Incumbent Belia Ramos still leading in Napa County’s District 5 supervisor race

The first batch of election results just after polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday showed incumbent Napa County Supervisor Belia Ramos leading challenger Mariam Aboudamous in the race for District 5 supervisor.

The second batch of results at 10 p.m., which added 25 votes to the tally, didn’t change that much.

A third and final round at 11:17 p.m. revealed little more.

Ramos now leads Aboudamous, 1,049 to 787, with 2,051 votes counted, according to the Napa County Election Division. There are a total of nearly 17,000 registered voters in District 5.

The county’s District 5 represents the city of American Canyon and other parts of southeast Napa County.

Ramos said she thought the lead was somewhat expected.

“We worked really hard in this campaign,” she said. ”People always have that choice at the ballot box, and I’m incredibly excited with this early showing. This lead is a good lead, and we’re excited to continue to watch the results as they come in.“

Aboudamous was in the midst of an American Canyon City Council meeting as the first results came out. At about 9 p.m., she said she was still optimistic the then-reported 257 vote deficit could turn around.

“In 2016, the very first time I ran for City Council, I was in third place when early results came out,” Aboudamous said. “By the end of the night I was top vote-getter against two incumbents.”

Ramos — a former American Canyon City Council member — has held the supervisor seat since being elected in 2016.

Aboudamous was elected to the council in 2016. The two previously ran against each other for the District 5 seat in 2020; Ramos won that contest by 516 votes, or 53.17% of the vote.

Ramos is the only incumbent running for a seat in this election cycle. Should Ramos ultimately win the vote, she would be the longest-remaining Napa County supervisor. Two longtime current supervisors — Ryan Gregory and Alfredo Pedroza — decided not to run for their seats this year, and two prior longtime supervisors didn’t run for reelection in 2022.

Ramos previously identified Napa County’s lack of affordable housing and the threat of wildfire as among the most pressing issues the county is facing. Aboudamous also previously identified housing as one of the most pressing issues for the county, as well as traffic.

Ramos received endorsements from State Assembly member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson and the Napa Solano Labor Council, among others. Aboudamous received, among others, endorsements from the Napa County Farm Bureau, the Winegrowers of Napa County and the Napa Chamber of Commerce.

You can reach Staff Writer Edward Booth at 707-521-5281 or edward.booth@pressdemocrat.com.