Monday, June 16, 2014
Page 3
Najera’s Lead Over Pierce Appears Insurmountable
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Deputy District Attorney Carol Najera appeared to clinch an upset victory over Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James B. Pierce late Friday, as the county released its most recent update of returns.
The office of Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan reported that Najera had 290,874 votes, or 50.51 percent, to Pierce’s 285,019, or 49.49 percent. Logan reported that his office had tallied more than 21,000 ballots since its previous update, meaning that only about 30,000 ballots are left to count.
Since that total includes provisional ballots that won’t be counted, as well as voters who did not cast ballots in the race, Najera’s lead appears insurmountable. The challenger had 50.39 percent of votes tallied on election night, and the lead has only grown since.
Another update is due tomorrow, and the returns must be finalized by July 1, under the Elections Code.
Pierce is only the second incumbent judge of the Superior Court to lose a countywide election in the past quarter-century, and the first since Lynn Olson defeated Dzintra Janavs in 2006.
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