Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell on Wednesday was in jeopardy of being ousted by voters as challenger Alex Villanueva took a razor-thin lead in the race to lead the sprawling, scandal-tainted law enforcement agency.
With votes still being counted, the outcome of the race is still in question. But the fact that McDonnell is fighting for his political life has stunned the Los Angeles political establishment and raised questions about future reforms at the department.
Historically, the sheriff of L.A. County could count on being easily reelected in the primary, but Villanueva disrupted that pattern when he became one of only four challengers in the last century to push a sitting sheriff into a runoff.
With 100% of precincts reporting, Villanueva, a retired sheriff’s lieutenant, was ahead by 4,927 votes, but provisional and late mail-in ballots still have to be counted.
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