Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez, who drew widespread condemnation for sharing conspiracy theories that branded the Bondi Beach massacre a false flag and portrayed Hamas as a defensive force, appears headed for defeat in his reelection bid, according to preliminary results released Friday by Contra Costa County.

Martinez took 19.50 percent of the vote in the June 2 primary, trailing City Councilwoman Claudia Jimenez at 37.55 percent and Ahmad Anderson, culture director of Golden Gate Park Gardens, at 28.82 percent. Jimenez and Anderson appear set to advance to a November runoff. The count is unofficial and has not been certified.

The result caps months of fallout over posts Martinez shared on his LinkedIn account in December. In them, he reposted claims that the attack on a Chanukah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach was an Israeli false flag operation, and another asserting that the root cause of antisemitism is the behavior of Israel and Israelis. One repost suggested the shooting had been carried out by a former Israeli soldier, and he also shared material comparing the celebration to Israeli settlers storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

The Bondi Beach attack killed 15 people and wounded dozens, and was carried out by a father and son who were motivated by ideologies linked to the Islamic State. Police reported finding two black ISIS flags and improvised explosives in the attackers’ vehicle.

Martinez deleted the posts and apologized. He wrote that he was sorry for sharing them without thinking, and he later read an apology at a City Council meeting. Fellow council members proposed a measure to censure him, but it failed to pass.

The Jewish Community Relations Council of the Bay Area, which had called for Martinez to resign over the posts, welcomed the preliminary outcome. In a Facebook post, the council framed the vote as a message from residents that “antisemitism has no place in public office.” Anderson, one of the two front-runners, had signed a December open letter urging Martinez to apologize, undergo antisemitism education and meet with Jewish leaders, or else step down.

Martinez, a member of the Richmond Progressive Alliance, was elected mayor in 2022 after serving on the city council since 2014, and has long been a vocal critic of Israel. The leading candidate, Jimenez, may not be much better. She has also backed Palestinian causes. She and Martinez co-sponsored an August resolution making Sebastia, a town in the West Bank, a sister city of Richmond.

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