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City of National City · Statewide General Election

Mayor of National City

Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.

This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.

On the ballot

This person presides over City Council meetings and represents National City publicly, but votes as one of five members on the budget and city ordinances -- day-to-day city government runs through an appointed city manager. National City's mayor is the only council member elected citywide rather than by district. A 4-year term.

Mayor Ron Morrison, in office most of the last three decades, announced a surprise retirement in mid-August 2026, just before the filing deadline — turning an expected Morrison-Rodriguez rematch into an open-seat race among four candidates, including two sitting councilmembers, Marcus Bush and Jose Rodriguez.

National City's mayor presides over City Council meetings and represents the city publicly, but votes as one of five members on the budget and city ordinances — day-to-day government runs through an appointed city manager. It's the only council seat elected citywide rather than by district. A 4-year term.

No incumbent is running: this is a genuinely open seat. Bush and Rodriguez both list "Councilmember" as their ballot designation rather than "Mayor," since neither currently holds the office. Morrison has endorsed Bush; Rodriguez is endorsed by the county Democratic Party, the county's labor council, and County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre.

Ruble Mitchel Beauchamp

National City's sitting City Treasurer, an elected office he's held since 1994. A career biological consultant and botanist — he wrote "A Flora of San Diego County" (1986) — and a Navy veteran, per the South Bay Historical Society's biography of him. He has not held a City Council seat or the mayor's office.

Strengths

32 years as an elected official (City Treasurer since 1994) and a longtime National City resident with deep roots in local civic life.

Trade-offs

No City Council or executive experience — a career in a financial, not policymaking, office leaves an open question about the switch to mayor.

Keep in mind

He has no campaign website, news profile, or CAL-ACCESS committee found for this run — a documented information gap, not a claim about his level of support.

Marcus Bush

A District 4 councilmember first elected in 2020 and a former UNITE HERE Local 30 union organizer, now a project manager building affordable housing at MAAC. The first Afro-Latino, first Millennial, and first openly bisexual councilmember in San Diego County; endorsed by outgoing Mayor Morrison.

Strengths

Six years on the council, affordable-housing project experience at MAAC, and Morrison's endorsement heading into an open seat.

Trade-offs

No mayoral or citywide-executive experience; his current seat is District 4, not a citywide office.

Keep in mind

A separate, unrelated recall committee against him as councilmember is active in state filings — distinct from this mayoral race, noted for transparency, not as a claim about the recall's merits.

Jacobb Castrejon

A grassroots organizer and STEM enrichment instructor who entered the race late, in August 2026. Beyond his ballot designation, no independent news profile, campaign website, or state campaign-finance filing was found for him despite a dedicated search — a documented gap in this race's information.

Strengths

A UC San Diego social-psychology background and community-organizing experience, per coverage of his late campaign entry.

Trade-offs

No prior campaign or elected office found in National City, and no policy platform beyond his candidacy announcement was located.

Keep in mind

No CAL-ACCESS committee, campaign site, or independent news coverage was found for him after a real search effort — an honest gap, not evidence he lacks support.

Jose Rodriguez

A District 2 councilmember since 2020 who lost the 2022 mayoral race to Morrison by 68 votes. His platform centers on affordable housing, more police officers, and street and park repairs. He was censured 3-2 by his own council colleagues in 2024 over alleged misuse of city resources, which he denies.

Strengths

Six years on the council, a near-miss 2022 mayoral bid, and endorsements from the county Democratic Party, the labor council, and County Supervisor Aguirre.

Trade-offs

A 2024 council censure over alleged misuse of city resources and disclosure of closed-session information, which he disputes.

Keep in mind

The censure was a 3-2 council vote, not a criminal or ethics finding; he denies the underlying allegations, and this dataset states both the vote and his denial rather than one alone.

Source review: Very strong (93/100) · 10 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context.

  • sdvote.com (opens in a new tab)County of San Diego Registrar of Voters — Candidate List, November 3, 2026 General Election
  • nationalcityca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of National City, City Clerk — Election 2026: confirms Mayor and City Council Districts 1 and 3 as the city's November 3, 2026 General Election races, and that districts were adopted in Dec. 2021
  • nationalcityca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of National City — Mayor and City Council: names the sitting Mayor and all four district council members (Molina D1, Rodriguez D2, Yamane D3, Bush D4) ahead of the 2026 election
  • voiceofsandiego.org (opens in a new tab)Voice of San Diego — South County Report: "Voters Prefer Insiders" (2026-06-11): confirms National City held no June primary for its 2026 municipal races
  • voiceofsandiego.org (opens in a new tab)Voice of San Diego — "Last-Minute Changes Shake Up South County Races" (2026-08-13): Mayor Ron Morrison's surprise retirement just before the filing deadline, Jacobb Castrejon's late entry into the Mayor's race, and Beauchamp as a lower-profile Mayor candidate
  • sandiegouniontribune.com (opens in a new tab)San Diego Union-Tribune — "Morrison's exit sets up bruising National City race between Bush and Rodriguez for mayor" (2026-08-23); paywalled beyond its opening paragraphs as retrieved
  • voiceofsandiego.org (opens in a new tab)Voice of San Diego — "Mayoral Hopeful Seeks New Era for National City" (2026-02-10): an in-depth profile of Jose Rodriguez's background, platform, and 2022 near-miss loss to Morrison, also covering Marcus Bush's entry into the race
  • fox5sandiego.com (opens in a new tab)FOX 5 San Diego — County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre endorses Jose Rodriguez for National City Mayor
  • southbayhistoricalsociety.org (opens in a new tab)South Bay Historical Society — Ruble Mitchel "Mitch" Beauchamp biography: National City's sitting City Treasurer (elected office since 1994), a career biological consultant/botanist, author of "A Flora of San Diego County" (1986), and a Navy veteran
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS — filer/committee search for the four National City Mayor candidates: ACTIVE 2026 committees for Marcus Bush ("Bush for National City Mayor, 2026," Filer #1494661) and Jose Rodriguez ("Rodriguez for Mayor 2026; Jose," Filer #1483083), neither with an e-filed Form 460/461/450 this cycle as of retrieval; no 2026 committee found for Ruble Mitchel Beauchamp or Jacobb Castrejon

Last updated August 31, 2026.