By admin 
Incumbet Eddie Valero, who represents District 4 in the Tulare County Board of Supervisors, held the lead in the primary election, according to early results.
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Valero, who faces two challengers, had 45.93% of the votes as of 10:45 p.m.. Ian Bakke, a U.S. Air Force veteran and local ag business owner, held the second-most votes at 38.11%, while Rudy Mendoza, current mayor for the city of Woodlake and a small business owner and CEO of an agricultural company, had 15.96% of votes.
Valero, a local family business owner, has served as board of supervisor for the past eight years, including as chairman of the board in 2022.
Valero was the first Mexican American elected to the board in 2018. He became the first Latino in Tulare County history to win reelection to a second term on the board. He was reelected in the general election in 2022 in a close race, capturing 52.62% of the vote.
Valero is the only Latino currently on the board of supervisors. The county has about 483,546 residents, of which 68% are Latino, according to 2024 U.S. Census data.
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District 4 in north Tulare County includes the unincorporated communities of Badger, Cutler-Orosi, Elderwood, Goshen, Ivanhoe, London, Monson-Sultana, Seville, Traver and Yettem as well as the cities of Dinuba, Woodlake and portions of Visalia.
Supervisor Dennis Townsend ran unopposed in the District 5 race.
Candidates must receive over 50% of the vote in the primary election. If no candidate gets a majority of the vote, the top two will advance to the general election in November.
This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 9:34 PM with the headline “Incumbent leads race in Tulare County District 4 supervisor primary election.”
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