Greetings, one and all. Wednesday, Nov. 4, has arrived in Santa Cruz County, bringing with it the return of sunshine – and temperatures in the 60s to lower 70s – after a showery Election Day.
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Election results are front and center after the polls closed in Santa Cruz County at 8 p.m. Tuesday and the counting continued into the early hours of Wednesday, and we’ve got a wealth of coverage, all free:
- A snapshot of all of Santa Cruz County’s races and ballot initiatives in chart form.
- Ryan Coonerty takes an early lead over Ami Chen Mills in the Santa Cruz mayor’s race.
- Countywide Measure E, a temporary sales-tax hike, and Measure D, aimed at further protecting our local coastline, are garnering strong support.
- Incumbent Casey Clark and Ed Acosta ahead in Watsonville City Council races.
- Tory Del Favero, TJ Welch and incumbent Joe Clarke in front in the race for Capitola City Council seats.
- Incumbent Greg Wimp and new candidate Michael Zeller taking the lead for spots on the Scotts Valley City Council.
- Races for seats on school boards governing Pajaro Valley Unified School District, San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District, Soquel Union Elementary School District and Cabrillo College.
- And coverage from our content partners of Xavier Becerra’s victory in the California governor’s race, how statewide ballot measures are faring and a national recap after a historic night for Democrats.
Earlier Tuesday, Monterey County officials released the identities of the two victims of Monday’s fatal shooting in Moss Landing: Marco Antonio Perez, 15, and Nathaniel Flores, 13, both of Salinas.
Jessica M. Pasko has the latest from around Santa Cruz County business, as usual on Wednesday. She’s got word that, with the help of technologies developed by a UC Santa Cruz professor and a local startup focused on creating more environmentally friendly surfboards, the Seymour Marine Discovery Center’s much-loved whale skeleton, Ms. Blue, has been restored and will be feted on the Westside this weekend.
To the headlines …
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Santa Cruz County 2026 general election in charts: Coonerty grabs edge in SC mayor’s race; Measure E opens big lead
Find the results for all local races in Santa Cruz County’s 2026 general election here. Lookout will continuously update this page as new results come in. Get the overview here.
Santa Cruz mayor: Coonerty maintains early lead
Former mayor and longtime local politician Ryan Coonerty is off to an early lead against Ami Chen Mills, an elected Democratic Central Committee member and a local advocate, activist and writer seeking to break into electoral politics.
Measures E and D: Countywide voters showing support for temporary general sales tax and protections for coastline
Both Measure E and Measure D, a countywide temporary general sales tax and an initiative to strengthen coastline protections, respectively, are heading toward voter approval as of early Wednesday.
MORE ELECTION 2026 COVERAGE
DAILY DIGEST
The vote counting continues Wednesday, and Lookout will be keeping you posted on what we know. Sign up here for breaking news alerts via email; we also offer a library of other newsletters, all free. Download the Lookout Santa Cruz app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for all of our award-winning local coverage – including via breaking news notifications – right on your smartphone. Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and Threads are where you’ll find Lookout on social media.
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Thanks for reading – have a nice Wednesday.
Will McCahill