La Quinta City Councilman Steve Sanchez conceded this week in his attempt to unseat incumbent Riverside County Supervisor V. Manuel “Manny” Perez, who will represent the Coachella Valley on the county’s elected board for another four years.
Perez was leading with 61.5% of the votes cast, and Sanchez had 38.5%, according to the latest election results from the Riverside County Registrar of Voters.
Perez’s victory comes without him having to compete in a November general election, because unlike in statewide and legislative races, Riverside County’s election rules allow county-level candidates to win outright if they get more than 50% of the primary vote.
Sanchez, who’s served on the La Quinta City Council since 2016, conceded to Perez in a video posted Monday, June 15, acknowledging that he was initially disappointed, frustrated and angry as results arrived on Election Night. But, he added, he then “took a breath” and said a prayer for Perez and his family.
“Over the course of my life, I’ve won elections, and I’ve lost elections,” Sanchez said. “I’ve learned that victory can teach lessons, but adversity? That reveals character.”
While the results are not official, they are certain. Countywide, the voter registrar said over 545,000 ballots had been counted and fewer than 8,000 vote-by-mail ballots and 3,100 conditional voter registration ballots remained to be tallied as of Wednesday, June 17. Since there are five supervisor districts, that means it’s likely just a couple thousand votes were left to be counted in the Sanchez-Perez race, and Perez was leading by almost 23,000 votes.
Sanchez was last elected to the city council in 2024, meaning he still has two years left on his term in La Quinta, and he also represents the city on several regional boards. In the video, Sanchez stated that his responsibility “remains the same.”
“In those roles, I will continue to fight for transparency, accountability, responsible government, public safety, fiscal stewardship and the interests of the people we have been elected to serve,” Sanchez said.
Perez, who was first appointed to fill the seat in 2017 after the death of John Benoit, won elections to his third full term on the board. Previously, he defeated Palm Desert Councilmember Jan Harnik in 2018 and ran unopposed in 2022. In a statement posted on social media Tuesday, June 16, Perez said that serving on the board of supervisors has been “the honor of a lifetime.”
“I’m grateful to every voter who participated in this election, and I’m excited to continue the fight to improve lives and strengthen communities,” Perez said.
Riverside County’s Fourth District, which Perez represents, includes the valley’s nine cities and its unincorporated communities and stretches eastward to Blythe and California’s border with Arizona.
The supervisor’s position is officially nonpartisan, but Sanchez is a Republican and Perez is a Democrat. The district has far more Democrats (46% of registered voters) than Republicans (26.4%), while people registered with third parties or with no party preference comprise about 27.6%, according to the latest county voter statistics from mid-May.
Tom Coulter covers local government and politics for The Desert Sun. Reach him at thomas.coulter@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Steve Sanchez concedes loss to Riverside County Supervisor Manny Perez
Reporting by Tom Coulter, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tom Coulter, Palm Springs Desert Sun | USA TODAY Network
