Merced County’s Registrar of Voters is on its way to certifying the Nov. 8 election this week.
Here are the updated counts for some closely watched races as of Wednesday morning.
Challenger Fue Xiong is up by 157 votes, or 52.19 percent of the vote, over incumbent Delray Shelton for the District 6 seat on the Merced City Council.
In Atwater’s District 3 City Council race, Danny Ambriz is up by 51 votes, or 51.95 percent of the vote, over James Murphy.
Also, in the election for the Area 2 seat on the Merced County Board of Education, Tim Razzari had a 74 vote lead, or 40.3 percent of the vote, over Mayleth Quintero Madrid.
Meanwhile, the spread on Wednesday morning in the Adam Gray vs. John Duarte race for the open 13th Congressional District seat, had Duarte leading with 50.3 percent of the vote, or by 700 votes.
Pazin concedes to Soria in AD 27
On Monday, Merced’s own former Sheriff Mark Pazin conceded the State Assembly District 27 election to Esmeralda Soria of Fresno.
Soria was leading Pazin by 2,050 votes, or 51.2 percent.
“Tens of thousands of ballots have been cast in our Assembly race with a few thousand more to count,” Pazin said in a release on Monday. “Unfortunately, it does not appear that we have a path forward based on current trends.
“I would like to congratulate Esmeralda Soria on her win as she becomes the Assemblymember-elect for District 27. While we may disagree on many policies and the direction of California, I hope she will serve in the same bipartisan fashion as our outgoing Assemblymember Adam Gray.
This race was never about me or Soria. It was always about putting people first after Sacramento has ignored the needs of our Valley for far too long. Our biggest concerns will not be fixed overnight, nor was Rome built in a day, but it takes the strength of our communities coming together to lift each other up for the greater good.”
As for Soria, she celebrated with a release of her own:
“Thank you to the hard-working people of the 27th Assembly District for placing your trust in me to be your voice in Sacramento,” said Soria. “I am humbled to have the opportunity to fight for you and bring resources home to keep our communities safe and healthy, tackle the housing crisis, create good-paying jobs here at home, and expand educational opportunities for our young people. I am dedicated to having an open door and I will work with anyone from any party or background to deliver for our Valley.
“I also want to thank my opponent, Mark Pazin, for a hard fought race and his congratulatory call. I look forward to working with him.”