The Fresno County Board of Supervisors appears poised to welcome two top city officials to its ranks, marking a feat not seen in Fresno County since 1998.
Fresno City Councilman Garry Bredefeld and Luis Chavez both hold sizable leads in their respective races for the county, according to the latest election results on Wednesday. If they continue to hold, the two will be the first outsiders to oust sitting incumbents from the Board of Supervisors since Judy Case McNairy captured her seat on the Board of Supervisors 26 years ago.
District 2: Bredefeld opened a staggering lead in the District 2 race when early voting results dropped at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The district covers north Fresno and western Clovis.
- The longtime Fresno Councilman leads Supervisor Steve Brandau 55.92%-43.55% with a margin of nearly 6,200 votes.
- There have been just over 50,000 votes cast so far in the race.
District 3: Chavez also holds a significant lead over his former boss, Supervisor Sal Quintero, although the raw vote margin is much smaller than their north Fresno colleagues.
- Chavez leads Quintero 54.35%-45.20%. But with only 22,007 votes cast in District 3 so far, Chavez’s lead sits at just over 2,000 votes.
What we’re watching: Fresno County still has around 100,000 ballots left to count, although it is unclear how many belong to voters in the District 2 and District 3 races.
- Fresno County will provide an update to all races on Thursday by 5 p.m., with more updates to follow next week as ballots that are postmarked by election day continue to come in through the mail.
