Santa Cruz County supervisor candidate Tony Nuñez says he is ‘poised' to win outright

WATSONVILLE - With only a week to go before California's June 2 Primary Election results are certified in Santa Cruz County, 4th District supervisor candidate Tony Nuñez said he is "poised" for an outright victory.

"This campaign has achieved something truly extraordinary, and I am filled with gratitude," Nuñez said in a campaign release Friday. "But what matters most is what this result represents: a community coming together around a shared belief that Watsonville, the Pajaro Valley, and South County deserve leadership that shows up, works hard, and delivers. I am grateful to every voter, volunteer, supporter, and family member who helped build this campaign, and I am ready to serve District 4 with humility, urgency, and heart."

As of Friday, the former local journalist and current Pajaro Valley Health Care District board chair had received 3,939 votes, or 50.09% of valid votes cast in the race overall, narrowly clearing the simple majority needed to avoid a runoff with incumbent Felipe Hernandez in the general election this fall. Hernandez is in second with 2,423 votes, or 30.8%, while community advocate Elias Gonzales trailed with 1,447 votes, or 18.4%.

However, according to Santa Cruz County Clerk Tricia Webber, there are still 162 vote-by-mail ballots countywide that require signature cures before they can be considered for tabulation. Of that total, 28 of the ballots are from voters within the 4th District, 19 of which have mismatched signatures and nine of which were turned in without a signature at all.

This means that if all voters associated with those 4th District ballots successfully take steps to fix the technical errors needed to count the ballots, and all of those 28 votes go to Nuñez's opponents, it will drop Nuñez below the 50% mark and force a runoff between him and Hernandez in November.

But Nuñez appeared confident that won't be the case. The release from the campaign noted that Nuñez planned to spend the next six months focusing on a "smooth, respectful, and productive transition from current leadership ahead of January 2027, when he will officially take office."

Hernandez did not respond to multiple Sentinel requests for comment Friday.

Assuming all outstanding 28 ballots are successfully cured and verified as valid votes for one of the three candidates or for a write-in candidate, according to the Sentinel's calculations, Nuñez would need to receive eight of those 28 votes to hit the 50% plus-one simple majority needed for outright victory. Undervotes, or when a voter turns in their ballot but does not list a preferred candidate at all, and overvotes, when more than one candidate is selected, are not included when calculating percentage totals for each candidate, said Webber.

Webber sent an email to all three 4th District candidates Thursday explaining that, given the current voting numbers, she has ordered a manual tally of 100% of votes cast in the race to ensure accuracy. While state law requires counties to manually tally 1% of ballots cast to verify proper operation of tabulation machines, the elections official has discretion to escalate the manual tally to any number of ballots they deem necessary, she wrote.

In a phone interview with the Sentinel Friday, Webber explained that this escalation of the manually tally is something the clerk's office has done on "many, many occasions" in the past for close contests or contests that flip. She pointed to the November 2024 general election as an example, where the Boulder Creek Fire Protection District directors‘ race and the proposed Scotts Valley Unified School District bond measure, Measure O, were both given the same escalation treatment.

Webber and her staff also plan to perform a 100% manual tally for the Santa Cruz mayoral primary race because the percentages narrowed over time, she said.

"It's standard practice across the counties - and Santa Cruz County has done it for years - to escalate the manual tally before certification as part of the post-election process," said Webber. Webber will certify the election at 2 p.m. June 26, but the deadline for voters to cure their ballots is 5 p.m. June 24.

Voters associated with the ballots that need curing have already been notified via mail with instructions for how to make their ballot count, Webber added. Those voters will soon receive a follow up notice either via email, mail or a phone call if they haven't already responded. According to Webber, the current list of ballots that need to be cured can be purchased for a fee and that list will include information in the voter rolls such as name, precinct, possibly an email and phone number, but not the voter's address.

Webber and her team will start the manual tally at 10 a.m. Monday and she expects it will take a day or a day and a half to complete the process. All 4th District supervisor candidates were invited to observe the tally process in person and Nuñez told the Sentinel Friday he plans to do so.

"I want them to see that we're doing our due diligence prior to certification," added Webber. "I wouldn't certify it if I was not 100% sure those were the right numbers."

Nuñez‘s campaign expressed its confidence in local elections officials and said it appreciated the decision to conduct a manual tabulation beyond the 1% requirement. The campaign asked its supporters to "respect the process, avoid speculation, and allow elections officials to complete their work."

Webber clarified that the manual tally that will be performed is different from a recount, which can be ordered for a fee by any California registered voter and has different parameters and levels of analysis. The manual tally is simply to ensure accuracy in a close race ahead of certification.

A recount request must be filed within five calendar days after completion of the official canvas, or when the elections official signs the certification.

According to the Nuñez campaign, the primary election turnout totals both countywide and in the 4th District specifically are the highest they have been in 20 years or more. As of Friday, 8,495 ballots had been counted in the 4th District and 87,277 had been tabulated countywide. Nuñez went on to express appreciation for his opponents in the race.

"I want to thank Supervisor Felipe Hernandez and Elias Gonzales for putting themselves forward in service to our community," Nuñez said. "Running for office takes courage, sacrifice, and a deep commitment to public service. I respect their willingness to step forward and contribute to this important conversation about the future of District 4."

For now, Nuñez will resume his role on the health care district board and pledged to continue to connect with local residents, county staff, city leaders, school officials, and healthcare and business leaders about "moving from campaign promises to real results."

The 4th District includes most of the Pajaro Valley, the Interlaken region and most of the city of Watsonville.

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This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 5:05 PM.