Monday, November 24, 2014

LA county finishes counting and we have winners

Los Angeles county finished counting ballots today, confirming a stunning result. Democratic Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, thought to be next in line to be Speaker, was beaten by unknown Democrat Patty Lopez. Bocanegra won the June 3 primary in a landslide and took the run-off for granted. Lopez may not have spent any money. In the final count Patty Lopez increased her lead. She ended up winning by 1%. Raul Bocanegra conceded and won't pursue a recount. This has to be one of the most stunning assembly upsets in years and shows Top Two can produce crazy results.

Republican David Hadley beat incumbent Democrat Al Muratsuchi in Torrance based AD-66, 50.3%-49.7%. Hadley's victory was a surprise because he wasn't considered a strong candidate, he won the primary by only 1%, and he was outspent by at least 2 to 1. Also, he was up 51.4%-48.6% on election night, the same as Doug Ose. Congressman Ami Bera defeated Ose and it was expected that there'd be enough Democratic votes to beat Hadley. This means Republicans took four Democratic assembly seats, netting three, including beating three incumbents. The Democrats now have a 52-28 assembly seat advantage and a 26-14 senate seat edge. So the GOP did well in legislative elections this year. Can they keep these seats in 2016?

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