42nd Assembly District's Chad Mayes Takes Lead: Election Results

COACHELLA VALLEY, CA — Assemblyman incumbent Chad Mayes (Rancho Mirage) was cruising to victory Wednesday in his bid to retain his seat representing a chunk of the Inland Empire.

It was Mayes' first reelection attempt in the 42nd Assembly District, which include parts of both Riverside and San Bernardino counties, since ditching the Republican Party last year. San Jacinto Mayor Andrew F. Kotyuk, a Republican, was challenging him.

Mayes had roughly 58 percent of the vote Wednesday morning. Approximately 400,000 vote-by-mail and 25,000 provisional ballots still must be processed in Riverside County. Work on those began Wednesday morning. Ballots that are postmarked on or before Election Day also remain to be counted. The next updated results will be posted at 6 p.m. Thursday.

It's unclear how many uncounted ballots remain in the 42nd Assembly District.

You can see the results from the Nov. 3 election in the table below. Be sure to refresh this page for the latest.

Mayes, who was listed on the ballot as No Party Preference, was the front runner in the March 3 presidential primary election. He captured 42,717 votes or 35 percent of ballots cast, compared to Kotyuk who garnered 40,893 votes or 33.5 percent. Three other Republican candidates were on the ballot; together, they captured more than 42,000 votes.

The 42nd State Assembly District includes the cities of Banning and Beaumont, stretching from Yucaipa and Hemet in the west to the Twentynine Palms region and western Coachella Valley in the east.

Mayes, who first won the 42nd State Assembly District seat in 2014 as a Republican, bills himself as a lawmaker who can work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle. On the environment, for example, his campaign bio emphasized that he “has been a strong advocate of environmental policies that strike the proper balance in not only California’s renewable portfolio, but also in the development of emerging technologies that create high paying jobs. As evidence of his ability to strike the proper balance, Chad has earned the respect of both the business and environmental communities.”

Homelessness was another area in which the Mayes campaign contended he strikes balance.

“Chad believes that it falls on society as a whole to give those in need a hand up, and to ensure the support does not become a barrier to independence. Chad authored the voter-approved, “No Place Like Home” measure to help our homeless veterans, and helped secure $10 million for Palm Springs agencies helping to solve the homeless crisis in Western Riverside County,” according to his campaign website.

Education, government waste and shared social responsibility were among other Mayes’ campaign talking points.

In December 2019, Mayes left the Republican party and filed as an Independent. Prior to his GOP departure, he told the Desert Sun, "I think it's abundantly clear that in California, the Republican brand has a negative, toxic connotation to it. Republicans need to wise up to the fact that we have a toxic brand."

Kotyuk, who was elected to the San Jacinto City Council in 2010, is now serving his third term as mayor. He’s a small business owner and Navy veteran.

On his campaign website, Kotyuk pointed to his work on the city council. For example, he “required government employees — for the first time — to contribute to their own retirement and he was instrumental in increasing the city’s retirement age. Additionally, he worked not only to revive San Jacinto’s economy, but he also established the San Jacinto Power utility that has resulted in lower electricity rates for residents,” his campaign website stated.

Kotyuk also touted himself as a “regional transportation leader,” having served as past board chairman of the Southern California Regional Rail Authority Metrolink, past chairman of the Riverside Transit Authority, and as a Riverside County Transportation Commission member.
Education, homelessness solutions, and water management are among other issues he advocates for, according to his website.