The Los Angeles County Registrar has published certified results for the special primary election held April 4 to elect a representative for the 34th Congressional district that includes Boyle Heights and other parts of Los Angeles. Final figures show a voter turnout of 14% and that the gap between the two frontrunners has lessened.
A total of 42,914 ballots were processed and counted, according to County figures. More than half of those, 22,376, were votes by mail ballots.
State Assemblyman Jimmy Gómez still holds the lead, getting 10,728 or 25.36% of all ballots cast. That’s down from early results that put him at 28%. Robert Lee Ahn, a lawyer and Los Angeles Planning Commissioner, was originally reported to hold 19% of all votes. New results show 9,415 or 22.25% of voters supported him.
KPCC reports that the special election cost Los Angeles County $1,371,000. The County was unable to consolidate the special election with Los Angeles’ March local election due to state election laws.
Three candidates with ties to Boyle Heights ran for the seat in Congress but all fell short of receiving the votes needed to move on to the runoff. One of those candidates, María Cabildo, came in third in the overall race with 4,259 or 10.07% of the votes. Arturo Carmona was fifth overall with 2,205 or 5.21%, closely followed by Wendy Carrillo, sixth with 2,195 or 5.19% of the votes.
The LA County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to declare the election results official at its regular meeting on Tuesday, April 18th.
The runoff election between Gomez and Ahn will be held on June 6. Gómez has been endorsed by top Latino elected officials, including Councilman José Huízar. If elected, Ahn would become the first Korean American citizen elected to Congress.
Photo above: Robert Lee Ahn (left) and Jimmy Gómez in released campaign photos.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on April 14 to reflect final election results.
