposed Kraft, who he said he believed was “funded by communism.”
“As much as I hate Donald Trump, I just don’t want no socialism in California. It’s getting pretty bad, and the Democrat Party definitely switched,” Alvanes said. “That’s one thing what made me vote for Wells.”
But Alvanes also was representative of an interesting trend among voters. While voters who support conservatives are generally anti-tax, multiple people voting on Tuesday said they’d supported Measure B, a county-backed half-cent sales tax increase officials say will provide millions annually to help fund a fix for the Tijuana River sewage crisis that’s plagued the area’s beaches for generations.
“That whole area right there has been so bad forever, and people try cleaning it up, and it’s never been done. So, let’s see if this … actually gets done now if it goes through,” Alvanes said.
Support for the measure was far from unanimous, but the trend was significant enough to stand out – especially during an era of low trust in governments’ abilities to get things done.
Lindell Smith, a 74-year-old with a long, white ponytail was another pseudo split-ticket voter. He said he voted for Wells because he likes him and trusts him to do what’s best for El Cajon. When asked what he thought of Kraft’s socialist pitch, he scrunched his hand into a fist and gave a big thumbs down.
“No room for socialists around me,” he said.
But, like others, he voted for Measure B.
“It was one of the only increases I voted for,” Smith said. “It makes sense and it has to get fixed.”
Alan Moreno, a 29-year-old who’s lived in El Cajon for half a decade leans Republican and was most excited by the state’s voter ID measure. But he said he voted for Measure B because the region “just can’t keep ignoring” the Tijuana River sewage crisis.
“I mean, it would be easier if Tijuana fixed it, but somebody’s got to do something,” Moreno said.
Boyer, who didn’t cast a vote in the mayoral race, said she opposed what she called “overtaxing” but said the crisis at the border has “got to be fixed somehow.”
“The scapegoat of ‘the rich need to pay more’ is not the brightest way to look at things, but not all taxes are bad,” she said. “We need to clean that up. That needs to be done for sure. I mean, we live in such a beautiful city … it’s got to be fixed somehow.”