1st, 5th District county supervisor races both predictable and surprising, including a victory lap
The primary races for Kern County supervisor in the 1st and 5th districts met basic expectations Tuesday and Wednesday — but there were some interesting surprises as well.
In early returns in the 5th, three-term Supervisor Leticia Perez did not receive more than 50% of the votes tallied, although she came pretty close, holding onto 47.6% as of 7:20 p.m. Wednesday, more than twice the votes of any of her three challengers.
Here’s why it matters: If a single candidate in the race does not receive at least 50% of the vote, plus one, the two top vote-getters will advance to a runoff election in November. If that happens, it will be the first time Perez will not have won her race for supervisor outright in the primary.
But first things first. Let’s talk about the 1st District, which stretches from suburban Bakersfield to the mountainous Kern River Valley and onward still to the desert region of China Lake and Ridgecrest.
The incumbent, Phillip Peters, was expected to do very well in the early returns, and by Wednesday evening, Peters owned more than 59% of the votes counted thus far.
Apparently it was enough for Peters, who claimed victory in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
“Together we have accomplished some great things in my first term on the board, and now with this election behind us it is time to refocus on the mission and continue building on those successes,” Peters said.
“I am excited to see what the next four years will bring, and I know that in the true spirit of Kern County, we will continue to overcome whatever obstacles lay before us and work hard to create new opportunities that will keep this a great place to live and work for generations to come.”
The closest challenger to Peters as of Wednesday evening was medical marijuana advocate David Fluhart of Havilah, who ran and lost to Peters in 2020. Fluhart had garnered 3,594 votes, or 27.4%.
Trailing in third was Mary Little, a retired social worker and a 27-year member of the Kern County Board of Education. As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, Little had received just 13.5% of the votes counted.
The 5th District race is a bit more complicated.
Although Perez appears to have a dominant lead, her goal was to win with 50%-plus, which would allow her to fold up her campaign tent. Of course, the votes are not all counted, so it’s still possible Perez could reach that magic number.
However, Perez’s numbers slid Tuesday night from 49-plus percent to 47-plus, raising questions about whether she can avoid a run-off, rather than facing the second-place challenger in November.
As of 7:20 p.m. Wednesday, that challenger looked to be longtime political staffer Kimberly R. Salas, who currently works as district director in the office of Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains.
Salas, who was not available for comment Wednesday evening, was holding onto 20.2% of the early votes Wednesday. With her long political experience and backing from Bains, she has been viewed as a strong challenger in the race.
But in one of the biggest surprises of the 5th District race, Darren Amos, who has wide-ranging experience as a business owner, instructor, paramedic and more, was less than 1 percentage point behind Salas at about 19.5% of the votes tallied as of Wednesday evening.
David Abbasi, businessman, entrepreneur and petition coordinator, was trailing Wednesday with 12.7% of the vote.
Amos’ unexpected performance makes it even tougher to predict who will face Perez in November, should the incumbent not garner more than 50% of the votes.
“Although it’s too early to determine whether or not this will run-off to the general election,” Perez said in a text, “if it does, the Democratic Party base historically has come out in bigger numbers — and that’s better for us.”