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Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz County 2026 primary election results in charts: Little change following Thursday afternoon update

By Max Chun

Find the results for all local races in Santa Cruz County’s 2026 primary election here. Lookout will continuously update this page as new results come in.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Election surprise: Incumbent Felipe Hernandez continues to trail challenger Tony Nuñez in District 4 Santa Cruz County supervisor race

By Tania Ortiz

The early returns in the race for District 4 Santa Cruz County supervisor see incumbent Felipe Hernandez trailing challenger Tony Nuñez by a large margin, which comes as a surprise to some.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz mayor: Ryan Coonerty maintains steady lead

By Hillary Ojeda

Ryan Coonerty maintained his steady lead in the race for the mayor’s seat against four other candidates after the Santa Cruz County Clerk’s office tallied up 5,310 additional ballots to the county’s total on Thursday afternoon.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz City Council: Newsome, Golder keep leads in District 4, 6 races after Thursday update

By Max Chun

Incumbents Scott Newsome and Renee Golder maintained their leads over challengers Hector Marin and Gabriella Noack, respectively, in the race for Santa Cruz City Council Districts 4 and 6 after a Thursday update.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz County Superior Court: Immigration attorney Alisa Thomas maintains large lead over criminal defense attorney Bryan Hackett in judge race

By Tania Ortiz

After Thursday’s vote-count update, immigration attorney Alisa Thomas continues to lead in the race for an open seat on the Santa Cruz County Superior Court over criminal defense attorney Bryan Hackett. The winner of this judicial election will succeed Judge Stephen Siegel, who’s retiring after being appointed to the bench in 2012.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

OPINION: We don’t need a female surf statue; we need to make surfing safer for women in Santa Cruz

By Alaya Vautier

Longtime Santa Cruz surfer Alaya Vautier has spent three decades in the water and says sexism, racism and exclusion remain deeply embedded in local surf culture. While she respects the intentions behind a female surf statue – now proposed for Capitola – she believes symbolism alone cannot address those problems and might even reinforce narrow ideas about who belongs in the lineup.

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Best of Santa Cruz County events, June 5-7

Here are some events you may be interested in this weekend:

Friday, Jun. 5

Saturday, Jun. 6

Sunday, Jun. 7

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Max Chun is the general-assignment correspondent at Lookout Santa Cruz. Max’s position has pulled him in many different directions, seeing him cover development, COVID, the opioid crisis, labor, courts...