Stockton City Council incumbents Michele Padilla and Michael Blower remained just short of the threshold needed to avoid a November runoff Monday, according to the latest election update from the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters.
As of the county’s Monday afternoon update, 135,763 ballots had been counted countywide out of 410,058 registered voters.
The update, posted at 2:58 p.m. Monday, showed Padilla, who represents District 1, with 49.24% of the vote. A candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote to win the seat outright in the primary and avoid a runoff against the second-place finisher in November.
Tamica Small remained in second place in District 1 with 27.51%. Annette Sanchez followed with 11.35%, while Lan Nguyen had 9.54% and Shelly B. Hollis had 2.37%.
Padilla had fallen below the 50% threshold in Friday’s vote update, when she held 48.8% of the vote. Monday’s results moved her slightly closer to an outright win, though she remained below the mark needed to avoid a runoff.
In District 3, Blower also remained below 50% but gained ground in the latest count. Blower had 48.42%, compared with challenger Jessica Toccoli’s 36.03%.
Joey Veltri had 10%, and Stefanie Alfaro had 5.55%.
District 5 continued to be the tightest Stockton City Council contest, with incumbent Brando Villapudua leading challenger Desiree Lynch by 111 votes.
Villapudua had 33.83%, while Lynch had 30.50%. Mary Elizabeth was in third place with 16.59%, followed by Max Beas with 13.01%. Ruben Harper had 5.47%, and Sam Carpenter had 0.60%.
Because no candidate in District 5 is near the majority threshold, that race appears headed toward a November runoff between the top two finishers if the standings hold.
The county’s Monday update also showed former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs continuing to lead locally in the lieutenant governor race. Tubbs had 17.36% of San Joaquin County votes, followed by Gloria Romero with 15.17% and Fiona Ma with 15.01%. Tubbs is fourth statewide.
In the governor’s race, Steve Hilton continued to lead in San Joaquin County with 30.64%. Xavier Becerra followed with 25.01%, and Tom Steyer had 15.81%. Becerra leads Hilton and Steyer statewide.
Election results are unofficial, and the standings could still change as officials continue counting ballots.