What's at stake:
As expected, many Fresno-area races are poised for runoff elections in November, but a few clear frontrunners have emerged.
Former Sheriff Margaret Mims appeared poised to win a seat to the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, carrying almost 65% of the vote and likely avoiding a runoff in the fall.
In the race for the District 4 seat, Mims held an enormous lead over her second-place challenger, Alma Beltran, who was carrying about just above 12% of the vote so far. The former sheriff could not immediately be reached for comment late Tuesday.
The only other local race that may still avoid a November runoff was in the Fresno City Council District 5 race, where incumbent Brandon Vang held a huge lead in the race, but remained just barely above the 50% threshold needed to win outright in the June primary. His next closest challenger, Danielle Parra, had about 30%.
Parra said she’s staying optimistic at the chance of a runoff as she waits for the next batch of results in the District 5 race to come in, pointing out that she’s the only candidate across the city council races facing off against an incumbent.
She added that she was thankful to her supporters “from the bottom of my heart.”
The Fresno-area assembly race to represent California’s District 31 saw Democrat Annalisa Perea capture a big lead early with about 44%, and Republican Jim Polsgrove in a strong second-place position with almost 37%. Sandra Celedon found herself a distant third in early voting.
In the Assembly District 27 race, Fresno County Supervisor Brian Pacheco was trailing former Merced Mayor Mike Murphy in early voting, 46% to 40%, with a fall runoff likely.
In the four-way race for Fresno City Council District 1, Rob Fuentes emerged as the frontrunner early on Tuesday, carrying just over 37.53% of the vote, with Nandeep Singh in second place with more than 34.92%.
“I’m feeling very good about the results that have come in so far. I think it’s a real testament to not only the work that I put in, but really to the work that our whole team has put in,” Fuentes told Fresnoland, “whether it be knocking on doors, phone banking, putting up signs, donating. It’s really been a team effort in the truest sense.”
Joaquin Arambula and Keisha Thomas separated themselves from the pack early Tuesday in the council District 3 campaign, in the city’s most crowded race. Arambula was clinging to a slim lead, 28% to Thomas’ 26.87% early on Tuesday night.
That race will likely head to a November runoff.
Nav Gurm and Arianna Martinez Lott emerged as the frontrunners in the four-way council District 7 race, as Gurm held a lead with 38.53% and Martinez Lott carried about 36.44%. The next closest challenger was carrying only about 15% of the vote after the polls closed early Tuesday night.
In an interview with Fresnoland after the polls closed, Gurm said he was pleased with the early results and acknowledged the likelihood of a November runoff.
“We’re excited to be in first place,” Gurm said. “We’ll see what happens in the next couple of batches.”
Gurm was reflective about the campaign late Tuesday.
“The first two words I put on my (campaign) website were ‘coalition builder,’” Gurm said. “That’s just who I’ve been. A lot of people did not know who I was.”
Martinez Lott said she was ultimately appreciative of her voters for helping reach one of the coveted top two spots.
“I hear a lot of disillusionment from people while knocking on doors,” Lott said. “There’s been quite a few people that have actually told me, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to vote, because the last time I saw my councilmember was in the last election.’”
Martinez Lott was at an election party at the Moses McQueens bar in downtown Fresno. The party was well-attended with progressive Democratic candidates. Other local candidates included Joaquin Arambula, a state assemblymember vying for the Fresno City Council District 3 seat, and Sandra Celedon, a community advocate vying for the California Assembly District 31 seat.
In the Fresno County District 1 supervisor race, Mike Karbassi was in front with about 35%, Maria Pacheco was second with about 26%, and the remaining three challengers in the race all hovering around 10% each.
Pacheco said that, based on the early results, she was looking forward to advancing to a runoff election in November.
“It’s really exciting. The hard work is paying off, and it shows,” Pacheco said. “We’re optimistic with these results, which are the result of all the calls and knocking on doors made by my team and others who believed in me.”
Karbassi, Flores, Hernandez and Payne did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Perez, who is currently sitting in a distant last place in the race based on the most recent voter totals, said he was not going to concede the race, yet. He wants to wait and see how the rest of the votes turn out.
“But it’s a shame that a lot of people that are registered to vote decide not to vote,” Perez said, bemoaning turnout in the race.
In the race for County Superintendent of Schools, incumbent Michele Cantwell-Copher also emerged with a big lead, carrying about 42% of the vote, with challenger Eimear O’Brien holding about 29% and Johnny Alvarado at about 27%. If no candidate collects more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-earners will face a November runoff.
Cantwell-Copher could not immediately be reached for comment.
Eimear O’Brien told Fresnoland that she is optimistic for the race for Fresno County Superintendent of Schools, saying she thinks she will at least be part of the top two in a runoff election.
O’Brien also said she hasn’t counted herself out from winning the election outright, noting that she is the only candidate in the race who has served as a district superintendent.
“I just hope that our community has been discerning enough to know that there’s something special that can happen here,” O’Brien said in an interview.
