Two-term Democratic incumbent Salud Carbajal was holding a modest lead over Republican Andy Caldwell late Tuesday night in the primary race for the 24th Congressional seat, according to results tallied in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties.
As of 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, with almost 98 percent of precincts reporting, Carbajal had received 52.1 percent of the vote to 44.1 percent for Caldwell.
Kenneth Young, registered with no party preference, was in third with 3.7 percent.
The top two vote-getters in Tuesday’s election move on to a runoff in the general election in November.
Carbajal served on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors for 12 years before being first elected to Congress in 2016.
Caldwell is the founder of the Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business, and he has been an outspoken conservative voice for decades.
Some precincts still had not reported in Ventura County, and nearly 30,000 ballots that were mailed in or turned in at precincts Monday and Tuesday remain to be counted in Santa Barbara County, according to county election officials.
19th District State Senate Seat
Democrat Monique Limón of Goleta was ahead in the three-candidate race for the 19th District state Senate seat late Tuesday night, with 55.6 percent of the vote.
Republican opponent Gary Michaels of Santa Maria was in second with 39.2 percent of the vote, and Santa Barbara resident Anastasia Stone received 5.2 percent.
More than 92 percent of the votes had been tallied as of 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The top two vote-getters will face off again in the November general election.
State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, has represented the district since 2012. Jackson was barred by term limits from running again, leaving the seat open for primary election battles.
Limón is a second-term assemblywoman representing the 37th District, which covers the Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara County’s South Coast and most of Ventura County. She previously served on the Santa Barbara Unified District School Board of Education.
Michaels, who is listed as a telecommunications consultant on the ballot, serves on the Santa Maria-Bonita School District Measure T construction bond oversight committee and his homeowner association board.
Stone, a maternal health professional, is registered as having no party preference. She teaches doula services and effective advocacy at Go Midwife, and previously worked as a midwife’s assistant.
The 19th Senate District includes Santa Barbara County and western Ventura County.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.