Jerry Muenzer has a 104-vote lead over Phil Fortino with about
3,200 ballots left to be counted by the elections office, according
to unofficial results and the county clerk.
The two businessmen are vying to succeed Supervisor Reb Monaco
in representing the southern San Benito County district.
Jerry Muenzer has a 104-vote lead over Phil Fortino with about 3,200 ballots left to be counted by the elections office, according to unofficial results and the county clerk.
The two businessmen are vying to succeed Supervisor Reb Monaco in representing the southern San Benito County district.
With all precincts reporting, and just the remaining provisional and absentee ballots left for counting, Muenzer had gained 1,733 votes to 1,629 for Fortino, according to the results. Muenzer had 51.4 percent of the vote to 48.3 percent for Fortino, according to the results.
Head elections official Joe Paul Gonzalez noted late Tuesday how the office planned to have the remaining 2,700 absentees and 450 to 500 provisional ballots counted by sometime next week. There were a total of 12,489 votes cast by the end of Election Day, according to the figures.
Muenzer’s lead after earlier results, made up of absentee ballots, shrank considerably. After counting of vote-by-mail ballots, he was ahead with 54 percent of the vote, or 1,144 votes. Fortino had 45.8 percent of the vote, or 971 votes.
During the primary, held June 8, Fortino received 44.1 percent of the vote to Muenzer’s 40.1 percent. That was a 129-vote difference, while there were more than 500 votes that went to Monaco and write-in residents during the primary.
Neither Muenzer nor Fortino could be reached for comment before publication.
Look back for reaction on the race.
