While incumbent Salud Carbajal took the lead in the four-way race for the 24th Congressional District seat Tuesday night, candidate Bob Smith was not too far behind.

Early results put Carbajal — a Democrat who has served in Congress since 2016 — at 53.9% of the vote and Smith had 38.4% of the vote as of 11:30 p.m.

Carbajal said in an emailed statement that he is “deeply honored to have earned the trust and support of Central Coast voters” and wanted to “extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who cast a ballot, volunteered, or shared their hopes for our community during this primary.”

He said he wants to reverse policies implemented by Donald J. Trump’s administration — “tariffs, and wars that made housing, groceries, gas, and healthcare far too expensive” — and “keep fighting for a future where everyone who works hard has a fair shot to get ahead.”

Smith told Noozhawk over the phone that he feels “pretty good” about the results and said there was a “great turnout” that shows “a lot of people are excited and are looking for change here.”

He added that people are “looking for a problem solver” and said his 30 years in the military show he is “that kind of person.”

“I see that people are frustrated here in California and on the Central Coast,” he said, citing housing and education affordability as a few of the reasons why. “People are hungry for real leadership.”

Moving ahead, he said his team is going to start focusing on swing voters. “I talk to everybody,” he said.

The 24th District covers the entire Santa Barbara County, as well as parts of San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties. 

Smith is a Carpinteria resident and retired U.S. Navy officer running as a Republican.

The two other 24th district candidates, Sarah Bacon and Helena Pasquarella, trailed behind Smith and Carbajal in early election results from all three counties.

In early results, Bacon had 5.9% of the vote while Pasquarella had 1.8% of the vote.

Bacon, a Santa Barbara resident and the UC Santa Barbara Graduate Student Association’s vice president for external affairs, ran in this race as a Democrat.

She was not available for comment Tuesday night.

Pasquarella, an Ojai Valley resident and director with an Ojai organization called the US Department of Peace, ran as a member of the Peace and Freedom Party. 

She told Noozhawk that she was hoping she and Bacon “would do a lot better” in the polls.

She said that while she was “disappointed that Salud still has so much support,” she “made a showing.”

“Voting is just one day,” she said, citing a poster she said she saw. “Get out there and work and organize and build community the next 364 days.”

Read previous Noozhawk coverage about the candidates and their backgrounds here. 

More results will be posted on the County Elections Office website as ballots are received throughout the night from polling places, mailed ballots and ballot drop box ballots.

Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story and other election results.