Jim Dantona jumps into lead in District 2 SLO County supervisor race
Jim Dantona jumped into the lead in the close race for District 2 San Luis Obispo County supervisor after the latest release of primary election vote totals Thursday afternoon.
As of 3:54 p.m., with 8,332 ballots counted, Dantona led the race with 51.3% of the vote over Michael Erin Woody, who was trailing with 48.7% of the vote.
Woody had initially jumped ahead with 102 more votes than Dantona after the first report at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. After all poll ballots were counted early Wednesday morning, Woody had widened his lead to 240 votes.
Now, Dantona has surged ahead in the race by 210 votes, following the most recent results.
“(I’m) feeling good about this update,” he told The Tribune on Thursday after a “very nerve-racking” afternoon waiting for more results. “Obviously, we’re still optimistic and hopeful.”
The candidate who wins more than 50% of the vote captures the seat.
The two-candidate race is between Dantona, a local business leader and Democrat, and Woody, a Morro Bay engineer not affiliated with a political party. The contenders are vying to represent the county’s North Coast, includes communities from Los Osos to the Monterey County line.
“Considering I was out fundraised 15 to one and given absolutely no chance, to realize that there’s still only a couple 100 votes separating the two of us — I’m still over the moon about how this campaign has gone,” Woody told The Tribune on Thursday, adding that there were still many more ballots to count.
If elected to the board, Woody said he would stand up against proposed offshore wind and battery plant projects and work to solve development issues on the North Coast.
“The long-term growth of this entire region is at stake,” he told The Tribune at a primary night party at The Benedict in Morro Bay Tuesday.
Dantona pledged to protect democracy and ensure the county is working for residents if elected the next District 2 supervisor.
“We need to work on our budget here in the county to bring back the services that the community needs,” Dantona told The Tribune on Tuesday during a primary night results party at Niffy’s Merrimaker in Los Osos.
The winning candidate will replace Supervisor Bruce Gibson, who announced last May that he would not seek reelection in 2026.
After Thursday, the SLO County elections office will continue to report results at least twice a week, with the next release posted by 6 p.m. Monday, Erin Clausen, the public information officer for the county Clerk-Recorder’s office, told The Tribune.
According to a new state law, counties are required to have the bulk of all tabulation done by June 15, though provisional ballots and those needing signature cures will continue to be counted past that date, Clausen said.
The deadline for county elections officials to certify election results is July 2.
This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 5:31 PM.
