Bob Nelson, the incumbent supervisor for Santa Barbara County's District 4, leads challenger Krishna Flores, initial election results showed Tuesday night.
The first results to be releasedshow that Nelson received 73.69% of the votes while Flores received 25.69% of the votes.
In a statement, Flores thanked District 4 voters directly, saying, "I am filled with immense gratitude for each and every one of you who believed in our vision for change and took time to cast your vote."
Flores said she entered the race because she believes that every voter deserves a choice, adding that if elected as supervisor, she would work to expand healthcare access, encourage affordable housing developments, and strengthen communication between public officials and community members.
Supervisor Nelson told KSBY he is watching the results at the Santa Maria County Club with his family, friends and campaign staff Tuesday night.
He is seeking a second term as supervisor and said if re-elected, he would build on his efforts to address homelessness and improve public safety.
While more ballots are still to be counted, after seeing the first batch of results come in, Nelson said he is comfortable celebrating the early lead.
"I’m ecstatic. Those numbers are huge. I am really excited to see that in early voting we are doing really well," Nelson said. "It probably signals that there is a victory at hand here, but I am really impressed by the support that those numbers represent."
Meanwhile, despite the early results, in her statement, Flores said she achieved victory the moment she filed for this race.
She said by standing up for her values, she and her campaign team have shown that grassroots movements can make a difference and that every vote matters in shaping our future.
The winner of the District 4 Supervisor race will begin their new term in January.
This is a developing story.
