- 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
- fresnoland.org (opens in a new tab)Fresnoland — Fresno County candidate guides
- midvalleytimes.com (opens in a new tab)Mid Valley Times — Fresno County Superintendent of Schools candidate profiles
- netfile.com (opens in a new tab)NetFile official public agency registry and live county campaign portals — candidate/committee searches run for Fresno (CFRE), Merced (MCO), San Bernardino (SBD), Ventura (VCO), Monterey Elections (MCE), and Placer (PLA), with the registry also checked for Siskiyou and Tuolumne
Last updated September 3, 2026.
County
County Superintendent of Schools
This person leads the county office of education. The job is nonpartisan.
Incumbent Michele Cantwell-Copher led the June 2 primary with 42.8%. Eimear O'Brien took 30.0%. Neither reached a majority, so the two meet again on November 3. This is a nonpartisan countywide office.
The county superintendent runs the Fresno County Office of Education. That office does not run your local school district — it oversees district budgets and can intervene when one is in financial trouble, runs county-wide programs including special education and juvenile court schools, and provides services individual districts are too small to run alone. It is one of the most consequential education jobs most voters have never heard of.
This is a contest between a sitting superintendent and a challenger from within the same professional world, so it turns on management of the county office rather than on party or ideology. Ask what you want from the office's two real powers: fiscal oversight of districts, and the county-run programs serving students no single district can serve alone.
Michele Cantwell-Copher
Michele Cantwell-Copher grew up in Riverdale and went to Fresno City College and Fresno State. She started as a teacher in the Clovis Unified and Central Unified school districts, then spent years in county education administration. She has led the Fresno County Office of Education since 2022, when she won her first term with about two thirds of the vote.
She says the office should look at full systems for health and education, not just paperwork. Since she took office, county students have shown some of the highest academic growth rates in the state, according to a review of state test data. She wants to keep that momentum going and reach more students with support services.
She promises to keep improving test scores by expanding early learning programs like transitional kindergarten. She wants to grow dual enrollment and career training so more students leave high school ready for work or college. She also promises more mental health support for students worried about immigration enforcement.
Eimear O'Brien
Eimear O'Brien grew up in Ireland and moved to Fresno County more than 30 years ago. They taught for 10 years in Ireland and 10 more at a Clovis Unified elementary school, then became a principal. They later served six years as superintendent of Clovis Unified schools before stepping down in 2023, and they recently served as interim superintendent at Central Unified.
O'Brien says the job has taught them what accountability really feels like, since a superintendent can lose the job quickly. They want to be a partner to district leaders across the county, not just an overseer. Their top goal is getting every child reading by third grade, since they say reading affects every other subject.
O'Brien promises phonics based reading instruction and more transitional kindergarten seats to reach children earlier. They promise more support for literacy in rural parts of the county, where access is harder. They also promise to keep pushing for more state funding through a stronger legislative voice in Sacramento.
Your pick
A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.