DeMaio, Peters race virtually tied

Republican Carl DeMaio and Democratic Rep. Scott Peters could both be heading to Washington though their election remains undecided.

At a morning news conference Wednesday, DeMaio said he and other candidates in other undecided races have been invited to an orientation next week for incoming members of Congress. He said there were about a dozen other candidates across the nation also awaiting a final outcome.

"We were told this morning, 'Hey, get ready for orientation," he said at the U.S. Grant hotel

Whether Peters ultimately wins or loses, he will be heading back to Congress for a lame-duck session to wrap up business for the year before the new Congress is sworn in.

DeMaio is clinging to a lead over Peters with 50.26 percent of the vote to 49.74 percent in returns posted early Wednesday morning.

In raw vote totals, DeMaio has 72,431 and Peters 71,679, a difference of 752 votes. The San Diego County Registrar of Voters said 100 percent of precincts are reporting, but there may be tens of thousands of yet-to-be-counted absentee and provisional ballots remaining.

The registrar's office says it doesn't plan to release further tallies until Thursday. It is unknown how many days it will take to determine a winner. Asked about the prospect of a recount, DeMaio said "Who knows?"

View the Video Carl DeMaio speaks to supporters

DeMaio was upbeat and displayed flashes of humor as he expressed confidence in the vote-counting process and Registrar Michael Vu.

"I do not believe we will have the issue of hanging chads like (they) had in Florida," he said, referring to the drawn out 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore.

He elicited laughs when he said that while the election continues with the counting, "there won't be any ads on television," campaign workers knocking on doors or making phone call.

DeMaio said he was told there were 180,000 ballots not yet counted countywide, though he did not know how many were in the 52nd Congressional District.

A reporter asked DeMaio to compare this race with the one in 2012, which was undecided for days as Peters' slim lead over incumbent Republican Brian Bilbray steadily grew with the added counting. DeMaio simply said they were two different elections.

DeMaio, who ran as an openly gay Republican and reformer, said that he hoped his campaign would be the beginning of a movement across the country that will make "the Republican Party become more inclusive."

DeMaio added "there are some forces that don't want the party to change."

Counts throughout the evening in San Diego’s marquee race — one that has captured national attention — set the tone for a razor-close finish that could take days to decide.

DeMaio opened with a slim lead but Peters closed the gap throughout the night. He suggested the trend would continue his way.

View the Video Scott Peters speaks to supporters

“I think we're winning the day," Peters said Tuesday night. "We’re really happy to be where we are. We’re very, very optimistic."

He added that if he is returned to Washington, he’ll focus on the economy — particularly biotech — and women’s reproductive rights.

DeMaio appeared before supporters shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday, saying he believes San Diego voters are “sick of the division and dysfunction in Washington.”

“They don’t want smears — they want solutions,” DeMaio said, referring to the rough campaign.

He said his campaign was not about division and partisan wrangling.

“We look for unity of purpose and what can bring us together.”

He added he doesn’t believe politicians “should be in our bedroom or in our pocketbooks.”

DeMaio said the final result could take hours or days.

“But we will make sure that every vote is counted,” he said.

Three of his eight elections over the years for various offices have taken a week or more before a winner was known, Peters said. This one, he said, has been particularly bruising with more than $10 million spent, the bulk on negative advertising.

“God knows some people thought the money could have been put to better use,” he said.

Thousands of ballots remained uncounted Tuesday night, but it was unclear how many are from 52nd District voters.

SEE LATEST STATE, COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS

The tabulation reflects weeks of polling that showed the race for the 52nd Congressional District extremely close.

The two former San Diego City Council members waged a bitter campaign marked by a constant onslaught of negative television advertising and mailers from the candidates and groups supporting them.

Peters stressed his efforts to forge bipartisan compromise and willingness to work with Republicans to get results for the region.

In addition to traditional Democratic groups, Peters also had the backing of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which mostly backs mostly Republican candidates.

DeMaio centered his campaign on a reform agenda he said he would bring to Washington, and he has vowed to work with Democrats to accomplish legislative goals.

He was supported by traditional GOP groups and his campaign received backing from the conservative Koch brothers’ political action committee.

He was supported by traditional GOP groups and his campaign received backing from the conservative Koch brothers' political action committee.

The candidates sparred constantly over their respective City Council records. DeMaio zeroed in on Peters’ taking nearly $70,000 in a car allowance, a benefit given all council members but one DeMaio rejected during his tenure. DeMaio also tried to paint his opponent as responsible for San Diego’s city worker pension debacle that increased retiree pay without providing sufficient funding.

Peters insisted DeMaio is a tea party extremist and often cited his opponent’s reputation in some circles as divisive and combative, saying that kind of demeanor won’t serve the district well on Capitol Hill.

The centerpiece of the anti-DeMaio effort was a clip of his appearance at a tea party gathering, where he said he would “owe you and our collective movement everything" if successful in the 2012 San Diego mayoral race.

DeMaio received national attention early on, running as a "new generation Republican" seeking to become the first openly gay GOP House candidate to win election. Another openly gay GOP candidate running in Massachusetts, Richard Tisei, lost his race. DeMaio and Tisei were criticized by many LGBT groups which endorsed their Democratic opponents.

The campaign was notable for two uncorroborated sexual harassment claims against DeMaio from former campaign staffers, accusations he angrily denied and claimed were smears promoted by the Peters campaign.

The race was also marked by a late-May burglary at DeMaio’s campaign headquarters in which his strategy book was stolen and eventually made its way to the Peters’ campaign. The document was turned over to police but not until after Peters’ campaign manager got at least a quick look at it.

DeMaio also had stumbles along the way, including a proposed pension plan addressing “double dippers” that was quickly exposed as a plagiarized document.

Peters largely avoided those kinds of missteps, but was often the more subdued candidate in joint appearances. The energetic DeMaio offered up plans on an array of issues, speaking passionately about bringing a reform message and platform to Congress mirroring what he said he did on the City Council from 2008-12. One key component of his plan is to do away with many congressional perks.

Peters was often the more soft-spoken and focused on his efforts during his congressional tenure rather than offering much in the way of new ideas or legislation.

Polls within the campaigns and ones sponsored by UT-San Diego and 10News consistently pegged the race close if not an outright tossup.

Registered Republicans hold a narrow edge over registered Democrats and independents in the district that stretches from Coronado to Del Mar and east to Poway.

The spending in the race is the most ever for a San Diego County congressional seat. The job pays $174,000 a year and entitles members to retirement and health benefits under the same plans available to other federal workers. Members become vested after five years.

DeMaio was endorsed by U-T San Diego.

San Diego County’s four other congressional representatives, Democrats Juan Vargas and Susan Davis and Republicans Duncan Hunter and Darrell Issa, all faced first-time challengers Tuesday and were well ahead of their opponents in the first results.

Staff writers Lori Weisberg and Jeff McDonald contributed to this report.