Propelled by strong backing from labor, former state lawmaker Sheila Kuehl appeared Wednesday to have won a pivotal race for an open seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, defeating former Santa Monica City Council member Bobby Shriver.

With 100% of the precincts counted, election officials said, Kuehl had 52.8% of the vote, compared with Shriver’s 47.2%

Kuehl, Shriver and their backers raised and spent millions of dollars in a hard-fought contest to replace longtime board member Zev Yaroslavsky in a sprawling west county district that includes high-income and blue-collar suburbs stretching from Santa Monica to the north San Fernando Valley.

The election was seen as the one of the most pivotal Board of Supervisors races in decades, in part because it likely will determine if the balance of power on the five-member panel tilts toward organized labor or business and development.

Click here to read the full story on LATimes.com.