San Benito County Elections & Politics Articles

First up: Erratic emails. Californians searching for information on how to cast their ballots (which you can find in CalMatters' Voter Guide) may have been baffled by a series of Monday emails from the secretary of state's [...]

The June primary is when California voters choose the top two for governor, statewide offices, U.S House, Assembly members and some senators.

Mindy Sotelo, Angela Curro and Betsy Dirks are leading their respective San Benito County supervisor races in what will be a shakeup of the five-member board. As of 8pm June 7, in District 3, Sotelo garnered 61% of the votes, …

Incumbent Robert Rivas is leading challenger Stephanie Castro for the Assembly District 29 seat with 68% of the vote, as of 9pm June 7. Rivas, a Democrat from Hollister, was first elected to the assembly in 2018 after a stint …

The race for the newly drawn 18th U.S. Congressional District features two challengers to the incumbency of Congressmember Zoe Lofgren, who is vying for her 14th consecutive term.  But Lofgren has not yet represented San Benito County in Congress, as …

California’s first-in-the-nation task force to identify reparations said business loans, housing grants, tuition, wage and job protections could provide redress for African Americans.

Late May 27, just as California legislators were preparing to check out for the long holiday weekend, an earthquake rocked the California political world: Assemblymember Robert Rivas, a Hollister Democrat, announced that he had “secured enough votes” to become the …

San Benito County’s current District 3 supervisor, Peter Hernandez, is not running for re-election in 2022. Instead, Hernandez is running for the 18th District U.S. Representative seat.  That leaves the field open for three non-incumbent candidates appearing on the ballot …

The proponents of a local initiative that would require voter approval before rural and agricultural property owners in San Benito County can rezone their land have gained enough signatures to place the measure on the November ballot, according to sources. …

Independent committees funded by corporations, unions and others are spending millions of dollars to make their picks in the June 7 California primary.

The June 7 election for San Benito County Supervisor for District 1 will determine who will complete the current four-year term, which began in 2020 with the election of Mark Medina. Medina resigned from the board in June 2021, and …

Four ballot measures to legalize sports wagering in California were proposed, but now it's down to two and only one might face voters this year.

Running for California State Assembly District 29 are Stephanie Castro and incumbent Assemblymember Robert Rivas.  The boundaries for District 29 changed considerably as a result of the 2020 redistricting process. The new district includes all of San Benito County, eastern …

Ballots are in the mail (some likely already received) for the June 7 primary election. San Benito County’s voters will select candidates for numerous local offices, including sheriff-coroner, three supervisors’ seats and district attorney. Also on the ballot will be …

The elected district attorney is the county’s top prosecutor of criminal cases in San Benito County. The DA leads an office of 17 employees, including five deputy prosecutors and three investigators.  The office and its staff prosecute hundreds of felony …

Running for the office of San Benito County Sheriff-Coroner are incumbent Eric Taylor, who was appointed to the office by the board of supervisors following Darren Thompson’s retirement in 2021; and Juan Guevara. Guevara has more than 10 years of …

In a year of unprecedented turnover in the California Legislature, several lawmakers are trying to bequeath their seats to relatives and staff members. Critics say they're trying to game the system.

San Benito County voters will have an abundance of choices for numerous local offices that will appear on the June 7 primary ballot. The local ballot features the newly redrawn 18th U.S. Congressional District, three county supervisors seats, district attorney’s …

California has lost 25 percent of its newspapers and seen a circulation plummet over the past 15 years. A bill in the State Legislature, SB 911, could help.

Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki writes, “Special interests are at it again in San Benito County. That said, I want to address the ambiguous signs that showed up throughout the county this past week with my name on them and phrases like …