Candidates for county, state and federal primary races

Friday, March 11, was the deadline to file and qualify as a candidate for elected office in California. For those offices with more than one qualified candidate, the June 7 primary election will determine either a winner or the two candidates who will compete on the November ballot.
A winner is a candidate who garners more than 50% of the votes cast for that office. If no candidate exceeds the 50% bar, then the two candidates with the most votes will vie for the office in the November gubernatorial election.
The state offices on the June 7 ballot will include the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state controller, state treasurer and state insurance commissioner.
Hill residents also will have choices in U.S. Congressional, state legislative and several county executive elections. Three county supervisors, including V. Manuel Perez, are up for reelection.

County executive offices
Three county position races with two having only one qualified candidate will be decided.
In a near repeat of the 2018 race for Riverside County district attorney, attorney Lara Gressley is again challenging incumbent Michael Hestrin.
However, this year, Burke E. Strunsky, a judge of the Riverside County Superior Court since 2017, also has entered the race. He also is a former prosecutor.
In 2018, Chad Bianco, then a sheriff’s lieutenant, defeated incumbent Sheriff Stan Sniff. In 2022, retired sheriff’s Capt. Michael J. Lujan is challenging Bianco.
Incumbent Auditor Controller Paul A. Angulo has two people competing for his position. Ben J. Benoit, son of John Benoit, a former Assembly member and state senator who represented the Hill, and then became a county supervisor, will be on the ballot along with Marshall Campbell.
The uncontested races are for treasurer-tax collector and assessor-county clerk recorder. The current incumbents are Matthew Jennings, treasurer, and Peter Aldana, assessor.
In accordance with the county’s redistricting of supervisorial district boundaries, most Hill communities are now part of the Fourth District. The incumbent is V. Manuel Perez, and he will have no opposition this year.
Karen Spiegel, who represents the Second District, also is unopposed.
However, current Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff Hewitt, who represents the Fifth District, will compete against three other candidates to keep his supervisorial post.

U.S Congressional races
Idyllwild, Pine Cove, Mountain Center and Anza are located in the new 41st Congressional District.
Given the shape of the new 41st District, U.S. Congressman Ken Calvert is the incumbent since much of his current district is now part of the 41st.
While there was a rumor that current State Sen. Melissa Melendez would challenge fellow Republican Calvert, she is not on the ballot.
However, four other people are seeking this seat. Two Democrats, Shrina Kurani and Will Rollins, hope to unseat Calvert. The other two candidates are Republican John Michael Lucio and Independent Anna Nevenic, who has run in several previous races.
Representative Raul Ruiz, the Hill’s current Congressman, is seeking reelection in his 25th District and will face five challengers, all Republicans.

State legislative races
Idyllwild and Pine Cove are now in Senate District (SD) 32. SD 32’s western edge is Chino Hills and Yorba Linda, then it narrowly snakes southwest to include Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Wildomar and Temecula.
Two candidates, one from each major party, qualified for the race and one will be elected in the primary. Kelly Seyarto is the Republican and Brian Nash is the Democrat candidate.
Pine Wood and north of Pine Cove are now in SD 19 (which continues north to the boundary between San Bernardino and Inyo counties) but is not on the 2022 ballot.
Garner Valley, Anza and Aguanga are in Assembly District (AD) 36. Three candidates are competing for the seat. The Republican is Ian M. Weeks. Two Democrats qualified for the ballot, Marion G. Ware and Eduardo Garcia.
Idyllwild and Pine Cove and north are in AD 47, where Democrat Christy Holstege will face Republican Greg Wallis.

Board of Equalization
The 4th Board of Equalization District is composed of four Southern California counties — Imperial, Orange, Riverside and San Diego. The only candidate for this position is Randell R. Economy, a Republican.