State legislative contender Nathan Magsig has the top spot in the November runoff for state Senate District 12 well in hand.

The Fresno County supervisor has 61.5% of the vote thus far in Tuesday’s primary, beating out fellow Republican Louis Anthony Miramontes and Libertarian William Brown, Jr. who have 14.6% and 23.9% of the vote, respectively.

Magsig said he was “very encouraged by the initial results.” But he said he’s waiting to see who his opponent will be in the heavily Republican district.

“There still are literally tens of thousands of ballots that need to be reviewed and counted that are coming in today that may be postmarked yesterday and also ballots that were dropped off where signatures still need to be verified,” Magsig told GV Wire. “But the initial result, I’m in a very solid position.”

Should Magsig win in November, the board of supervisors will call a special election for his replacement.

Clovis City Councilmember Dianne Pearce has announced should would run if the seat opens up. There is also speculation among political insiders that Clovis Mayor Vong Mouanoutoua might seek the seat.

Focus on Infrastructure, Energy, Wildfire Management: Magsig

One of the state’s larger districts in land area, Senate District 12 spans from Fresno and Clovis in the north down to Bakersfield and the Tehachapi Mountains. It stretches east to include vast stretches of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

The seat is held by the termed-out Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield.

If victorious, Magsig said he would focus on water infrastructure, energy, and forest management.

“Insurance rates are high because of risk. We need to reduce wildfire risks in our foothill and mountain communities,” Magsig told GV Wire Tuesday.

He said while he supports dam creations, there are smaller projects to help move and store water, including the Big Dry Creek Project, which could store up to 25,000 acre-feet of water.

He also said the region’s oil and gas investments need to be expanded.

“We need to be oil and energy independent in my opinion in California,” Magsig said. “We can’t be reliant on other countries because it drives the cost up and we’re sending a lot of dollars out of the state to other nations that could be better used here in California.”

Tangipa Wins in Walkover

Assemblymember David Tangipa, R-Clovis, didn’t face opposition in Tuesday’s primary and will return in 2027 to serve his second term in District 8.

Tangipa, who is emerging as a leader in the state party, attended the GOP’s Victory ’26 launch event Wednesday in Sacramento.

The other attendees: Steve Hilton, candidate for governor; state Sen. Tony Strickland, Don Wagner, candidate for secretary of state; Herb Morgan, candidate for controller; Michael Gates, candidate for state attorney general; and Sonja Shaw, Republican-backed candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction.