Couch winning re-election, Garvey early leader in county

David Couch appears to be headed to another term as in his race for re-election, according to the Kern County Elections office, with results as of early Wednesday morning.

In the race for supervisor of the 4th District, Couch has amassed a big lead, with 52% of the vote, enough to return him to office without a runoff.

Candidate Veronica Cruz Vasquez has received a little over 17% of the vote, with Wasco Mayor Alex Garcia with 16% and Salvador Solorio-Ruiz with 14%.

If the percentages hold, Couch would be declared the winner of the seat, with no runoff taking place in November. If a candidate gets more than 50% of the votes in the primary, then a runoff is not necessary.

Couch has faced a challenge ever since the district’s boundary lines were redrawn a few years ago. This adjustment made the district more Democratic on the map, with the exclusion of the cities of Taft and Maricopa.

One voter, a Shafter resident who wished to remain anonymous, said that she thought this was going to happen. Veronica Managan said, “I was afraid that the Democrats in the race would split the vote so much that there would be a chance that Couch would get 50%. If it stays like this, we just shot ourselves in the foot.”

Another resident, who voted for Couch, said, “I was hoping that this would happen. With no opposition, I knew that he would probably get the 50% he needs to get elected,” said Vincent Sanchez. “ I think that Couch is the best person for the job, and he will keep representing us and listening to our concerns.”

In the 22nd Congressional District race, there is going to definitely be a runoff in November, with Democrat Rudy Salas having a slim lead over Republican David Valadao on Wednesday, with Salas getting 35% and Valadao receiving 32%.

In the national race, Donald Trump and Joe Biden won their primaries handily, with strong showings in Kern County. Trump won 84.8% of the GOP county vote, and Briden took 85% of the Democrats in the early count.

Although Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff came out the winner in the state, GOP hopeful Steve Garvey, the former Dodger and Padre, was the big leader in the county, 48.6% to 28.3%. They will go up against each other in the November runoff for the Senate seat vacated by Diane Feinstein.