A second judge’s race flirting with runoff after latest Fresno County election update
A second Fresno County judicial race may be headed to a runoff after Tuesday’s election update.
Jeff Hammerschmidt, a Fresno attorney, has hovered over 50% of the vote in the Fresno County Superior Court Judge Seat 7, since Election Night in a three-person race. In the latest update on Tuesday, he dropped below a majority share of the vote to 49.58%. Jose Salazar, a public defender, is in second with 34.88%. Curtis Sok, a private practice attorney, is in third with 15.26%. The percentages will slightly adjust when write-in votes are removed.
If the numbers stand, Hammerschmidt would face Salazar in a Nov 3 runoff.
Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters James Kus tallied 44,301 votes on Tuesday. He estimates 31,350 votes countywide remain to be counted. The next update will be Thursday afternoon.
Hammerschmidt did not want to comment until the election is complete, he said. He is 371 votes under a majority lead, which would give him the seat and avoid a November runoff.
As of Tuesday evening, one other judicial race appeared headed for a runoff. Ashley Paulson, an attorney with the city of Fresno, leads in the Seat 6 race with 47.12% of the vote. Steven Ueltzen, a prosecutor for the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, is second with 29.84%. Deidre Adams, a public defender, is third at 22.8%.
Paulson and Ueltzen would meet in a runoff if the vote holds.
In total, voters had seven judicial races to consider on the ballot. In five of the races, candidates won outright with more than 50% of the vote — Marc Kapetan (Seat 3), Daniel Brickey (Seat 8), Noelle Pebet (Seat 9), Jennifer L. Smith (Seat 12) and Jennifer Hamilton (Seat 14).
O’Brien Remains No. 2
Former Clovis Unified Superintendent Eiemar O’Brien appears to have forced a runoff with incumbent Fresno County Superintendent of Schools Michele Cantwell-Copher.
O’Brien widened her second-place lead over education professional Johnny Alvarado by 1,639 votes. Cantwell-Copher leads O’Brien, 42.86%-29.82%. Alvarado has 26.98% of the vote.
Cantwell-Copher declared victory to advance to the November runoff.
“Every vote cast represents a family that believes in what we are building for Fresno County’s children. I do not take a single one for granted. Between now and November, I will earn the trust of every voter in this county, because our students deserve nothing less,” Cantwell-Copher said in a news release.
Fresno City Council Race Flip Flops
The top-two candidates in Fresno City Council District 1 switched places, but both are likely to advance to the November runoff. In the June 4 update, Rob Fuentes led Naindeep Singh by 84 votes.
Tuesday’s update finds Singh, a Central Unified trustee and leader of the Jakara Movement, now leading by 107 votes. Fuentes, a SCCCD trustee and federal prosecutor, leads third-place Joe Hinojosa, a city of Fresno ADA coordinator, 36.79% to 12.9%.
District 5 Councilmember Brandon Vang, seeking re-election, maintains his position above a majority at 52.94%. If that holds, he will win the election outright. SCCCD Trustee Danielle Parra is in second place at 30.72%.
There is no change among the leaders for the other two Fresno City Council races. In District 3 — southwest and downtown Fresno — Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula and Fresno Unified Trustee Keshia Thomas have a comfortable 1-2 lead, and appear headed for a runoff.
In District 7 — east-central Fresno — attorney Nav Gurm and community activist Ariana Martinez Lott retain their 1-2 position, and appear headed for a runoff.
The likely results for Fresno County Supervisor races remain unchanged since the last update. Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi and Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco are headed for a runoff in the District 1 seat, composed of northwestern Fresno County. Former Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims is in line to clinch an outright victory for District 4, covering southern Fresno County.
This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 8:12 PM.
