Live updates: Bonakdar leads Richardson for City Council seat representing northeast Fresno

After months of debating which of the two candidates is the most Republican in a nonpartisan Fresno City Council election, candidates Roger Bonakdar and Nick Richardson await to see who voters have declared the winner.

Early Election Night returns show Bonakdar leading among voters whose vote-by-mail ballots were returned before Tuesday. It is likely to be a couple of weeks before votes cast on Election Day and late mail-in ballots are fully tabulated.

Bonakdar had 50.8% of the votes in the vote tally released just after 8 p.m. Tuesday, ahead of Richardson's 49.0%

Both Bonakdar, a local attorney, and Richardson, a businessman and U.S. Marine Corps Reserve officer, are first-time political candidates, and were the top two vote-getters from a field of four candidates in the March primary. The eventual winner will ultimately represent District 6, which covers northeast Fresno.

Typically – but not always – returns compiled at the end of Election Night reflect percentages similar to the final confirmed result when all of the counting is completed and the election certified. That could take up to four weeks after Election Day.

Current District 6 Councilmember Garry Bredefeld was barred by term limits from seeking a third four-year term. Instead, Bredefeld opted to run for the District 2 seat on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors against incumbent Supervisor Steve Brandau. Bredefeld did not endorse a candidate in the race to replace him.

Both candidates listed public safety, homelessness and business support among their priorities.

Although City Council seats are nonpartisan positions in Fresno, District 6 leans Republican in voter registration. Of more than 49,000 registered voters, 41.4% are Republicans, and have an advantage of 9.1 percentage points over Democrats. Nearly one in five voters in District 6 are registered with no party preference.