Out of 23 People, 2 Candidates Set to Advance for L.A.'s 34th Congressional Seat
Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez will likely face Los Angeles Planning Commissioner Robert Lee Ahn in the June 6 runoff in the 34th Congressional District special election.
Gomez, D-Eagle Rock, led the 24-candidate field with 8,156 votes, or 28.14 percent, with fellow Democrat Ahn second with 5,504 votes, or 18.99 percent, according to semi-official results released Wednesday by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.
Democrat Maria Cabildo, an economic development director, was third with 2,778 votes, 9.58 percent.
Because no candidate received a majority, a runoff between the top two finishers will be held June 6.
The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk is expected to release the number of uncounted votes by mail and provisional ballots later Wednesday, with an updated vote count set to be released Friday afternoon.
The special election was prompted by the appointment of then-Rep. Xavier Becerra as attorney general, succeeding Kamala Harris, who was elected to the Senate.
The district stretches roughly from Koreatown in the west to the Long Beach (710) Freeway in the east and from the Santa Monica (10) Freeway in the south to the Ventura (134) Freeway in the north. It includes downtown Los Angeles, the Westlake district, Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Boyle Heights and Lincoln Heights.
Twenty-three people appeared on the ballot, 19 of them Democrats looking to represent the overwhelmingly Democratic district. Most of the candidates never held elective office, with the exception of Gomez and former Los Angeles Unified School District board member Yolie Flores.
Flores finished ninth with 1,027 votes, or 3.54 percent.
Michelle Walker, a Democrat and community activist, qualified as a write-in candidate. Her vote total was not available Wednesday.
Becerra endorsed Gomez, who said he hopes to "continue to build an inclusive and diverse country that values people from all walks of life."
