Ryan Davis, left, and Diane Ortiz are candidates in a contested race for a seat on the Yolo Superior Court. Latest election results showed Davis holding a lead Ortiz is unlikely to close.
Campaign photos
Sacramento County court commissioner Ryan Davis appears to have eked out a victory over Yolo County Deputy District Attorney Diane Ortiz in the race for Yolo Superior Court judge, holding a narrow lead with about 1,000 ballots left to count and prompting Ortiz to concede Friday night.
According to the latest election results, Davis held 50.9% of the vote and led Ortiz by 1.9 percentage points.
Ortiz acknowledged the outcome in a social media post Friday night, saying she had congratulated Davis.
“I sent him a congratulatory message, knowing he would have done the same for me,” Ortiz wrote.
While election officials have not yet certified the results, Ortiz’s concession effectively ended a contest that remained too close to call for more than a week after Election Day.
Davis, a former public defender, deputy attorney general and Sacramento County court commissioner, steadily expanded his lead as additional ballots were counted. He was endorsed by the Yolo County Democratic Party, Yolo County Sheriff Tom Lopez and all five city council members in both Woodland and Davis.
Earlier in the count, Davis’ advantage was fueled largely by strong support in Davis, while Ortiz performed better in Woodland and the county’s rural areas.
Before becoming a Yolo County prosecutor, Ortiz worked in internal affairs and as a legislative analyst for the California Highway Patrol. She was endorsed by police unions in Winters, Davis, Woodland and West Sacramento, the Yolo County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association and retiring Yolo Superior Court Judge Janene Beronio, whose departure created the vacancy.
In her concession statement, Ortiz said the loss would not diminish her goal of eventually serving on the bench.
“While this isn’t the outcome we hoped for, it hasn’t lessened my passion or determination to one day serve the Yolo County community from the bench,” she wrote. “For now, I’ll continue my work as a prosecutor, protecting the innocent, standing up for victims, and safeguarding children.”
Voter turnout was higher than expected in Yolo County. Ballots also arrived later than usual, with many voters waiting until the last minute to cast ballots in the governor’s race.
Yolo County elections officials reported about 1,000 ballots remained to be counted, along with roughly 350 outstanding signature-cure ballots. The next results update is scheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday, and the county has until July 2 to certify the election.
This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 6:09 PM.
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Daniel Lempres is an investigative reporter at The Sacramento Bee focused on government accountability. Before joining The Bee, his investigations appeared in outlets like the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times.