North State voters will have to wait 10 more weeks before finding out who their next state legislator will be, as no candidate received a majority of the vote in Tuesday's primary special election.

But political onlookers in the area had at least one surprising takeaway from the night: a first-place finish for a Democrat.

Elizabeth Betancourt, a water policy specialist from Happy Valley, was the top vote-getter of the night despite the heavy conservative lean in the 1st Assembly District.

“We’re super excited,” she said. “We feel like this really validates our message of doing positive, nonpartisan things that the district needs as a whole.”

Betancourt, who pulled in about 39% of the vote, likely benefited from Republican voters splitting their ballots among four party candidates, an advantage she won't have in the runoff election set for Nov. 5.

Election results as of 4:51 p.m. Wednesday (100% of precincts reporting) Democrat Elizabeth Betancourt (28,223 votes or 39%) Republican Megan Dahle (26,136 votes or 36.1%) Republican Patrick Jones (12,659 votes or 17.5%) Republican Joseph Turner (4,031 votes or 5.6%) Republican Lane Rickard (1,324 votes or 1.8%)

In that election, Betancourt will face Tuesday's second-place finisher, Republican Megan Dahle, whose husband, Brian Dahle, held the Assembly seat in contention before vacating it to serve in the state Senate.

Megan Dahle won 36.1% of votes in the district, well ahead of third-place finisher and former Redding mayor Patrick Jones (17.5%). Jones won Shasta County by about 800 votes but did not finish better than third in the district's other eight counties.

"Thank you to everyone that voted and supported the campaign in countless ways. We will gear up and be ready for November 5th," Dahle's campaign posted on Facebook. "Keep those signs up we are going to a runoff!"

Republican Joseph Turner, a veteran from Milford, took fourth place with 5.6% of the vote. Republican Lane Rickard, a former state Senate aid, came in fifth with 1.8%.

What’s next?

Now comes the hard part for Betancourt, who will likely have to convince significant numbers of Republicans, third-party voters and nonvoters to turn out for her in November in order to remain competitive against Dahle.

The last time the seat was up for grabs was in 2018, when then-incumbent Brian Dahle defeated Democrat and tribal leader Caleen Sisk, winning 63% of votes to her 37%. In Tuesday’s election, over 60% of primary votes were cast for Republican candidates.

That challenge is further illustrated by registration figures in the 1st District. About 40% of the district's voters are Republicans, about 28% are Democrats, about 22% have no party preference and the remainder are affiliated with minor parties.

One selling point, Betancourt said, is that she would be able to better work with the Democrats who control the state Legislature.

“We have a super majority in Sacramento, so at this point, party (affiliation) is actually important from a pragmatic standpoint,” she said.

Betancourt also commended the three candidates who did not make it to the runoff, saying she appreciated Jones’ honesty, Rickard’s enthusiasm and Turner’s perspective as a veteran.

Dahle comes into the runoff campaign with a wealth of endorsements and a healthy fundraising lead, having pulled in over $195,000 so far this year. County sheriffs in six of the district’s nine counties have announced their support for her.

Dahle’s campaign focuses on public safety in the district. When asked what her first priority would be at an August forum, she said ensuring law enforcement and firefighters have enough resources to deal with disasters.

"I'm a problem-solver," Dahle said. "I want to come up with solutions to these issues. I don't just want to talk about them."

Dahle wasn't discouraged by a second-place finish. As the only Republican candidate left, the math is on her side for the November runoff.

"You have to kind of expect (vote-splitting) with four Republicans in the race," she said after Tuesday's primary. "I still very much believe the North State wants a strong conservative voice."

She said one objective for her campaign is boosting turnout in the runoff election.

No matter which candidate wins in November, the Redding area will be represented in the state Assembly by a woman for the first time in over 40 years. The last woman to represent the area was Democrat Pauline Davis, who retired in 1976.

"It will definitely be history-making," Dahle said of the runoff election.

According to Shasta County Clerk Cathy Darling Allen, voter information guides will be sent to county residents at the end of September or beginning of October. The first day to pick up a mail-in ballot is Oct. 7, Allen said.

Tuesday's results are unofficial until certified by the Secretary of State. Counties are required to report their final numbers to the Secretary of State's Office by Sept. 5.

Update, 11:04 p.m.

With 99.1% of precincts reporting, here are the latest vote totals:

Democrat Elizabeth Betancourt: 27,727 (39.1%)

Republican Megan Dahle: 25,643 (36.2%)

Republican Patrick Jones: 12,296 (17.3%)

Republican Lane Rickard: 1,305 (1.8%)

Republican Joseph Turner: 3,940 (5.6%)

The only county with outstanding votes is Placer.

