Merced County election results: Tietjen in lead. Soria, Pazin heading to November runoff

The sun has set on Election Say in California, and preliminary results for federal, state and local races are still being tallied in Merced County.

Merced County Registrar of Voters Darlene Ingersoll told the Sun-Star that the voting process went smoothly throughout election day. Ingersoll said she believes everyone who wanted to vote today was able to.

“Everything went well today,” she said. “I think we serviced all the voters well.”

County elections staff were busy Tuesday servicing voters by helping those in need of assistance, answering questions and overseeing Voting Assistance Centers.

Although the polls have closed, elections officials’ work is far from over. According to the Registrar of Voters website, roughly 58.6% of the votes have been counted in the election.

As of Wednesday evening, it was too early to tell what Merced County’s final voter turnout was for the 2022 election.

Statewide, elections officials said there was low turnout.

The 2020 primary election culminated with about 43% of Merced County voters casting votes compared to nearly 79% during the presidential election, according to the Registrar’s Office. A lower primary turnout was also seen in the 2018 and 2016 elections.

So far, there have been 14,131 votes cast for 123,894 registered voters in Merced County, according to the Registrar of Voters website.

However, ballots received Election Day through June 14 will add to that count. Ballots will be canvassed by elections officials in the coming days until completed. Election results will be updated as ballots are processed.

The final day for the elections office to certify results is July 7.

Preliminary results for Merced County races

The round of election results released just before midnight showed District Attorney Kimberly Helms Lewis behind her opponent, Supervising Deputy District Attorney Nicole Silveira, 33.2% to 66.6% respectively.

So far, incumbent Steve Tietjen is still ahead of challenger Alberto Perfirio Lopez Velarde in the Merced County Superintendent of Schools race, 56.9% to 47.2% respectively.

Merced River School District’s Measure T has failed to received the 55% support it needs to pass, according to initial indications. About 23.53% of voters cast ballots with a “yes” vote for the measure compared to 76.47% voting “no.”

In the 13th Congressional District race, Assemblyman Adam Gray, a Democrat who represents Merced, had 33.5% of the votes at midnight Pacific Time. Behind him was Republican John Duarte with 30.1%. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the November midterm general election.

In the 27th Assembly District race, Fresno City Council member Esmeralda Soria, a Democrat, appears poised to face off in November against former Merced County Sheriff Mark Pazin, a Republican.

Soria had established a lead of 10,473 votes (42%) compared to Pazin’s 8,281 votes (33..2%), Amanda Fleming (Republican) at 3,773 votes (15.1%) and Mike Karbassi (Democrat) with 2,386 votes (9.6%).

Here is a results wrap-up of the top contested races in Merced County:

This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 9:04 PM.