Early results show well-funded Deputy Steve Bernal ousting Sheriff Scott Miller in an upset.

Sheriff Scott Miller finds fundraising distasteful. That’s something he may come to regret.

“You have to be willing to take money from people you might find unsavory, and in law enforcement it’s good practice not to be beholden to anyone because of campaign contributions,” he said on his way to his election night party at the Moose Lodge in Del Rey Oaks.

Miller loaned his campaign $172,000 of his own money, and raised shy of $50,000. Bernal raised upwards of $327,000 and gave himself another $45,000. More than $100,000 of that came from Margaret Duflock, a San Ardo rancher and his brother’s mother-in-law. Central to Bernal’s platform is a pledge to crack down on ag crime.

As of 1am Nov. 5, Bernal was ahead, 51.4 percent to Miller’s 48.5 percent. It will be days before the results are finalized, but at the Bernal election bash, the mood was buoyant.

Bernal celebrated with supporters, including four former sheriffs and the Deputy Sheriff’s Association, of which he is a member, at 201 Main in Oldtown Salinas. The Weekly and several other local media outlets were barred from the party.

The mood was tepid at Miller’s party at the Moose Lodge, where local electeds dropped by and a handful of deputies milled near a table of chicken wings, fruit, cheese and crackers.

“We expected it to be close,” said Miller’s right-hand-man, Jim Colangelo, after early results showed Miller trailing by two points. “The fact that it’s this close has put a little crimp in our style.”

Across the room, County Supervisor Jane Parker chatted with Miller about what would happen to Colangelo and the rest of Miller’s advisers. “You’ve got a crackerjack team,” Parker told him.

Bernal did not return a call from the Weekly by press time.