Wendy Root Askew easily fends off a challenger, sailing to re-election as county supervisor.

As District 4 County Supervisor Wendy Root Askew is getting onto the elevator with her husband Dominick at the Hilton Garden Inn in Monterey on March 5, she pegs her reelection numbers – in terms of percentage of the vote – at 60 percent.

They are on their way to the election night party of Kate Daniels, who’s running for the District 5 supervisor seat. Inside that party, District 2 Supervisor Glenn Church has a more bullish outlook – he guesses Askew’s vote share will be around 70 percent, a lofty number in a politically polarized nation.

Askew, who was first elected in 2020, is running against Jeremiah Pressey, who also ran for a seat on the Monterey County Republican Central Committee. (Per Monterey County Elections reporting, Pressey received just 4 percent of the vote, not enough to get him elected to the committee as the lowest vote-getter out of 12 candidates. Pressey did not respond to the Weekly’s requests for comment on Election Day.)

When the early results are announced to a packed second floor room at the Hilton, jubilation ensues. Daniels garners nearly 60 percent of the vote, and Askew 79 percent – a landslide.

A few minutes later, Askew says, when asked for a response given her prior prediction: “I’m just really excited to continue getting good work done for the district and the county. I feel really positive, so positive, about the direction we’re moving in, and the path that we’re on, and I think it’s so reassuring to know that the voters feel the same way and that we’re going to continue doing this work together.”

With more votes counted by 12:30am on Wednesday, March 6, Askew held 78 percent.