The two Democrats battling to represent San Diego’s South Bay neighborhoods on the City Council have both notched key endorsements since they finished first and second in the June primary.

Antonio Martinez, a San Ysidro school board member, was endorsed by the county Democratic Party and the fourth-place finisher in the June primary, realtor Rafael Perez.

Gerardo Ramirez, chief of staff to the area’s incumbent Councilmember Vivian Moreno, was endorsed by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Building Industry Association and a large construction labor union.

Martinez finished first in June with 5,375 votes and Ramirez second with 4,636, narrowly beating third-place finisher Venus Molina — who had 4,334 votes — for the second slot in the Nov. 3 runoff.

Molina, also a Democrat, said this week that she doesn’t plan to endorse either Martinez or Ramirez in the runoff for District 8, which includes Sherman Heights, Logan Heights, Otay Mesa, San Ysidro and some nearby areas.

Martinez said he was proud to get the party endorsement, which he also received the last time the seat was open in 2018. He lost a tight race that year to Moreno, who got the party’s endorsement for their 2022 rematch.

He said he’s also pleased to have support from Perez, another Democrat, who pulled 3,336 votes in fourth place.

“His support sends a powerful message,” Martinez said. “This campaign is about more than one candidate. It’s about uniting leaders, neighborhood voices and advocates who are committed to delivering results for the families of District 8.”

Ramirez said the party’s endorsement of Martinez was not a surprise, based on its decision to endorse him in 2018.

He said his goal is to build a different kind of coalition and that he’s proud to have both labor leaders and the business community behind him.

“They don’t usually support the same candidate, and that speaks to our independence,” Ramirez said. “District 8 needs new ideas and a new generation of leadership. That’s why they’re backing our campaign.”

The construction union that endorsed him recently is Local 89 of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, which has roughly 5,000 members in the San Diego region.

Ramirez was also backed in the primary by the city’s largest labor union — the Municipal Employees Association — as well as the union representing city police officers and the city’s blue-collar worker union, local 127 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Martinez was endorsed by the city’s firefighters union and Unite Here Local 30, a union representing 7,500 hospitality workers in the region.