Election season is descending on San Luis Obispo and beyond 

On Jan. 23, New Hampshire officially tipped off the voting for election 2024. Traditionally—and by law—this tiny New England state convenes the first real primary election in the long campaign that determines the party that will occupy the White House for the next four years.

OK, the Iowa "Caucuses" were held a few days prior, but they don't really count. They rarely predict the winner, although they do help to expose the losers– i.e., Ron DeSantis. He lost badly and promptly dropped out, surprising almost nobody.

This year in New Hampshire, only the Republicans took advantage of that "first in the nation" privilege; Democrats took a pass and President Joe Biden's name wasn't even on the ballot. Democrats decided that their presidential candidates—i.e., President Biden and a couple of also-rans—will only begin to compete in South Carolina on Feb. 3.

The first results from New Hampshire looked great for Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and UN ambassador who represents the last GOP candidate to challenge Donald Trump. In every national election, the tiny town of Dixville Notch is the first place to report their votes at one minute after midnight: Haley swept all six Republican votes.

After that, it was all downhill for her, with an 11-point margin of defeat—and New Hampshire is a state with an "open primary" where Haley, a self-styled moderate, tried to attract Independents and cross-over Democrats to request a Republican ballot in order to block the MAGA movement in the GOP. At this point, it's essentially over for her, although she's likely to slog through another two weeks until her home-state South Carolina voters welcome her home—for good.

By that time, California voters will receive their ballots for the primary election that closes March 5. There's some real drama in the "top two" selection for the Senate seat of the late, lamented Dianne Feinstein, who died last fall. Our ballots list 30 candidates vying for the November runoff. These include three leading Democrats with long experience in the House of Representatives: Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, and Barbara Lee; and the one GOP candidate with any name recognition, former LA Dodger superstar Steve Garvey. Garvey has a small but meaningful chance of coming in second, but he lags far behind the combined support of the three better-known Democrats.

The 26 other candidates include a smattering of other Republican losers and "No Party Preference" independents. Who gives a flying frisbee about them? Oh hey—Libertarian Gail Lightfoot lives in Arroyo Grande! Best wishes, Gail.

The real "heat" in the March 5 primary election doesn't come from the Senate race, anyway. That one will go to November, with the "top two" candidates that you, dear voters, will choose for the runoff. Here in San Luis Obispo County, all eyes are on the 5th supervisorial district, which will be decided by voters in Atascadero, Santa Margarita, and a good chunk of SLO city, especially downtown and neighborhoods near Cal Poly and SLO High School.

There's no incumbent in this race, as current Supervisor Debbie Arnold is retiring after 12 years on the board. There are two candidates for this seat, both members of the Atascadero City Council: Vice-Mayor Susan Funk and Mayor Heather Moreno.

Funk received some well-deserved ink in New Times last week ("SLO Rent Coalition and 5th District Supervisor candidate Susan Funk shed light on renter woes," Jan. 18). Funk has long worked to solve our crisis of unaffordable housing and homelessness: She chairs the county Homeless Services Oversight Council and led the 2022 Countywide Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness, approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors.

In contrast, Moreno likely takes a typical "less government" stance on how to solve the housing crisis. In a statement about her political philosophy provided to votersedge.org, she asserted that "the private sector and nonprofits often provide better support for those most in need, and do it more cost effectively, than government can."

How many private sector landlords are willing to accept HUD's Section 8 housing vouchers? Far too few landlords do so. Ask any nonprofit group providing services to our unhoused population, like CAPSLO, ECHO, or Transitions-Mental Health Association how much "private sector" funding is available for their services.

There are clear differences between these two candidates for county supervisor. Readers can visit the candidates' websites, read the campaign material arriving in your mailbox, and attend a candidate forum where you can hear them speak about the issues, and listen as they respond directly to your questions.

We'll return to the hot race for 5th District supervisor in next month's column and focus on the stark differences between these candidates on the other leading issue of the day: climate change.

But if there's one message that you need to hear loud and clear in this convoluted, crazy primary season: Don't let the voters of any other state or county tell you how to vote in our community. Do your research and make up your own mind. Δ

John Ashbaugh has voted in every election since he became eligible to vote in 1972. Contact him through the editor at [email protected].