Marc Kapetan, right, who is running for Fresno County Superior Court Judge talks with supporters including former Fresno City Councilmember Clint Olivier during an election night watch party at The Red Room in Fresno on Tuesday, June 2, 2026.
CRAIG KOHLRUSS
ckohlruss@fresnobee.com
Early voting results in the race for six opens positions on the Fresno County Superior Court bench show high profile candidates taking decisive leads.
With 18% of the vote counted, Superior Court Judge No. 14 candidate Jennifer L. Hamilton, a Superior Court Commissioner and wife of presiding judge Jeff Hamilton, received 62.36% while her opponent Jamie Xiong-Vang had 37.35%.
In the Superior Court Judge No. 3 race, Marc Kapetan, a defense attorney whose brother Jon is a retired Superior Court judge and whose sister-in-law is a current Superior Court judge received 55.88%, while his opponent Rosalina Nunez, a defense attorney, had 43.86%.
Noelle Pebet, a Superior Court commissioner and niece of Michael Idiart, a current Superior Court judge, received 57.54% in the race for Superior Court Judge No. 9. Her opponent defense attorney Eddie Ruiz had 42.12%.
Also opening a comfortable lead for the Superior Court Judge No. 7 post was Jeffrey Hammerschmidt, a longtime lawyer with experience as a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney. Hammerschmidt received 52.54% of the vote. His closest competitor was Jose Salazar, an attorney, with 32.36%. Trailing in third place was attorney Curtis Sok with 14.79%.
In one of the most competitive races, Superior Court Judge No. 6 candidate Ashley Paulson, chief prosecuting attorney for the City of Fresno, was leading challenger and former colleague Steven Ueltzen, a senior deputy district attorney in Fresno County. Paulson had 48.26% to 31.92% for Ueltzen. Defense attorney Deidre Adams had 19.56%.
Paulson’s campaign was among the most visible, with a heavy presence on social media and endorsements from law enforcement groups, Superior Court judges, and local elected officials.
Jennifer L. Smith, senior deputy district attorney for Fresno County, held a comfortable lead in the race for Superior Court Judge No. 12 with 72.3%. Her challenger, attorney Miles Harris had 27.36% of the vote.
This election cycle, Fresno County voters will be electing six new judges for the Fresno County Superior Court, the most in recent history.
Superior court judges are appointed by the governor when a vacancy happens in the middle of an elected term. But when a judge serves their six-year term, they can run for reelection.
In Fresno County’s case, several judges chose not to run again, creating open seats and attracting a slew of well-known candidates, including current court commissioners, high-profile prosecutors, and longtime defense attorneys.
Jennifer Hamilton, center, who is running for Fresno County Superior Court Judge talks with supporters during an election night watch party at The Red Room in Fresno on Tuesday, June 2, 2026. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com 
Marc Kapetan, right, who is running for Fresno County Superior Court Judge talks with supporters including former Fresno City Councilmember Clint Olivier during an election night watch party at The Red Room in Fresno on Tuesday, June 2, 2026. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com
This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 9:17 PM.
The Fresno Bee
A Valley native, Robert has worked at The Fresno Bee since 1994, covering various topics including education, business, courts and agriculture.