Republican Natasha Johnson Declares Victory Over 63rd Assembly District

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — Natasha Johnson says she has defeated her Democratic opponent, Chris Shoults, in the special election to fill the former Riverside County Assemblymember Bill Essayli's seat.

Early returns posted by the County of Riverside Registrar of Voters showed Johnson, a Lake Elsinore city councilwoman, pulling ahead of Democrat Shoults with 54 percent of the vote.

According to the latest count, Johnson has received 29,705 votes while tallies for Shoults are at 24,953.

"It is with immense honor and gratitude to the voters of the 63rd Assembly District for their confidence in electing me as their next Assemblywoman!" she posted on social media on Tuesday night. "We ran a positive campaign and it's clear, voters have spoken, they want balance in Sacramento where one party rule has prevailed for far too long."

In an interview with The Press-Enterprise, Shoults called Johnson's early declaration "patently disrespectful" to voters whose ballots hadn't been counted yet.

There are still more than 4,500 vote-by-mail and several dozen provisional ballots that remain to be counted, according to the registrar's office.

By law, ballots that are postmarked on or before Election Day, which was Wednesday, must be counted. Final results will be posted by 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 12.

The news comes less than a week after Shoults issued a statement claiming that the election ballots were "poorly designed."

In that statement, Shoults said his campaign had received numerous "alarming" complaints that candidates were placed side by side with the voting bubbles aligned too far to the right with no arrow from the name or clear written instruction on which oval to fill in.

"The oval for Natasha Johnson appears very close to the left of my name on the ballot, and we've already heard from several who have mistakenly marked that oval believing they've cast their vote for me," he said. "In a race that could be decided by just a handful of votes, these mistakes can have serious consequences. Riverside County needs to do better."

The registrar's office did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Patch.

Essayli's seat was left vacant earlier this spring when President Donald Trump appointed Assemblymember Bill Essayli to serve as U.S. Attorney.

In the June 24 Special Primary Election, no one candidate got a majority of the vote, forcing the top two candidates, Shoult and Johnson, to face off in this week's runoff.

The new 63rd District assemblymember will represent Norco, Menifee, Lake Elsinore, Canyon Lake as well as parts of Eastvale, Riverside and Corona.

Johnson, who announced her candidacy on April 3, pledged to bring “common sense” back to Sacramento. The Republican has already received an endorsement from Essayli and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who is running for governor in 2026.

"I've selected Natasha because I know that she is a fighter and she will carry on my message and the battles that we've had in Sacramento whether that's on public safety or parental rights," Essayli said.

Meanwhile, Shoults, a business owner and educator, emphasized his focus on lowering the cost of living, education reform and economic diversity.

"No more self-serving political agendas and partisan games," Shoults said in a statement. "It's time for real leadership and representation that puts people first."