Fresno County · Statewide General Election
Judge of the Superior Court, Office No. 7 — Fresno County
Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.
This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.
On the ballot
- Jeff Hammerschmidt
- Jose L. Salazar
A countywide seat on the Fresno County Superior Court, the state trial court (6-year term).
Jeff Hammerschmidt led the June 2 primary with 48.9% and Jose L. Salazar took 35.6%. Hammerschmidt fell just under the majority that would have won the seat outright, so the two meet again on November 3. This is a nonpartisan countywide seat.
A Superior Court judge serves a six-year term on California's trial court — the court where criminal cases, family law, probate, small claims and most civil disputes are actually decided. One judge's rulings affect thousands of people a year, and judicial elections draw far less attention than the stakes warrant. Judges may be reappointed or re-elected for decades, so a six-year term is often the start of a much longer tenure.
Unlike the other Fresno judicial contest on this ballot, this one offers a genuine difference in professional perspective: one candidate has worked both sides of the courtroom, the other is a public defender. That distinction is the clearest documented basis for a choice here, since judicial ethics limit what either may say about how they would rule.
Jeff Hammerschmidt
Nonpartisan, and per GV Wire a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor, known in the county for prosecuting the Dana Ewell triple-homicide case in the 1990s. He led the June primary with 48.9%, just short of an outright win. No campaign-finance data for this race is available in the sources we track.
Strengths
Experience as both prosecutor and defense counsel, which is the broadest courtroom perspective on offer in either Fresno judicial race on this ballot.
Trade-offs
He fell just short of winning outright in June, and no bar evaluation or campaign-finance data is available to us.
Keep in mind
Judicial ethics limit what candidates may say about how they would decide cases, so this profile rests on career background rather than stated positions.
Jose L. Salazar
Nonpartisan, and per GV Wire a public defender. He advanced with 35.6% of the June vote. No campaign-finance data for this race is available in the sources we track.
Strengths
Public defenders see the court from the side most defendants experience, a perspective the Fresno bench's other contest on this ballot does not offer at all.
Trade-offs
He finished more than 13 points behind, and no bar evaluation or campaign-finance data is available to us.
Keep in mind
Judicial ethics limit what candidates may say about how they would decide cases, so this profile rests on career background rather than stated positions.
June 2 primary — how they advanced
Source review: Strong (87/100) · 2 cited sources
Official records anchor this contest, with a narrow source base.
- fresnocountyca.gov (opens in a new tab)Fresno County elections office — certified June 2, 2026 primary results
- gvwire.com (opens in a new tab)GV Wire — Central Valley election coverage, Assembly District 27
Last updated August 10, 2026.