Eighteen-Year-Old School Board Candidate Surges Ahead Overnight

In a closely watched race, Nicholas Yendrzeski, widely regarded as the youngest school board candidate in the history of the Maricopa Unified School District, has taken the lead over Shawnte’ Rothschild for one of the three vacant seats on the district’s governing board.

As of this morning, Yendrzeski, an 18-year-old Maricopa High School graduate, holds a narrow advantage of 62 votes, with a total of 8,114 to Rothschild’s 8,052, following the latest ballot drop from Pinal County.

Yendrzeski expressed optimism when contacted earlier today, stating, “I’m still waiting … I’m pretty confident. I think the only thing people can do is wait patiently for the final tally.”

Pinal County Elections officials have announced that the next update on the vote count will occur around noon, which could be critical for the ongoing tight race that Rothschild initially led on Election Day.

On the previous night, Rothschild was marginally ahead, leading Yendrzeski by just 20 votes. At that time, Rothschild had accumulated 7,699 votes, approximately 20.88% of the total, while Yendrzeski trailed closely with 7,679 votes, accounting for 20.83%.

The elections division has indicated that additional results will continue to be released periodically, heightening the anticipation surrounding this competitive election.