Sonoma County Supervisor Chris Coursey cruising to reelection in race against Omar Medina

Sonoma County Supervisor Chris Coursey was sailing to his second term Wednesday after his rival Omar Medina conceded the race, bowing to the wide lead Coursey held in early returns.

Coursey had 72.63% of vote in the latest results, to 27.37%. for Medina.

Coursey, a former Santa Rosa mayor and retired journalist, said he was feeling “comfortable” with where the numbers stood and thanked voters for their support.

“I appreciate their trust and confidence in me,” Coursey said. “And I look forward to continuing to work for them every day.”

Early returns included 7,911 votes counted in the race. There are 50,766 registered voters in the 3rd District.

Medina, board president of Santa Rosa City Schools, the said he conceded Wednesday because Coursey’s lead was insurmountable.

“I expect it to continue to go up,” Medina said of votes in his corner. “But I don’t expect it to continue to go up sufficiently to catch up and surpass him.”

The race marked the first election for 3rd District supervisor since the county’s contentious redistricting process in 2021, which shifted the district’s borders farther south while keeping downtown Santa Rosa intact and newly encompassing the Roseland and Moorland communities. All of Rohnert Park to the east of Highway 101 remained in the 3rd District following the process.

Medina, 45, who based much of his campaign on the need for better representation of the Latino community in local government, said he plans to continue representing his community and focusing on schools.

“I’m thankful for everybody that voted for me,” Medina said. “I still think that we need to do a lot in our community for representation.”

Preparing for a second term, Coursey, 69, said he expects to continue working on many of the same complex issues he has tackled in his first term, including affordable housing, homelessness and the high cost of living.

“A lot of the issues that I’ve been focusing on are still with us and probably will be at the end of my next term as well,” Coursey said. “These are not easy issues to deal with.”

You can reach Staff Writer Emma Murphy at 707-521-5228 or emma.murphy@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MurphReports.