Cavanaugh narrowly overtakes Rios in race for supervisor seat
Pinal County of Supervisors (from left) Pete Rios, Anthony Smith, Mike Goodman, Stephen Miller and Todd HousePinal County of Supervisors (from left) Pete Rios, Anthony Smith, Mike Goodman, Stephen Miller and Todd House
ByRofida Khairalla PinalCentral
Veteran officeholder Pete Rios held a slim lead Wednesday for reelection in Pinal County Supervisor District 1. But his opponent believes it will come down to a recount and is making accusations of election meddling.
Rios, D-Dudleyville, was up by only 53 votes over Republican Kevin Cavanaugh.
Tuesday evening began with Rios in the lead at 54% — something he said he believes boded well for him.
“This is not my first rodeo,” Rios said, citing his lengthy political career. “One of the things that I noticed when results come in, especially early ballots come in — and they are such a huge percentage of the total vote count — that once the votes start trending in a certain way, they continue trending in that respect.”
