Several candidates backed by the Fresno Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee posted strong performances in key races for city, county, state and education offices on Tuesday.

While thousands of ballots remain to be counted, election-night returns showed Chamber-endorsed candidates leading or advancing in many of the county’s most closely watched contests, including races for Fresno City Council, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors and Fresno County Superintendent of Schools.

Board of Supervisors

Among the night’s biggest winners was former Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims, who appeared headed for an outright victory in the Fresno County Board of Supervisors District 4 race. Mims held nearly 65% of the vote in early returns, well above the 50% threshold needed to avoid a November runoff.

In the Board of Supervisors District 1 race, Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi emerged as the early frontrunner with more than 35% of the vote. Karbassi is expected to advance to the November election along with Maria Pacheco (27%), who was running second on election night.

Fresno City Council

In the Fresno City Council District 1 race, SCCCD Trustee Rob Fuentes led a competitive field with approximately 37.5% of the vote. Nandeep Singh (35%) followed closely behind, and the two candidates appear headed toward a November runoff.

Also appearing headed for a November runoff are the candidates in District 7, where small business owner Nav Gurm (38.5%) leads Arianna Martinez Lott (36.4%) by the slimmest of margins.

County Superintendent of Schools

The race for Fresno County Superintendent of Schools also drew significant attention. Michelle Cantwell-Copher, with just over 42% of the vote, held an early lead over challengers Eimear O’Brien (30%) and Johnny Alvarado (28%). It does not appear that Cantwell-Copher will surpass the 50% threshold necessary to win the office outright, thus setting up a November runoff.

The superintendent contest has attracted heightened interest from education leaders and community organizations because of the office’s influence over school districts serving more than 200,000 students throughout Fresno County.

State Assembly

At the state level, Fresno County voters weighed in on several legislative contests.

In Assembly District 27, former Merced Mayor Mike Murphy led Fresno County Supervisor Brian Pacheco in early returns. Despite trailing on election night, Pacheco (40%) will advance to the general election under California’s top-two primary system.

The open Assembly District 31 race also remained closely watched as candidates sought to succeed Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula. Fresno City Councilmember Annalisa Perea led with almost 44% of the vote. She will likely face Republican opponent Jim Polsgrove (38%) in a November runoff.

State Senate

Current Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig leads the race for State Senate District 12 with more than 60% of the vote. Magsig is vying to replace termed out Shannon Grove.

In one of the tighter races for Senate District 14, Democrat Esmeralda Soria, at 43.8% of the vote, leads her Republican challenger, Merced City Councilmember Darin Dupont, who garnered almost 43.1% of the vote.

Incumbent Rep. Jim Costa emerged Tuesday night with a solid lead to defend his congressional seat representing parts of Fresno and Tulare counties. As of 10:00 p.m. Tuesday, Costa (D-Fresno) had 42.2% of the vote, with about 50,000 votes counted. Republican businessman Kyle Kirkland was in second place, with 28% of the vote

Judicial Races

Judicial races across Fresno County also attracted voter attention. Several incumbent and Chamber-backed candidates appeared positioned to advance, while at least one Superior Court contest appeared likely to continue into the general election.

Five of six Fresno County Superior Court judicial races appeared headed toward decisive victories for the leading candidates. Senior Deputy District Attorney Jennifer L. Smith dominated the Judge No. 12 contest with 71% of the vote, while Superior Court Commissioner Jennifer L. Hamilton won the Judge No. 14 race with 62.4%. Attorney Marc Kapetan led the Judge No. 3 race with nearly 56%, and Superior Court Commissioner Noelle Pebet held about 57% in the Judge No. 9 contest.

In the Judge No. 7 race, attorney Jeffrey Hammerschmidt held a narrower but still outright majority with 52.3% of the vote, ahead of Jose Salazar (32.6%) and Curtis Sok (14.8%).

With all five frontrunners surpassing the 50% threshold, each appeared positioned to avoid a runoff and claim victory outright.

The race for the Judge No. 6 race was the only one to not have a clear winner. Candidate Ashley Paulson, chief prosecuting attorney for the City of Fresno, was leading challenger and former colleague Steven Ueltzen, a senior deputy district attorney in Fresno County. Paulson had 48.27% to 31.82% for Ueltzen.

Races We’re Still Watching

Fresno City Councilmember Brandon Vang appeared headed for reelection Tuesday night, leading the District 5 race with 52.65% of the vote. Challenger and Chamber-backed Danielle Parra, a State Center Community College District trustee, was running second with 30.66%. With Vang maintaining a slim majority above the 50% mark, the incumbent is positioned to avoid a November runoff and win a full term outright.

Former school board trustee and first-time candidate Fernando Alvarez competed well in the Fresno City Council District 3 race, finishing third with 15.7% of the vote. In the seven-candidate contest to succeed term-limited Councilmember Miguel Arias, Alvarez trailed Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, who led with 28.0%, and Keshia Thomas, who received 26.9%. The results for now position Arambula and Thomas to advance to the November runoff election.

Final Counts Still Coming

Tuesday’s results were based on election-night returns and do not include all ballots cast. Fresno County election officials are expected to continue updating totals in the coming days as vote-by-mail ballots postmarked by Election Day are received and processed.

Even with additional votes outstanding, the preliminary results suggest that candidates supported by the Fresno Chamber PAC enjoyed a successful night at the polls. The organization’s endorsed candidates were leading or advancing in several of the county’s marquee races, positioning them well for November and potentially shaping local policy discussions on economic development, housing, public safety and education for years to come.

Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters James Kus said he plans to certify the election by June 26.

For more updates on Fresno County development and business initiatives, stay connected with the Fresno Chamber of Commerce.