Democrats now have a 6.3 percent lead in registered voters over Republicans in the 24th Congressional District. Six months ago, the Dems had just a 3.4 percent lead.
The race to represent the 24th Congressional District — encompassing Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and a sliver of Ventura counties — is wide open for the first time in nearly 20 years after longtime Representative Lois Capps announced her retirement last year.
Since January, Santa Barbara County has seen a 10,435 — 5.5 percent — increase in registered voters. Of those, 9,639 were Democrats and 2,443 were Republicans. The number of registered voters in every other category — no party preference, American Independent, Libertarian, and Green Party — went down. A large chunk of the increase came from the Isla Vista area, which falls in the county's 3rd supervisorial district.