In the night's biggest upset, District Attorney Jon Hopkins, seeking reelection for a second term, placed third behind challengers Don Anderson and Doug Rhoades, while Deputy Francisco Rivero consistently led the sheriffs race throughout the evening, followed closely by incumbent Sheriff Rod Mitchell, with Jack Baxter, a retired San Jose Police sergeant, finishing third.
In one of the night's most decisive races, Wally Holbrook bested Judy Luchsinger in seeking to succeed Lake County Superintendent of Schools Dave Geck, and Jeff Smith and Denise Rushing were returned to their seats on the Board of Supervisors.
Initial results from the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office showed that 36.1 percent – or 11,815 – or Lake County's registered voters cast ballots in the primary election. Of those, 5,664, or 17.3 percent, voted in the county's 53 precincts, while 18.8 percent, or 6,151, voted absentee.
Those absentee voters gave an important boost to Anderson in the district attorney's race.
As the ballot count began, Anderson leaped to an early lead with 40.8 percent of the absentee voters, followed by Hopkins with 30 percent and Rhoades with 29.1 percent.
However, as the night went on, Anderson's lead softened slightly and Rhoades gained ground, moving into second place and ending Hopkins' hopes for a second term.
The final vote tally was Anderson with 4,088 votes, or 37.8 percent, with Rhoades coming in second with 32 percent, or 3,463 votes, and Hopkins finishing third with 3,258 votes, for a 30.1-percent share of the vote.
Anderson and Rhoades will now run to the November general election.
Hopkins could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.
Both Anderson and Rhoades said they were pleased by the vote and thanked community members for their support.
Anderson, who said he had a good feeling coming into Tuesday's primary, was “happy but not surprised” with his first-place finish.
“I think the people need a change and they wanted a change,” which is why about 70 percent of those who voted cast ballots for someone other than the incumbent, he said.
While the campaign thus far has been long – Anderson threw his hat into the race last fall – he said it's also been a lot of fun, and he's met a lot of good people.
Rhoades agreed that the electorate “was ready for a change,” because of what many perceived as poor decision making by Hopkins. He said he also believed voters were showing their receptiveness to candidates with new agendas, integrity and willingness to change.
Both men say they plan to take a brief break before hitting the campaign trail once more.
“Hopefully they have enough confidence in me to keep going,” Anderson said of voters.
Rhoades said he believes in the months ahead that the differences between he and Anderson will become more obvious.
“The voters of Lake County need to know there is a clear choice,” he said.
He added, “My criminal law experience and my reputation in the community are all the voters need to rely on come November.”
Sheriff's race goes neck and neck
The heated sheriff's race entered its next chapter on Tuesday, as the two front runners emerged, shaping the race for November.
Rivero ended the night with 38.5 percent of the vote, or 4,297 votes, followed by Mitchell, with 34.5 percent of the vote, with Baxter taking third with 27 percent and 3,008 votes.
Rivero could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.
Mitchell, seeking his fifth term as sheriff, said he had anticipated a runoff in the three-person race.
“As an incumbent, I'm grateful to have made it to the runoff,” he said, noting the anti-incumbent movement across the United States.
He credited Rivero with doing a better job of mobilizing his support base to get to the polls.
Looking forward to the general election, Mitchell said he'll campaign on facts and accurate information rather than the misinformation that he said Rivero is using to sway voters.
Holbrook looks forward to making plans for office of education
In the superintendent of schools race, Holbrook – gathered with friends at Guido's Pizzeria in Kelseyville on Tuesday night – was delighted with the news that he had been swept to victory in the primary.
“I'm pleased and proud, especially with the support of the number of people who have helped in this campaign,” he said.
A message left for Luchsinger was not returned.
Holbrook took 59.3 percent of the vote, with 6,483 ballots cast for him, compared with the 4,444 for Luchsinger, who took 40.7 percent of the vote.
As soon as the voting results are finalized, Holbrook said he wants to begin developing plans for his transition into office in January, as well as plans for how the office will be run.
Holbrook said one of the things he's most proud of is having the community work together.
“I think that the campaign modeled a process that I'd like to see continued in the county office, and that's including people in decision making” and looking at what services and programs the county office can offer, he said.
He added, “I think we've really set the tone for how we can do things in the future.”
Smith, Rushing win reelection
Incumbent supervisors Jeff Smith and Denise Rushing both were returned to their seats in Tuesday's primary.
Smith won his fourth term over challenger Joyce Overton, now in her second term on the Clearlake City Council.
When all 10 city precincts were counted, Smith had 970 votes, or 63.3 percent, while Overton came in with 563 votes, a 36.7-percent result.
Rushing had a tough race, with two challengers – former District 3 Supervisor Gary Lewis and Robert Hesterberg – both seeking her seat.
At one point she dipped to just above 51 percent, putting her close to having a November runoff.
However, by evening's end, Rushing had brought in approximately 1,226 votes, or 54.1 percent, with Lewis registering a 23.7-percent result with 538 votes, and Hesterberg coming in third with 504 votes, or 22.2 percent.
The remaining county offices decided Tuesday were in uncontested races. Reelected with 100 percent of the vote were Assessor-Recorder Doug Wacker, Treasurer-Tax Collector Sandra Kacharos and County Clerk-Auditor Pam Cochrane.
In other election news Tuesday, registered Democrats cast 5,880 ballots, for a 41.5-percent turnout, compared to 4,608 ballots, or 48.1 percent turnout, for registered Republicans.
Turnout percentages for other parties included 318 ballots, or 25.7 percent, for the American Independent Party; 113, or 29.4 percent, for the Green Party; 58, or 26.8 percent, for the Libertarian Party; and 19, or 17 percent, for the Peace and Freedom Party.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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