Election Day results: McDonnell to face Tanaka in LA County sheriff's race
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Los Angeles County sheriff's race was one of the most high-profile on Tuesday's primary ballot.
See California Primary Election Results
Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell emerged from the primary as the overwhelming favorite in the race with 49 percent of the votes.
McDonnell was a longtime assistant chief in the LAPD before taking over as chief of police in Long Beach in 2010. He was a latecomer to the race. It was a decision he made after Baca stepped down in January.
He'll face former undersheriff Paul Tanaka in a runoff race in November.
Tanaka, who is also mayor of Gardena, was once considered an early favorite. On Tuesday, he came in second with 15 percent of the votes.
Tanaka's campaign had to overcome the fact that he is under investigation for allegedly obstructing an FBI investigation into inmate abuse at the county's downtown jails.
Los Angeles County Supervisors' Race
Sheila Kuehl and Bobby Shriver are headed to the general election in the race to fill Zev Yaroslavsky's District 3 seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Yaroslavsky termed out after 20 years in office.
Kuehl came in first with 36 percent of the votes. Shriver followed with 29 percent of the votes.
The Los Angeles County supervisors oversee a $25 billion budget. Each supervisor represents 2 million people -- that's more than some governors. They oversee welfare programs, the sheriff's department and transit.
Long Beach Mayoral Race
Robert Garcia, 36, beat his opponent, Damon Dunn, with 52 percent of the votes to become Long Beach's youngest mayor in the city's history, and the first openly-gay person to hold the position.
Governor's Race
With more than 1.7 million votes, current Gov. Jerry Brown captured about 55 percent of the votes cast. Republican newcomer Neel Kashakari came in at a second distant with 19 percent of the vote.
Kashkari is making his first run in politics as a social moderate. For Brown, if he wins, this would be his fourth term as governor.
"California has come a long way in the last few years. We've closed a massive budget deficit. We have good relations between the two parties," Brown told reporters Tuesday night. "Californians appreciate living within our means, managing the people's money, creating a rainy day fund, and just bringing a very common sense, 'get it done' kind of approach."
It was the first election for statewide office held under California's new primary system, in which the top two vote-getters advanced regardless of party affiliation.
33rd Congressional District Race
The race for the 33rd Congressional District was one of the most unpredictable races in years. Eighteen candidates were fighting for Democrat Henry Waxman's seat, most were Democrats, but it was a Republican who got the most votes.
Lawyer Elan Carr came in first with 21 percent, State Senator Ted Lieu came in second with 19 percent, and former Los Angeles Controller and City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel came in third with 17 percent.
Carr fought in Iraq and worked as a deputy district attorney. He surprised a lot of people by getting the most votes since he is a Republican. The seat had previously been held by a Democrat for 40 years.
Since Lieu came in second, the two of them will runoff in November.
"I think we're going to continue focusing on the important issues that are affecting American families: safety, schools, classrooms that are safe, schools that are safe and nurture our kids and finally, jobs. Bringing back jobs here to California where they need to be," Carr said.
"I have represented the district for many years. I actually live in the district," Lieu said. "I am an Air Force veteran, and I deliver results by helping create jobs, increasing transportation funding, as well as funding to our local schools and those are some of the issues I will fight for in Congress."
Propositions
Proposition 41, the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act, passed, according to early results. It earned 66 percent of the votes with 10 percent of precincts reporting.
Prop 41 authorizes the redirecting of $600 million in general obligation bonds to help fund construction of rental housing for low-income veterans and their families across California.
Proposition 42, the so-called "public's right to know" measure, also passed with 60 percent of the votes and 10 percent of precincts reporting.
It's a constitutional mandate requiring local government agencies, including cities, counties and school districts, to comply with laws for providing public access to meetings and records of officials. Local governments would pay all costs of compliance.
Los Angeles County Voter Turnout Low
The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk says voter turnout was very low Tuesday. Dean Logan with the registrar's office says, as of 7 p.m., the unofficial sampling of turnout was 14.69 percent of eligible voters. The polls closed at 8 p.m.
Tuesday's primary elections set the stage for what is expected to be several fiercely contested congressional races in the fall.
See California Primary Election Results
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