Update, 10:51 p.m.

With 85.9% of precincts in the district reporting results, Elizabeth Betancourt continues to hold a lead of about 2,000 votes over Megan Dahle.

Democrat Elizabeth Betancourt: 27,514 (39.3%)

Republican Megan Dahle: 25,343 (36.2%)

Republican Patrick Jones: 12,008 (17.1%)

Republican Lane Rickard: 1,291 (1.8%)

Republican Joseph Turner: 3,918 (5.6%)

All but two counties in the district have reported 100% of their precincts. The only counties with outstanding votes are Shasta and Placer.

In Shasta County, where about half of precincts have reported results, Patrick Jones leads Megan Dahle by about 800 votes. Elizabeth Betancourt is in third, about 800 votes behind Dahle.

Update, 10:12 p.m.

With 73.4% of precincts partially reporting their results, Elizabeth Betancourt leads Megan Dahle by about 2,000 votes. Patrick Jones is in third place, followed by Joseph Turner and Lane Rickard.

Democrat Elizabeth Betancourt: 26,786 (39.4%)

Republican Megan Dahle: 24,508 (36%)

Republican Patrick Jones: 11,635 (17.1%)

Republican Lane Rickard: 1,255 (1.8%)

Republican Joseph Turner: 3,841 (5.6%)

The final votes to be counted will likely come from rural areas, at least in the case of Shasta County, according to clerk Cathy Darling Allen.

Votes are outstanding in four counties: Shasta, Siskiyou, Placer and Modoc.

At 10:22 p.m., Turner made a Facebook post that appears to be a concession, thanking his supporters "who came out in spite of the very well funded opposition."

Update, 9:46 p.m.

With 67.1% of precincts reporting results, here are the latest figures:

Democrat Elizabeth Betancourt: 26,402 (39.8%)

Republican Megan Dahle: 24,038 (36.2%)

Republican Patrick Jones: 10,907 (16.4%)

Republican Lane Rickard: 1,225 (1.8%)

Republican Joseph Turner: 3,821 (5.8%)

Update, 9:30 p.m.

With 53.6% of precincts in the district reporting results, here's where the vote totals stand:

Democrat Elizabeth Betancourt: 25,339 (39.8%)

Republican Megan Dahle: 23,247 (36.5%)

Republican Patrick Jones: 10,302 (16.2%)

Republican Lane Rickard: 1,290 (2%)

Republican Joseph Turner: 3,504 (5.5%)

Four counties have no further precincts to report: Butte, Nevada, Plumas and Sierra.

Update, 9:09 p.m.

With 45.1% of precincts in the district reporting results, Elizabeth Betancourt and Megan Dahle hold a large lead over the field:

Democrat Elizabeth Betancourt: 25,005 (39.9%)

Republican Megan Dahle: 22,870 (36.5%)

Republican Patrick Jones: 10,143 (16.2%)

Republican Lane Rickard: 1,284 (2.1%)

Republican Joseph Turner: 3,427 (5.5%)

In Shasta County, Patrick Jones leads all candidates with 33.8% of the vote, ahead of Dahle (32.4%) and Betancourt (27.6%).

Update, 8:55 p.m.

With 37.6% of precincts in the district reporting results, here's where the numbers stand:

Democrat Elizabeth Betancourt: 24,899 (39.9%)

Republican Megan Dahle: 22,772 (36.5%)

Republican Patrick Jones: 10,061 (16.1%)

Republican Lane Rickard: 1,282 (2.1%)

Republican Joseph Turner: 3,410 (5.5%)

Update, 8:34 p.m.

With 24.5% of precincts reporting results, the latest vote totals are:

Democrat Elizabeth Betancourt: 24,132 (40.9%)

Republican Megan Dahle: 20,976 (35.5%)

Republican Patrick Jones: 9,817 (16.6%)

Republican Lane Rickard: 1,223 (2.1%)

Republican Joseph Turner: 2,921 (4.9%)

Preliminary results in Nevada County appear to be giving Democrat Elizabeth Betancourt an early advantage. Patrick Jones is winning Shasta County by about 200 votes at last count.

Update, 8:26 p.m.

The latest results are:

Democrat Elizabeth Betancourt: 11,942 (33.9%)

Republican Megan Dahle: 12,443 (35.4%)

Republican Patrick Jones: 8,253 (23.5%)

Republican Lane Rickard: 945 (2.7%)

Republican Joseph Turner: 1,594 (4.5%)

Update, 8:15 p.m.

After the first batch of results, here's where the votes stand

Democrat Elizabeth Betancourt: 3,928 (44.1%)

Republican Megan Dahle: 3,658 (41.4%)

Republican Patrick Jones: 591 (6.6%)

Republican Lane Rickard: 363 (4.1%)

Republican Joseph Turner: 358 (4%)

Update, 8 p.m.

