Latest Election Results: Here’s Where Some Key County Races Stand
Ballots are still being counted and many races are too close to call, but we know a lot more about California’s county races than we did last week.
Below are preliminary election results from some of the key races we were watching.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF
After four years of drama, defiance, and allegations of corruption and abuse, LA voters appear to have rejected Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s bid for a second term. The latest results show him losing to Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna by over 16 points.
Additionally, voters have approved a ballot measure that would allow a supermajority of the Board of Supervisors to remove an elected sheriff. Read more about Measure A here.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DISTRICT 3
This race is too close to call. West Hollywood City Councilmember Lindsey Horvath leads State Sen. Robert Herzberg 50.11% to 49.89%.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DISTRICT 5
This race is also too close to call, but incumbent Jeff Hewitt currently trails Moreno Valley Mayor Yxstian Gutierrez.
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DISTRICTS 2, 4 AND 5
District 2 is close. Santa Ana Mayor Vicente Sarmiento currently leads Garden Grove Councilwoman Bernice Nguyen with 50.2% of the vote.
In District 4, incumbent Lincoln Chaffee has a sizable lead over challenger Sunny Park. Both are Democrats, but the party made the unusual decision of backing a challenger against Chaffee. So far, that decision is not paying off.
Katrina Foley has a lead in District 5, with 51.3% of the vote. If she wins, which appears likely, she will flip the balance of power on the board. There would be a 3-2 Democratic majority for the first time in over 45 years.
SAN DIEGO SHERIFF
San Diego Undersheriff Kelly Martinez is likely the winner in this race. She would be the first female sheriff in county history. Currently, she leads her opponent 57.6% to 42.4%.
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DISTRICT 2
Incumbent Bruce Gibson holds the lead over challenger Bruce Jones at 53.54% to 46.46%.
The “Battle of the Bruces” is a consequential one for SLO. Gibson is a Democrat and had the backing of the San Luis Obispo County Democratic Party. Jones is a Republican and was endorsed by the San Luis Obispo County Republican Party. If Gibson’s lead holds, the once conservative board will be much more progressive on policy. That hasn’t been the case for decades.
ALAMEDA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
Alameda’s Chief Deputy District Attorney Terry Wiley is ahead of civil rights attorney Pamela Price in the race to succeed Nancy O’Malley as Alameda DA.
Price is an advocate for the social justice model. She wants to end mass incarceration and stop youth from being charged as adults. She’s been accused of being soft on crime, but she has strong support from criminal justice reform advocates and even celebrities like John Legend.
Terry Wiley is seen as the more experienced and moderate choice for DA. The latest tally has him at 51.52 % and Price at 48.48%.
A Wiley win would deal another blow to the progressive prosecutor movement, coming on the heels of former San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin’s recall in June.
ALAMEDA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DISTRICT 3
Former Alameda Vice Mayor Lena Tam leads in the race to succeed the late Wilma Chan. Tam is at 54.95 %, while Oakland Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan is at 45.05%.
Tam has run on the need to tackle rising crime, especially since her mother was attacked in Chinatown. She was endorsed by the mayors of Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro.
Kaplan’s priorities are housing the homeless and promoting public health. She was backed by firefighters and the Alameda County Democratic Party.
SAN FRANCISCO DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
San Francisco Mayor London Breed is taking a victory lap after the elections on Tuesday. Breed wasn’t on the ballot, but multiple center-left candidates she appointed to office were. All of them are appear to be winning their elections.
Three of those appointees are members of the San Francisco Board of Education. Ann Hsu, Lisa Weissman-Ward and Lainie Motamedi — who replaced three recalled members in February — appear to have been elected by voters and will remain on the board.
Another Breed appointee and center-left candidate, Matt Dorsey, appears to have won Board of Supervisors District 6. Voters chose Dorsey, a former communications manager for SFPD, over the more progressive candidate Honey Mahogany.
Breed appointee Brooke Jenkins appears to have won her election as district attorney, much to the chagrin of the social justice movement.
Breed issued the following statement on Twitter, congratulating Jenkins:
“Congratulations to Brooke Jenkins on her election as DA. We have a lot to do to address public safety in this city. I look forward to continuing the work Brooke and I have been doing to protect San Franciscans and uphold the law while getting at the root causes of crime.
“Through her work to date and her campaign, Brooke has sent a message that we need both accountability and reform, and the people of San Francisco have responded with their clear support. I will continue working with DA Jenkins and those who care about a safer and more just City.”
In Board of Supervisors District 4, the more moderate candidate, Joel Engardio, also leads Supervisor Gordon Mar with 51.76% of the vote. If Engardio wins, it would be the first time an incumbent supervisor was unseated since the switch to district-based elections in 2000, Axios reports.
SANTA CLARA COUNTY SHERIFF
Former Palo Alto Police Chief Bob Jonsen currently leads retired sheriff’s captain Kevin Jensen by just 2.4 points in the Santa Clara County sheriff's race.
Jonsen is benefitting from his status as an outsider after years of alleged corruption and mismanagement at SCSO under Sheriff Laurie Smith. Although Jensen repeatedly called out Smith and said he stood up to her abuses, many voters were hungry for a sheriff without connections to the beleaguered department.
SHASTA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DISTRICTS 1 AND 5
Redding City Councilmember Erin Resner leads political newcomer Kevin Crye by only 26 votes in Board of Supervisors District 1.
In District 5, newcomer Chris Kelstrom leads Anderson Mayor Baron Browning by 217 votes.
Crye and Kelstrom are the anti-establishment candidates and are part of a larger movement to take the Republican Party (and Shasta County) further right. Shasta County has been ground zero in the showdown between traditional conservatism and MAGA Republicanism. Resner’s 26-vote lead notwithstanding, this is a fight the extreme right appears to be winning.
See the latest election results for the aforementioned counties below:
