Challenger calls San Benito County turnout ‘abysmal’
Margie Barrios beat out two other challengers in the District 1 race to succeed Supervisor Don Marcus, according to unofficial election results.
Barrios gained 642 votes, or 54.6 percent of the vote, which would give her the majority needed to forgo a runoff in November, according to unofficial results.
Grant Brians came in second, with 337 votes, or 28.7 percent of the vote. And Bonnie Flores-Voropaeff gained 191 votes, or 16.2 percent, according to unofficial results.
Barrios and Flores-Voropaeff couldn’t be reached immediately after the results were reported.
Brians said he was most disappointed in the relatively low turnout, which was 26.4 percent as of Tuesday night’s unofficial results. He called the turnout “abysmal” and laid some blame for it on the state Democratic Party’s decision to move the presidential primary to a much earlier date.
“Perhaps the saddest result of this evening’s vote, and this is not just in this race, but in all the races, is the horrendous level of voter apathy,” Brians said.
