The March 5 primary election ballot will see contested races for several incumbents, including three spots on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.
State seats in the Assembly and Senate, and federal Congressional seats are also on the primary ballot, according to the semi-official candidate lists from the Santa Barbara County Elections Division.
There are three seats on the Board of Supervisors up for grabs.
In the first district, Roy Lee, a Carpinteria city council member, is running against incumbent Das Williams.
Lee is the owner of the Uncle Chen Restaurant and is in his second term on the City Council. Williams will be running for his third term on the Board of Supervisors, and previously worked as a state assemblyman and Santa Barbara councilman.
The district includes the Carpinteria Valley, Montecito, parts of Santa Barbara, and the Cuyama Valley.
In the third district, incumbent Joan Hartmann is facing off against Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne and investment banker Frank Troise from Santa Ynez Valley.
Osborne was first elected mayor in 2018 and was re-elected in 2020 and 2022.
Hartmann has been a supervisor since 2017, but Lompoc is fairly new to her district as it was added to the Third District during redistricting in 2021. The district includes parts of Goleta, the Santa Ynez Valley including Solvang and Buellton, and the Lompoc Valley.
For the Fourth District seat, Krishna Flores is running against incumbent Bob Nelson, who is seeking his second term.
This is Flores’ first run at a political office. Since 2018 she has served as vice-chair for Manzanita Public Charter School in the Lompoc Valley and as a volunteer on the Orcutt Academy High School Advisory Council.
Flores is a longtime Los Alamos resident and a military wife.
The district includes a large segment of southern Santa Maria, along with multiple unincorporated communities — Orcutt, Los Alamos, Vandenberg Village, Garey, Sisquoc, Casmalia and Tepusquet Canyon and Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Eight Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge seats are uncontested and won’t appear on the ballot. The incumbent judges are: Colleen Sterne; Raimundo Montes De Oca; Denise Hippach; Karen O’Neil; Clifford Anderson; Kristy Imel; Donna Geck; and Patricia Kelly.
Hippach, O’Neil and Imel were appointed to the bench within the last two years to fill vacancies from retirements.
State and Federal Offices
Running against Rep. Salud Carbajal for the 24th Congressional District seat are Republican Thomas Cole and Helena Pasquarella. Pasquarella did not select a party preference when filing.
The 24th District includes all of Santa Barbara County and parts of San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties.
Elijah Mack, 18, a Republican, is running against incumbent Monique Limón, a Democrat, for the 21st District State Senate seat.
Limón currently serves Senate District 19 and was elected in November 2020. She previously served in the State Assembly and on the Santa Barbara Unified School District board.
For state Assembly District 37, Sari Domingues is running as a Republican against Democratic incumbent Gregg Hart.
Hart was elected in 2022 after serving on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. Domingues has worked in government for 30 years, most recently as a business analyst for Monterey County.
The March primary election ballot for Santa Barbara County voters will also include candidates for the U.S. Senate and the President of the United States.
The election is March 5, and the last day to register to vote is Feb. 20.
Read the entire list of certified candidates for state office here and the California primary voter guide is available here.
