With more than ten thousand ballots than runner-up Claudia C. Alvarez, Vicente Sarmiento is set to become the mayor of Santa Ana.

Vicente Sarmiento was first appointed to be a Santa Ana councilman in 2007 and is now serving as the president of the Orange County Water District Board of Directors. He received his education from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law for his Juris Doctor degree. 

According to the Orange County Registrar of Voters, Sarmiento holds 33.08% of votes, compared to the next closest being Alvarez’s 21.57%. 

This win comes after incumbent Miguel Pulido has been the mayor of Santa Ana for the last 26 years. Under state law, he has used up all his terms, and is unable to continue being mayor.

“Many of our young supporters and volunteers were young millenials, and so some of them have never known a mayor other than my predecessor,” Sarmiento says.

With Pulido out, the mayoral race had six candidates, with two still active in the council, while another two were formerly council members. Other than Sarmiento and Alvarez, the remaining candidates were Cecilia Iglesias, Jose Solorio, George M. Collins, and Mark I. Lopez.

According to ABC7 Los Angeles, Sarmiento’s family had helped in reaching out to the critical demographic: young voters.

“I’m really grateful for all the support we received from a new emerging demographic, 18-34 age voters, who showed up to the polls and showed up early and they made a difference in our campaign and others in the city,” Sarmiento says in an interview with The OC Register.

On December 8, Sarmiento will be sworn in as the newest mayor, along with Santa Ana’s other elected officials. He will be the first Bolivian-American mayor in the United States and can run for two four-year terms.