David Sola declared victory Wednesday, Nov. 11, in his race against Temecula Valley Unified School District board member Joseph Komrosky, saying the incumbent has no path to catch up.

Sola leads Komrosky by 959 votes, 54.76% to 45.24%, according to results the Riverside County Registrar of Voters posted Tuesday evening, Nov. 10, the Press Enterprise reported. Votes from the Nov. 3 election are still being counted.

Komrosky "would need to gain a share of the ballots that he has not achieved in any of the 14 vote drops that have occurred so far," Sola wrote in a text message to the Press Enterprise. "We believe there is no path to victory for my opponent at this time."

The Press Enterprise reported that Komrosky did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday morning.

Sola, a Marine veteran who works for a STEM learning company, has led Komrosky since polls closed Nov. 3. His margin has grown. It stood at 422 votes in the early morning hours of Nov. 4, according to the Press Enterprise.

Results are not yet certified. The Riverside County Registrar of Voters reported that an estimated 344,000 vote-by-mail and 11,000 conditional voter registration ballots remained to be counted as of Monday, Nov. 9, according to Patch. Cured ballots will be accepted until Nov. 25.

What a Komrosky loss means for the board

If the results hold, Christian conservatives would lose their majority on the five-member TVUSD board, the Press Enterprise reported.

Two other candidates backed by the Inland Empire Family PAC, a political action committee led by 412 Church Temecula Valley Pastor Tim Thompson, are also trailing. Ronda Bowen trails Karen Poznanski 58.49% to 41.51% in the Area 3 race to succeed board member Jen Wiersma, who did not seek reelection. Brian Emmert trails incumbent Emil Barham 52.72% to 47.28% in Area 2.

Sola lost to Komrosky in 2024. Voters had recalled Komrosky earlier that year, but he won back a board seat in the November 2024 election, defeating Sola in the process, the Press Enterprise reported.

Years of controversy

The PAC helped elect a conservative majority to the TVUSD board in 2022. The new members "immediately began making national headlines," Patch reported. On their first night in office, Komrosky and two other PAC-endorsed members voted to ban so-called critical race theory from district schools.

The conservative majority also approved a policy requiring school officials to tell parents if their child identifies as transgender. That policy was later rescinded, according to the Press Enterprise.

Komrosky engaged in an online feud with Gov. Gavin Newsom after the board tried to ban curriculum material referencing slain LGBTQ civil rights leader Harvey Milk. The rejection triggered a $1.5 million state fine, according to Patch.

As board meetings grew heated, Komrosky used a soccer-style yellow- and red-card system to remove audience members he deemed disruptive. The ACLU and First Amendment Coalition sued, claiming his actions violated free speech and open meetings laws. The district settled the case in 2024, the Press Enterprise reported.

Looking ahead

Jeff Pack, co-founder of One Temecula Valley PAC, which organized the Komrosky recall, told the Redlands Daily Facts that candidates who ran against Christian conservatives "did a really good job of putting forth their message … They did a great job of getting information out early and stating what they're about."

Ballots postmarked on or before Election Day are still being counted, according to the registrar's office.