Vickie Butcher

Duncan D. Hunter has been declared the victor in the Republican primary for the seat of retiring U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter.

With almost 13 percent of precincts reporting, Hunter leads with 73.9 percent of the vote. Santee City Councilman Brian Jones and businessman Brian Watkins trail with 14.2 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively.

Hunter, a businessman and Iraq veteran, is expected to face off against Democrat Mike Lumpkin in November’s general election. Early returns show Lumpkin, a former Navy Seal leading primary rival Vickie Butcher by a commanding 58.8 percent to 41.2 percent margin.

The District 52 seat spans the San Diego area.

Democrat Mike Lumpkin, running for the District 52 House seat that Republican Duncan Hunter Sr. is vacating, has raised in the vicinity of $75,000 - $80,000 in the first quarter, with over $150,000 raised to date, says campaign manager Chris Young.

“We had a very good quarter,” says Young, who added that “we’d always like to have more.”

Lumpkin, a retired Navy officer, raised $78,000 in the previous quarter. During that period of time he was displaced by the wildfires that ravaged the area.

Over the weekend Lumpkin won the endorsement of the California Democratic Party, winning 92% of the vote at the convention. Fellow Democrat Vickie Bucher, a teacher and community activist, picked up 8%