The field is set for elections to be held in June to fill two vacancies in the state Senate, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced.
Final results show Long Beach City Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez will face Republican Cudahy Councilman Jack Guerrero on June 4 to fill the 33rd Senate District seat. Ricardo Lara resigned the seat in southeast Los Angeles County after becoming insurance commissioner.
The district covers a strip of the Gateway Cities from Maywood down to Long Beach, including Huntington Park, Walnut Park, Bell Gardens, South Gate, Lakewood, Lynwood and Paramount.
Gonzalez won 31.6% of the vote to Guerrero’s 14%, with just 8% of registered voters casting ballots. None of the other 10 candidates broke out of single digits.
She is heavily favored in June, as about 55% of the district’s voters are registered Democrats compared to Republicans’ 12%.
Meanwhile in Senate District 1, final results from last month’s special primary election show Brian Dahle of Bieber and Kevin Kiley of Rocklin are the top two vote-getters. The district stretches from Oregon to south of Lake Tahoe.
The two with the most votes advance to the special general election, regardless of party, because no candidate won more than half the vote.
They will compete June 4 to fill the seat vacated after Republican Ted Gaines won a seat on the state Board of Equalization in November.
Dahle, who already represents nearly half of the Senate district, received 29.6% of the vote. Kiley, who already represents about a third of the Senate district, was second with 27.9% of about 195,000 votes cast.
About a third of registered voters cast ballots. Democrat Silke Pflueger was third of six on the ballot, with 25.2%.
About 41% of the district’s voters are registered Republican, 28% Democratic and 23% have no party preference.