SAN DIEGO — Monica Montgomery Steppe was leading Tuesday night in early returns in the special election for District 4 Supervisor, though no candidate yet had the majority needed to win the race outright.

The latest batch of unofficial election results released at 10:30 p.m. showed Montgomery Steppe, a Democrat, with 40.63% of the vote, followed by Amy Reichert, a Republican, with 29%.

If a candidate were to receive more than 50% of the vote, they would assume the role for the remainder of the term, which goes until January 2027. If no candidate wins a majority of the vote, a special general election between the top two vote-getters will be held on Nov. 7. 

“While we wait for every vote to be counted and every voice to be heard — we are feeling optimistic about the future of San Diego County,” Montgomery Steppe, councilmember for the City of San Diego’s fourth district, said Tuesday night in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Reichert, a licensed public investigator and founder of nonprofit Reopen San Diego, also took to social media, saying, “We are waiting for all the votes to be tallied, but I feel very good about our position and confident I will be on the ballot for the November 7 runoff.”

Tuesday’s primary was the first election to fill the former Supervisor Nathan Fletcher’s seat on the county board following his resignation in May amid accusations of sexual misconduct in his role as chairman of the MTS board. 

District 4 covers the cities of La Mesa and Lemon Grove and the following areas (in alphabetical order): Alta Vista, Azalea Park, Balboa Park, Bankers Hill, Bay Park, Bay Terraces, Birdland, Broadway Heights, Casa de Oro – Mount Helix, Chollas Creek, Chollas View, City Heights, Civita, Clairemont Mesa, College Area, El Cerrito, Emerald Hills, Encanto, Grantville (portions of), Hillcrest, Kearny Mesa (portions of), Kensington-Talmadge, Lincoln Park, Linda Vista, Lomita Village, Mid-City, Middletown, Mission Hills, Mission Valley, Montezuma Mesa-SDSU, Morena, Normal Heights, North Bay Terraces, North Clairemont, North Park, Oak Park, Old Town, Paradise Hills, Rancho San Diego, Rolando, Serra Mesa, Skyline, Spring Valley (portions of), University Heights, Valencia Park and Webster. 

The next election results will be released Thursday at 5 p.m., according to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.