LA Sheriff McDonnell heading for November runoff with Villanueva

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Incumbent Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell held a significant lead over two candidates looking to unseat him, but he appeared to be falling just short of the threshold to avoid a runoff election.

As of early Wednesday morning, McDonnell was just under 50 percent and challenger Alex Villanueva, a retired sheriff's lieutenant, had about a third of the overall vote, likely setting up a general election contest in November between the two.