With Lynn Compton's 55-vote lead, official says it's 'impossible' for Paulding to catch up
Lynn Compton appears to have retained her seat on the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors, pulling 55 votes more than challenger Jimmy Paulding in the latest count reported Wednesday to build what is now an insurmountable lead.
The latest tally reported by the county elections office shows Compton with 9,183 votes (50.15 percent) to Paulding's 9,128 votes (49.85 percent) with only 46 potential votes remaining.
There are 46 ballots that have been challenged by election officials, including 34 that were the subject of a lawsuit brought by Compton against Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong. That issue has since been resolved and the judge ruled in favor of the county, so those ballots are now back in play.
The next count will be released Friday.
With a 55-vote lead, "It's going to be pretty tough for the second place to catch up to the first. ... I would say impossible," Gong told The Tribune on Wednesday.
Still, Compton did not claim victory.
She has been cautious against making any declarations in a tight race without officially knowing the final number. On Friday, when Compton led by 62 votes, she said, "You never know what's going to happen."
Paulding has not conceded and in a Facebook post on Friday thanked his supporters and his wife, saying, in part, that "this campaign has been a tremendous experience," and that he wants to allow the process to happen and allow every vote to be counted.
Tensions have been high for the campaigns and voters, as the margin between the two candidates never widened beyond 100 votes with each count release since Election Day.
Residents countywide have watched the race closely, as the candidate to take the seat had the power to swing the board majority.
With Compton's all-but-official victory, the conservative majority will remain in power.
This story was originally published June 20, 2018 at 4:02 PM with the headline "With Lynn Compton's 55-vote lead, official says it's 'impossible' for Paulding to catch up."