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Analyzing the Election Results in the California Desert

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Photo: Chris Clarke
Photo: Chris Clarke

Today's story by KCET commentator Chris Clarke does a great job rounding up what happened, electorally speaking, in the desert. While mostly everything went as expected -- low voter turnout and lots of conservative wins -- he said there were some outcomes that were noteworthy, "including an unlikely Democratic win in one of the most conservative places in the state."

Of note:

    Congressional District 36 (Riverside County desert areas): Mary Bono Mack (Republican incumbent) vs. Raúl Ruiz (Democrat).
  • Congressional District 51(Imperial County): Juan Vargas (State Senator, Democrat) vs. Michael Crimmins (Republican).
  • Congressional District 8 (Mojave Desert to near Lake Tahoe): A very close race that could be between some combination of Paul Cook (Republican), Gregg Imus (Republican), and Jackie Conaway (Democrat).
  • Supervisorial District 3 (San Bernardino County): Neil Derry (Republican incumbent) vs. James Ramos (Democrat, San Manuel Band of Serrano Indians).
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