National City Preliminary Mayor Results: Jose Rodriguez Leads in Early Election-Night Count

Preliminary election-night results

Official source snapshot: November 3, 2026, 8:05:46 p.m. Pacific. Jose Rodriguez led National City’s reported mayoral tally at this update, with a margin of 1,476 votes over Marcus Bush. This is an incomplete count, not a declaration of victory.

National City mayor: unofficial snapshot
Candidate	Votes	Share of reported candidate votes
Jose Rodriguez	3,493	55.48%
Marcus Bush	2,017	32.04%
Ruble Mitchel Beauchamp	433	6.88%
Jacobb Castrejon	353	5.61%

The table comes from the San Diego County Registrar of Voters’ results dashboard, linked from its official election page. Percentages describe candidate votes reported in this contest, not the proportion of the final electorate counted.

The registrar says its first release includes mail ballots received before Election Day and early vote-center ballots from October 24 through November 2. Later election-night reports add Election Day vote-center ballots. Additional mail-ballot processing and verification continue after Election Day. Totals and margins may change; these results are unofficial until canvass and certification.

Read the registrar’s explanation of the count and consult its dashboard for later updates. The campaign reporting below supplies context and does not establish a personal voting appearance beyond the sources explicitly identified.

NATIONAL CITY, California — Voters choosing a new mayor on November 3, 2026, have four candidates on the ballot: Ruble Mitchel “Mitch” Beauchamp, Marcus Bush, Jacobb Castrejon and Jose Rodriguez.

Fresh reporting by Voice of San Diego’s Jim Hinch found voters discussing the city’s finances, council divisions and living costs. His interviews outside the National City Library included support for Bush; the broader report also described the appeal of Rodriguez’s affordability message. These individual interviews are not a representative survey.

California58 has not independently verified any mayoral candidate’s personal voting time, method or location. Reporting from the library does not establish that a candidate voted there.

Four candidates, different priorities

In KPBS’s pre-election guide, Beauchamp emphasized financial stability, reducing special-interest influence and preserving community character. He supported accessory dwelling units and fewer delays between housing approvals and construction.

Bush prioritized addressing the budget shortfall while protecting major services, faster permitting for affordable condominiums and townhomes, and restoring a first-time homebuyer program. He also called for improvements in City Hall’s workplace culture.

Castrejon proposed addressing pressure on renters, preserving affordable housing and exploring a grocery cooperative to reduce household costs.

Rodriguez advocated tenant protections and rent stabilization, homes for sale on city-owned land, local hiring and labor standards on major projects. These are attributed proposals, not guaranteed outcomes.

Earlier forum reporting adds context

inewsource reported that all four mayoral candidates took questions at an August 28 forum at Kimball Coastal Eatery. Their responses highlighted different housing approaches, from additional backyard units to reducing renters’ financial pressures.

That earlier forum is a campaign event, not a November 3 voting appearance. It helps explain the choices voters faced without substituting for evidence of a personal ballot-casting visit.

Keep the full field visible

Coverage of the two councilmembers in the race should not erase the other two candidates. The official county candidate list supplies the ballot field; the reporting linked below supplies attributed policy context. This article makes no winner declaration.

Sources: County candidate list; Voice of San Diego’s Election Day interviews; KPBS’s four-candidate guide; inewsource’s August forum reporting.

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