Election results: Hernandez, Delgado in tight race for Coachella Mayor

It is a tight race for the candidates vying to become the City of Coachella's next mayor.

In an incomplete vote count issued early Wednesday morning, current Mayor Steven Hernandez led sitting Coachella Councilmember Denise Delgado by fewer than 60 votes.

The Riverside County Registrar of Voters said approximately 325,000 vote-by-mail and 10,000 provisional ballots must still be processed.

In the Coachella mayoral race, 1,535 votes were tallied as of Wednesday morning.

"We ran a really great campaign, we ran a very honest campaign," Delgado said.

"I'm a little disappointed in the turnout in Coachella wasn't a very strong turnout," Hernandez said.

Hernandez was first elected mayor in 2014. If he wins, it would carry him to a decade in the most powerful position in city hall. Delgado said it's time for new leadership in Coachella, but no matter the results, she will continue to bring change.

"Regardless of what the results come in, I am still on city council. But I'm very hopeful with the strong and hard work that we put into this, that we'll be successful," Delgado said.

Hernandez held his lead in the first few rounds of results and said it's up to the next council as a whole to continue to bring Coachella residents together.

"For us, it's, it's moving the city along," Hernandez said. "I think we have to continue to maybe do some community hearings and just have an overall game plan to ensure that we can deliver on what the community ultimately wants to see."

The last time the city's mayor position was up for election in 2020, it was also a close race. Hernandez won his re-election two years ago by less than 700 votes.