SLO County releases new round of election results. Where does supervisor race stand?

The San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder’s Office counted another 8,800 ballots on Friday — widening Atascadero Mayor Heather Moreno’s lead in the District 5 county supervisor race.

Moreno is now 772 votes ahead of her opponent, Atascadero Mayor Pro Temp Susan Funk.

As of Friday at 3:41 p.m., Moreno had 5,585 votes, or 53.7%. Meanwhile, Funk had 4,813 votes, or 46.3%.

As of Friday, the elections office had counted a total of 58,099 ballots, bringing voter participation in the county to 32.9%.

The department estimated there were 30,743 ballots left to count as of Wednesday at noon.

March 12 is the last day the Clerk-Recorder’s Office will accept mail-in ballots to be counted, as long as they were postmarked by Election Day.

The earliest the department will resume counting ballots is Thursday, according to Clerk-Recorder’s Office spokesperson Erin Clausen.

On Monday, staff will prepare mail-in ballots for counting. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday, the department will conduct a 1% manual tally of the ballots, Clausen said.

The county must certify the election results by April 4.

Incumbents set to keep county supervisor seats

In Districts 1 and 3, incumbent supervisors John Peschong and Dawn Ortiz-Legg ran unopposed in the primary election and are poised to keep their seats.

So far, Ortiz-Legg has garnered 8,186 votes, or 95.1%. Write-in candidate Michelle Marie Morrow got 426 votes, but still does not present a challenge to the incumbent.

Meanwhile, Peschong has 7,163 votes, or close to 100%.

Democrats lead SLO County races for state legislature, Congress

Incumbent Democrats continue to lead their respective bids for re-election to represent San Luis Obispo County in the U.S. House of Representatives, California State Assembly and State Senate.

The top two vote-getters for each race will progress to the general election, when voters will select their official representative.

San Luis Obispo County is split into two California State Assembly Districts.

Nipomo shares District 37 with Santa Barbara County, while the rest of San Luis Obispo County falls into District 30 with parts of Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.

The most recent ballot count update from the Secretary of State’s Office shows incumbent Dawn Addis ahead in her bid to keep the District 30 seat, with 22,240 more votes than Republican challenger Dalila Epperson.

Addis had 64.5% of the vote, while Epperson had 35.5%, as of 2:52 p.m. on Friday.

Meanwhile, incumbent Gregg Hart led the District 37 race, according to the most recent ballot count report.

Hart won 62.1% of the vote, while challenger Sari Domingues had 37.9% as of 2:52 p.m.

San Luis Obispo County is also divided into two State Senate districts.

The southern and eastern portion of the county, including the Grover Beach, Oceano, Nipomo, the Carrizo Plain and Cuyama, is now part of District 21 — which extends into Ventura County.

There, incumbent Monique Limón leads the race against college student Elijah Mack.

Limón had garnered 63% of the vote, while Mack had 37%, as of 2:52 p.m.

The rest of the county remains in District 17, which also includes a portion of Monterey County along with San Benito and Santa Cruz counties.

Incumbent State Senator John Laird led the District 17 race with 66% of the vote, as of 2:52 p.m.

Tony Virrueta took second place with 20.7%, trailed by Eric Tao with 11.4% and Michael Oxford with 1.9% votes.

Incumbent Rep. Jimmy Panetta led the race for District 19, which includes the northern portion of San Luis Obispo County along with parts of Santa Cruz, Monterey and Santa Clara counties.

According to the most recent ballot count update, Panetta had 66.7% of the vote, followed by Jason Michael Anderson with 28% and Sean Dougherty with 5.2%, as of 2:52 p.m.

“I’m very humbled by the results of the primary — at least these early indications,” Panetta said. “It does demonstrate to me that good governing is good politics.”

If Panetta is re-elected, he said he’d like to incentive the development of middle-income housing, while implementing tax credits that make it easier for people to buy a home for the first time. He also plans to support the development of renewable energy and secure funding for road improvements, water projects and broadband services for District 19, he said.

“We need to make sure the power of the purse can be felt here in District 19,” Panetta said.

Meanwhile, incumbent Rep. Salud Carbajal led the District 24 race. District 24 includes the southern part of San Luis Obispo County with Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

Carbajal had 55.7% of the vote, while Thomas Cole followed in second place with 36%, according to the most recent ballot drop.

Helena Pasquarella trailed in third place with 8.3%, as of 2:52 p.m.

“I want to thank the Central Coast residents who I think are reaffirming their confidence and support for my service representing the Central Coast in Congress,” Carbajal said.

If re-elected, Carbajal said he’s dedicated to lowering everyday costs — including groceries, housing and child care. He also plans to continue to guide the implementation of laws that address climate change, infrastructure improvements and immigration reform, he said.