With roughly 1% of the votes remaining to be tallied in Riverside County, all but a few races on the ballot earlier this month appear to have been decided.
On Monday evening, the Riverside County Registrar of Voters reported that roughly 8,000 ballots remain to be counted but that its next tally won’t be released until Wednesday. It isn’t likely there are enough votes left to count to change the current outcome of any race in the Coachella Valley, but anything is possible.
One race that will definitely come down to the final tally in both Riverside and San Bernardino counties is the race for the California State Assembly in the 47th District. That district contains parts of San Bernardino County and the western half of the valley.
After both counties had submitted their latest counts, Democrat Christy Holstege, a member of the Palm Springs City Council and a former mayor, was leading her GOP opponent, Greg Wallis, by just 68votes — 83,352 to 83,284.
In other closely-followed valley races:
- A measure in La Quinta that would have seen that city phase out unoccupied short-term vacation rentals is currently being defeated by 236 votes — 7,550 to 7,314.
- Also in La Quinta, Mayor Linda Evans handily won re-election, garnering 72% of the vote. Incumbent City Councilmember John Peña is also headed to victory, besting four challengers with 42% of the vote.
- Coachella Mayor Steve Hernandez continues to hold a slim lead over challenger Denise Delgado — 2,333 to 2,280, and incumbent City Councilmember Josie Gonzales still trails Stephanie Virgen and Frank Figueroa, who would each earn one of two open seats if the results hold.
- In Indio, incumbent Elaine Holmes is well on her way to retaining her seat. She still holds a 240-vote margin over challenger Jonathan Matthew Becerra.
- In Cathedral City, Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez has won re-election after staving off a pair of challengers.
- In the only contested city council race in Desert Hot Springs, incumbent Jan Pye defeated Adam Sanchez, a former mayor, so far besting him 57% to 43%.
- In Palm Springs, the sole incumbent running for re-election, Mayor Pro Tem Grace Garner, is 61 votes ahead of her challenger. If the vote holds, she will become the first Latina mayor in that city’s history.
- A former president of College of the Desert — Joel Kinnamon — will be taking a seat on the colleges board after beating incumbent Aurora Wilson with 54% of the vote. Incumbent board member Ruben Perez won re-election, holding off a challenge from Larissa Chavez Chaidez, whose campaign was backed by Kinnamon.
Nationally, the newly formed 41st Congressional District, which has been the subject of national attention after it was redrawn to include much bluer portions of the county, has gone to incumbent Republican Ken Calvert. His Democratic challenger, Will Rollins, conceded Monday evening. Democratic Rep. Raul Ruiz had no trouble beating Republican challenger Brian Hawkins in the 25th District .
All California counties have until Dec. 8 to certify their election results.
More information: Track the Riverside County results for all races and propositions here.
