Wildomar Mayor Benoit Claims Victory In Bid For Auditor-Controller Job

WILDOMAR, CA — Wildomar Mayor Ben Benoit was celebrating Monday, announcing he "won the General Election for Riverside County Auditor-Controller, beating three-term incumbent Paul Angulo."

As of Monday night, Benoit received 54.05% or 195,835 votes compared to Angulo's 45.95% or 166,467 votes.

Despite Benoit's announcement, ballot counting was not over in Riverside County. The Riverside County Registrar of Voters reported Monday night that approximately 84,000 vote-by-mail and 10,000 provisional ballots still must be processed. Ballots postmarked on or before Election Day also remain to be counted. The next updated results will be posted at approximately 6 p.m. Monday, according to the Registrar.

"While there are still ballots that must be processed, the current results show that we are leading with a large enough margin to officially declare victory," Benoit claimed Monday.

Angulo, a licensed certified public accountant, has said Benoit is not qualified to be auditor-controller because he's not a CPA, doesn't have a college degree in accounting, and has no experience that would prepare him for the role.

On the campaign trail, Benoit admitted he has no formal accounting background but claimed his experience in local government prepared him for the job. He was elected to the Wildomar City Council in 2010 and was successful in his consecutive reelection campaigns. The city boasts a population of approximately 37,000 residents. Benoit has also served on boards and commissions during his council tenure.

The auditor-controller is the chief accounting and disbursement officer of the county. Riverside County is the fourth largest county in California and the 11th largest in the United States.

Benoit's political career follows that of his father, John Benoit, who served as a Republican Party representative in the California State Assembly and in the California State Senate. John Benoit resigned from the Senate in 2009 to serve on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, where he served until his death in 2016.