California Republican Assemblyman James Gallagher achieved a significant victory in a special election, giving the GOP a big win.
Gallagher will now complete the term of the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa, successfully avoiding a runoff and reinforcing GOP control of the seat.
As of the current count, which reflects just over half of the anticipated votes in California’s expansive 1st Congressional District, Gallagher has secured 62.6% of the vote.
This significantly surpasses the 50% threshold required for an outright victory.
Democratic State Senator Mike McGuire secured a narrow victory over fellow Democrat Audrey Denney for second place, achieving a margin of just 37 votes, with both candidates receiving 17.9% of the vote.
The special election was initiated following the passing of LaMalfa, who had served as the representative for the consistently Republican district since 2013.
The congressman passed away on January 6 due to a heart attack that followed an aortic dissection. He was sixty-five years old.
“It’s a mix of emotions,” Gallagher told KRCR-TV after the Associated Press called the race.
“Missing Congressman Doug LaMalfa, who is a mentor to me, but also just feeling overwhelmed by the amount of support that we’ve had tonight,” Gallagher added.
The big news out of California this week is the hotly contested mayoral race in Los Angeles.
California’s election results are still coming in from the June 2 primary.
Making matters even more worrisome, Democratic leaders in the state claim it could take weeks to count all the ballots.
But in the Los Angeles mayoral contest, incumbent Democrat Karen Bass didn’t crack the 51% needed to win outright, setting up a runoff in November.
More importantly, there is a battle between Spencer Pratt, a former reality TV personality and Republican, and Nithya Raman, a City Council member and Democrat.
At the time of this writing on Thursday morning, Pratt is ahead, and Raman would have to make up a huge number of votes.
Roughly 62% of the vote had been counted as of Wednesday night.
Per the New York Times, here’s where the voting totals stand as of this writing on Thursday morning:
–Karen Bass — 183,701 (35%)
–Spencer Pratt — 157,116 (29.9%)
–Nithya Raman — 119,809 (22.8%)
So far, Pratt looks likely to square off against Bass in November.
No Republican has won a mayoral race in Los Angeles in more than three decades.
But the votes he has already earned reflect a real frustration among Angelenos with a city that has declined after years of Democratic rule.
A business leader and former city council candidate said Spencer Pratt’s rise in the Los Angeles mayoral race is a result of voters’ unhappiness with the status quo on crime, the recent wildfires, and the unfriendly business climate.
“I think a lot of people are concerned about what’s happening, they really don’t know how to fix this, and I think the crime, the homelessness, the addiction, all the above behaviors of what’s happened in our city,” said John Putnam, the president of Putnam Brands & Putnam Accessory Group.
“The politicians that are causing this, I think a lot people are seeing that,” Putnam added.
“And I think Spencer’s actually bringing the light in a real way. He’s pretty basic with his delivery of his issues,” Putnam continued.
“And I think that’s resonating a lot. Even if you don’t want to vote for him, you’re listening, though and I think that’s resonating with a lot of people,” Putnam declared.
“California’s got a big issue, but the city is a byproduct of what’s happened in Los Angeles and across the world,” Putnam said.
