The vote counting from the June 2 primary is all but over in Ventura County and the matchups are set for runoffs in November in local, state and federal races.
There were about 232,000 ballots cast in Ventura County in the primary, according to the County Elections Division. As of the latest release of results on June 16, the county had only 43 ballots left to process, and another 2,045 ballots that had signature issues that could be counted if they can be “cured” by verifying the voter’s signature.
That makes for turnout of about 44% of the county’s registered voters, or 40% of the county’s eligible voters. It’s the highest turnout in a non-presidential primary election in Ventura County since at least 1990, which is as far back as the records go on the California Secretary of State’s website.
Under California’s “jungle primary” system, in races for statewide offices and legislative seats like the U.S. House or the State Assembly, the top two vote-getters in the primary advance to general election, regardless of political party. In local races, there is a November runoff when no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote in the primary.
These are the candidates in those November runoffs in Ventura County:
U.S. House 24th District
Salud Carbajal, the Democratic incumbent, got 54% of the vote in a four-way race. In November, he will face Republican Bob Smith, who won 36% in the primary.
U.S. House 26th District
Democrat Jacqui Irwin was first among nine candidates in the primary, with 41% of the vote. Her opponent in November will be Republican Sam Gallucci, who had 21% in the primary.
U.S. House 32nd District
Incumbent Democrat Brad Sherman won 37% of the vote in the primary and will face Republican Larry Thompson in November. Thompson won 33% of the primary vote.
State Assembly 38th District
There were only two candidates in the primary, and both will advance to the general election. Incumbent Democrat Steve Bennett won 69% of the primary vote and Democratic challenger Michael MacDonald won 31%.
State Assembly 42nd District
Democrat Deborah Klein Lopez won 53% of the primary vote and will face off in the November election against Republican Ted Nordblum, who had 26% in the primary.
State Assembly 46th District
The November election will be a rematch of the June primary, which had only two candidates: Democrat Jesse Gabriel, with 66% of the vote, and Republican Tracey Schroeder, who had 34%.
Ventura County Superintendent of Schools
Karen Sher will face Maggie Marschner in November in the only county office headed for a run-off. Sher won 42% of the primary vote and Marschner had 33%.
The remainder of the local Ventura County races, including two seats on the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, were decided in the primary, with no need for a runoff. Click here for the results of those races.
Tony Biasotti is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tbiasotti@vcstar.com. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation’s Fund to Support Local Journalism.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Here’s who will make the November ballot from county primary results
Reporting by Tony Biasotti, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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By Tony Biasotti, Ventura County Star | USA TODAY Network
