Preliminary Shasta County Election Results: Nail-biters, Shockers; Tight Races May Take Weeks to Call

After more than two years of extreme political division and rancor, Shasta County’s election-night results were a wild roller-coaster ride packed with preliminary findings that ranged from presumptive winners to nail-biter races that may not reveal obvious winners for weeks to come.

Tuesday evening, a steady stream of people lined up under a dark, rainy sky to vote in person at the Elections Department.

Three summary reports were released throughout the evening, and one early Wednesday morning, as Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen and her staff processed ballots and updated the results.

Darling Allen emphasized that “thousands upon thousands” of ballots remain untallied, and that these preliminary election percentages and votes are just that: preliminary.

To illustrate her point, upstairs in the elections department Darling Allen directed guests’ attention to surveillance videos of boxes that contained yet-uncounted ballots.

Summery Report # 4 was released by the Shasta County Elections Department at 1:06 a.m. Wednesday.

Although there are many important regional and state election races, four North State General Election campaigns are particular nail-biters: Redding City Council, Shasta County Supervisor Dist. 1, Shasta County Supervisor Dist. 5, and the Shasta County Board of Education, Area 2.

(Click here to see all 2022 General Election updates.)

Redding City Council – 3 available seats; 10 candidates
Preliminary unofficial results, Nov. 9, 1:06 a.m.

In one of the most crowded races to grace a Shasta County ballot in decades, 10 candidates scrambled to snag three available Redding City Council seats.

Beginning with the early Tuesday-evening preliminary election results, Redding City Council incumbent candidate Michael Dacquisto secured and held a strong lead in each of the summary reports, ending with 18.19 percent of the votes. The two candidates with the next highest results, respectively, were Tenessa Audette with 13.41 percent, and Jack Munns with 12.80 percent.

Both Audette and Munns are Bethel Church members, a fact that concerned some voters who feared the 11,000-member mega-church’s potenial overreach and sphere of influence.

Tenessa Audette:  13.41 %, 5,467 votes
James Crockett: 8.11 %, 3,307 votes
Michael Dacquisto: 18.19 %,  7,414 votes
Ian Hill: 4.81%, 1,961 votes
Joshua Johnson: 9.36%, 3,815 votes
Jack Munns: 12.80%, 5,218 votes
Marcus Partin: 9.04 %, 3,684 votes
Alex Shea: 10.46 %, 4,262 votes
Jordan Valenzuela: 6.20 %, 2,525 votes
Kymberly Vollmers: 7.62 %, 3,105 votes

Shasta County District 1 Supervisor
1 available seat; 2 candidates
Preliminary unofficial results, Nov. 9, 1:06 a.m.

Of all the North State’s general election races, the competition between Kevin Crye and Erin Resner for District 1 Supervisor has arguably been the most contentious and controversial. Throughout election night, Crye and Resner’s results see-sawed between first and second place, sometimes by a few dozen votes’ difference. At first, Resner was in the lead with 53.94 percent of the votes, and Crye close behind with 46.06 percent.

But by the election department’s late-night and early-morning reports, Crye had pulled ahead and swapped places with Resner; taking the No. 1 spot, with 51.76 percent to Resner’s 48.24 percent.

Kevin Crye: 51.76 %, 2,828 votes
Erin Resner: 48.24%, 2,645 votes

Shasta County Supervisor District 5
1 available seat; 2 candidates
Preliminary unofficial results, Nov. 9, 1:06 a.m.

The District 5 Supervisor race between Baron Browning and Chris Kelstrom was more laid back, as both candidates described one another as friends. However, the men’s race has been neck-and-neck for months as the men have crisscrossed Shasta County to participate in numerous forums and debates.

As with the Crye/Resner supervisor contest, Browning and Kelstrom’s results were squeakers throughout the night, mirroring Crye and Resner’s percentages within a few points of one another. Initially, Browning, like Resner, took an early lead with 53.04 percent of the votes, with Kelstrom not far behind with 46.96 percent. But by the evening’s end, the men’s scores flipped, with Kelstrom in the lead with 51.81 percent to Browning’s 48.19 percent.

Shasta County Board of Education Area 2
2 seats available, 5 candidates
Preliminary unofficial results, Nov. 9, 1:06 a.m.

Finally, one of the most stunning preliminary election result of the evening involved the Shasta County Board of Education Area 2. So far, the candidate with the most votes is newcomer Authur Gorman, a registered nurse who made a name for himself in the June Primary when he stood inches from Darling Allen in the alley behind the elections department where he berated the registrar of voters about the election.

Authur Gorman confronts Shasta County Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen in the elections department alley during the June Primary election. Photo by Doni Chamberlain.

Gorman thus far has received 27.92 percent and 9,302 votes, followed by incumbent Steve MacFarland, who’s received 25.11 percent and 8,365 votes.

Other key preliminary North State election results

• Shasta College Trustee Area B
• Shasta College Trustee Area F
• Fall River Joint Unified School District
• Gateway Unified School District Area 2
• Gateway Unified School District Area 3
• Anderson Union High School District
• Red Bluff Joint Unified High School District
• Shasta Union High School District
• Cascade Union School District
• Enterprise School District
• Millville School District
• Anderson City Council
• Shasta Lake City Council

Click here for updates about all Nov. 8, 2022 General Election results.

Shasta County Political Composition

As of Nov. 8, 2022, Shasta County had 111,256 registered voters.
Republican: 55,309 (50% of registered voters)
Democrat: 25,267 (23% of registered voters)
No Party Preference: 21,323 (19% of registered voters)
Other: 9,357 (8% of registered voters)

Election night video: Cathy Darling Allen interview by Alan Ernesto Phillips regarding mail-in ballots

A News Cafe will provide election result updates as they become available.