For the first time, Estrada leads in Menifee Mayoral race

By Doug Spoon, Editor

For the first time since the daily election updates have been announced, Ricky Estrada has taken the lead over Lesa Sobek in the race for Menifee Mayor.

Wednesday’s vote update reported that Estrada gained 130 votes on Sobek in the last 24 hours. He now leads with 21,588 votes – 36 more than Sobek. Moreover, it is appearing more likely that the vote count will continue until the Dec. 1 deadline, and the final vote might not be certified until Riverside County’s deadline of Dec. 5.

The Registrar of Voters reported Wednesday that County-wide, approximately 11,000 vote-by-mail and 22,600 Conditional Voter Registration ballots remain to be counted. These are ballots with issues that have to be "cured"– such as signatures on mail-in ballots that don’t match the voter’s registration profile.

In the race for school bond Measure R, “yes” continues to lead with 55.91 percent of the votes. It needs 55 percent to pass.

The latest numbers:

Menifee mayor:
Ricky Estrada 21,588 votes (44.06%)
Lesa Sobek 21,522 votes (43.99%)
Dameon Greene 5,852 votes (11.94%)

Measure R - Bond Measure for Menifee Union School District
Yes 28,693 votes (55.91%)
No 22,631 votes (44.09%)