Election results: Zanoni feels confident about his lead for Fresno County sheriff
Fresno County Assistant Sheriff John Zanoni is leading the race for Fresno County’s next sheriff based on ballots counted Election Day.
Zanoni is 15 points ahead – winning 57% of the vote, of 69,894 votes counted for that race so far, compared to 42% secured by Mark Salazar, deputy chief of investigations for the Fresno Police Department.
One of them will replace retiring Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims, effective January 2023.
There’s over 35,000 vote-by-mail ballots remaining to be counted, said Fresno County Clerk and Registrar of Voters James Kus on Wednesday morning. His office is planning to release an updated vote count by Friday.
About 15% of nearly half a million ballots sent to registered voters in Fresno County had been counted as of Tuesday night.
Kus estimates that by Friday, numbers will show about 22% of them voted, and that the voter turnout might go up to 25% by the certification of the election results on July 7. All of Fresno County’s 328 voting precincts have reported numbers.
Unlike many other June 7 primary election races, there will be no runoff between Salazar and Zanoni in November’s general election. In this two-person race, whoever receives the majority of votes will win outright.
Zanoni feels confident about his lead in the race
“We feel pretty confident that the lead will hold up,” Zanoni said Wednesday morning, “even if Mark Salazar does receive additional votes, or some things kind of swing in his favor. We feel that the 10,000-plus votes is a pretty good lead at this point.”
Zanoni started at the sheriff’s office in 1996 and has held numerous assignments there over the past 25 years.
He was “cautiously optimistic” while watching votes come in at a Tuesday night event at the Fresno Deputy Sheriff’s Association in downtown Fresno. He described his lead as “very humbling” and his prospect of becoming the next sheriff a great honor and responsibility.
Zanoni said he was campaigning “right to the last minute” on Tuesday afternoon, delivering campaign signs.
He added that if he’s still trending up in the next vote count announcement, “We’re going to feel very confident in succeeding in this election.”
Candidates share thanks as votes continue to be counted
Salazar announced his candidacy in February, shortly after Mims announced she would not seek re-election and endorsed Zanoni.
“I’m proud of our effort in this 90-day campaign,” Salazar said Wednesday morning, where his team “went up against an established group.”
Salazar attended a watch party at Full Circle Brewing Co. in downtown Fresno on Tuesday night that supported a number of Democratic candidates. He talked about visiting many rural communities during his campaign and expressed his gratitude for all the support and people he met, “It means a lot.”
Salazar has held numerous positions over his 25-year career in law enforcement. If elected, he would be Fresno County’s first Latino sheriff.
Both Salazar and Zanoni complimented the other for the professionalism of their campaigns.
“I ran a clean and professional campaign against John and he did likewise,” Salazar said. “At the end of the day, respect is mutual between the both of us.”
Zanoni said Salazar “worked really hard” and said the sheriff race was respectful, without “mudslinging.”
“It was about the issues,” Zanoni said, “and that’s good, because both of us are law enforcement professionals, and we have to carry ourselves in that manner so we can continue to maintain that trust of the community.”
This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 8:55 PM.