The polls are closing and election officials are counting the ballots. The first wave of results is expected to be posted around 8:15 p.m. and will likely consist mostly of mail-in ballots.

Update, 5 p.m.

As election day runs into election night, here's what we know about the results so far.

Most Shasta County residents are voting by mail

In general, local voters seem to avoid the polls on election day, instead preferring to vote by mail. In the special election for 1st Senate District in June, over 85% of people who voted in Shasta County did so by mail.

In that election, in-person precincts on election day had under 5% turnout in the county, according to Shasta County Clerk Cathy Darling Allen.

For this election, about 76,000 mail ballots were sent out of about 102,000 voters in the county. Allen said about 21,000 ballots had been turned in before election day.

Turnout seems low, as expected

Allen said voter turnout is typically lower for special elections. For comparison, in the 2016 general election, about 80.8% percent of registered voters in Shasta County cast ballots.

In this year's first special election, a primary between multiple candidates for the 1st Senate District seat, about 32.1% of registered voters in the county cast ballots. When the election went to a runoff between two candidates in June, that number dropped to 27.9%.

A runoff election is a possibility

If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in Tuesday's election, a runoff will be held between the top two vote-getters. That's what happened earlier this year in the state Senate election between Brian Dahle and Kevin Kiley, when both of them won about 28% in the first round of the election.

In the June runoff between the two, Dahle won about 54% of votes to claim the election.

Original story

North State voters on Tuesday are deciding who will represens state Assembly District 1 in Sacramento.

The race pits five contenders. Three make their home in Shasta County and two in Lassen County. After polls close, the Record Searchlight will be providing live updates throughout the night. Follow the results on Redding.com.

Find answers to your questions about the race here.

Why is there a special election?

On June 19, California Governor Gavin Newsom called for a special election to fill the vacant seat that represents California’s 1st Assembly District. The seat used to be held by Brian Dahle, who left it open after winning a June special election to serve in the state Senate. The winner of the current election will serve the remainder of Dahle’s term, which ends in December of 2020.

Who are the candidates?

Four Republicans and a Democrat are vying for the job. In alphabetical order they are:

Elizabeth Betancourt, a water specialist and Democrat from Happy Valley

Megan Dahle, the wife of Brian Dahle and Republican from Bieber

Patrick Jones, a former Redding City Council mayor and Republican

Lane Rickard, a legislative aide to former state Sen. Ted Gaines and Republican from Redding

Joseph Turner, a veteran and Republican from Milford in Lassen County

RELATED:Guns, fire, compromise: Here's where Assembly candidates stand on the issues ahead of primary

RELATED:Takeaways from the Redding candidate forum for California's 1st Assembly seat

RELATED:CA 1st Assembly District race: Meet all five candidates running in the primary

How can I vote?

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Because it is a special election, some polling places have changed from those used in 2018. Voters can find their polling place and a sample ballot on the Shasta County elections website at elections.ca.shasta.ca.us.

Those with mail-in ballots can send them in as long as they are postmarked by Tuesday. If you’ve already filled out your mail ballot, you can drop it off at any official drop box location before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Staffed drop box locations

Holiday Market on Placer Street in Redding

Holiday Market on Hartnell Avenue in Redding

Holiday Market on Deschutes Road in Palo Cedro

Holiday Market on Gas Point Road in Cottonwood

Sav-Mor on Westside Road in Redding

24-hour drop box locations

Shasta County Elections Office in Redding

Redding City Hall

Anderson City Hall

Shasta Lake Visitor Center

For issues, call the Shasta County Elections Office at 530-225-5730.

What's been surprising about this race?

Despite Rickard working his way up to managing Gaines' office in Redding, the veteran lawmaker, who now sits on the state Board of Equalization, turned around and endorsed Megan Dahle.

Turner said his candidate statement is missing from voter information guides in all counties except his home county, Lassen. He blames the Lassen clerk for giving him bad information, but Julie Bustamante says he misunderstood the instructions.

In the cash race, Megan Dahle was a big winner, raising a total of $195,378.60, campaign finance disclosure for Jan. 1 to Aug. 10 show. In second was Jones, hauling in $64,552.77 for the same period. Betancourt reported raising a total of $48,785.69, while Rickard reported $10,005. Turner had no filings.

What happens if no one gets more than 50%?

If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote on Tuesday, a runoff election will be held among the top two vote-getters on Nov. 5.

Matt Brannon covers Redding-area news for the Record Searchlight. Follow him on Twitter @MattBrannon_RS. Support local coverage and keep up with the North State for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.