SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Returns late Tuesday night show Santa Cruz County Supervisorial candidate Manu Koenig far outpacing John Leopold for the First District seat.
If Koenig’s lead holds, it will unseat four-term incumbent Leopold. He holds roughly 56% of the 28,064 votes that have been tallied as of 11:30pm.
Koenig called the numbers “Phenomenal,” and said they reflected what he and his team have been hearing on the campaign trail.
“I want to express my deep gratitude to the voters for their trust,” Koenig said.” And I look forward to getting to work for them.”
He was celebrating Tuesday night at home with his parents, fiancee and two friends. He attributes his high numbers to a desire by the public for change, on such issues as homelessness, the high cost of living.
“We’ve seen that people are frustrated with the way things are in the nation, but on the county level as well,” he said.
Updated at 11:30pm.