San Diego County is almost evenly split between Democrat and Republican, varying by a few percent in each election. In recent years it has become more competitive politically, though the Republicans remain more successful than the Democrats.
While the city proper, and the metropolitan area, tends to lean Democratic, most suburban communities/cities are strongly Republican.
In the 2004 presidential election, San Diego, Encinitas, National City, Del Mar, and some other areas voted for John Kerry; San Marcos, Escondido, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Coronado, Santee, Poway, El Cajon, and Vista overwhelmingly backed George W. Bush. Chula Vista, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Solana Beach, and Imperial Beach are considered swing areas of the county - Chula Vista and Imperial Beach narrowly backed Al Gore in 2000 but narrowly voted for Bush in 2004, while Solana Beach switched from Bush in 2000 to Kerry in 2004. La Mesa narrowly voted for Bush both times, and Lemon Grove narrowly went Democratic both times.
Escondido, a chiefly Republican stronghold, has a city council that recently voted to force landlords to evict illegal immigrants. However, Escondido has since withdrawn this measure due to constitutional questions.
One unique feature of the political scene is the use of Golden Hall, a convention facility next to City Hall, as a central elections center.
The County Registrar of Voters rents the hall to distribute election results. Supporters and political observers are invited to watch the results come in, candidates give their victory and concession speeches and host parties for campaign volunteers and donors at the site, and television stations broadcast from the floor of the convention center.
Golden Hall was scheduled to be closed in 2004, but was reused again for the November 2005 special election.
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