SANTA CRUZ COUNTY — November 3, 2026. The first countywide local election returns show Ryan Coonerty ahead in the Santa Cruz mayoral contest, closely contested district seats in Watsonville, and competitive multi-seat council races in Capitola and Scotts Valley. The county Registrar of Voters posted preliminary returns at 8 p.m. and will continue canvassing ballots.

Santa Cruz mayor

Ryan Coonerty had 7,789 votes (56.82%) to 5,806 (42.36%) for Ami Chen Mills, with 112 write-in votes. Read the Santa Cruz local report.

Watsonville council races

Casey Clark led Angel Zuniga by 26 votes in District 5; Ed Acosta led Nancy Bilicich by 70 in District 7. Separate uncontested candidate contests were also reported in Districts 3 and 4. Watsonville’s local coverage has candidate-by-candidate totals.

Capitola and Scotts Valley

In Capitola, the top three reported selections for three council seats were Tory Del Favero (1,445), Troy Welch (1,369) and Joe Clarke (1,242). In Scotts Valley, Greg Wimp (2,196) and Michael Zeller (1,857) led a vote-for-two council contest. Multi-seat percentages describe candidate selections; they must not be mistaken for voter turnout.

How many countywide ballots were counted?

The first county report listed 60,488 ballots in its turnout summary out of 172,525 registered voters (35.06% in that early report), including 56,159 vote-by-mail and 4,329 in-person ballots. These numbers do not represent final turnout and may change significantly.

Election officials must verify additional ballots before certifying the outcome. Sources: Santa Cruz County official first returns and Santa Cruz Local results guide.

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  1. Pingback: Santa Cruz County Count: 71,658 Ballots Reported, 78.94% for Becerra, Local Mayor and Council Races Continue – California58