California Lieutenant Governor and former SF Mayor Gavin Newsom is headed to the Governor's race in November after a first place finish in last night's election, but he won't be facing former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as many expected.
The second place finisher was Republican John Cox, a Trump ally and multimillionaire.
The L.A. Times reports: “The results mark a stunning defeat for former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, representing the fall of a politician who embodied the growing power of the Latino electorate when he was elected mayor in 2005. Villaraigosa conceded late in the evening, urging those who voted for him to give their support to his opponent.”
CNBC reports: “Based on 92 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday's statewide primary results, Newsom had 33 percent of the vote and first place while Cox was second with 26 percent. They were separated by about 286,000 votes.”
The NYT adds: “Mr. Cox's showing represented a major tactical victory for national Republicans as they seek to protect seven Republican-held congressional seats in California that Democrats are targeting as they try to recapture the House. Republican leaders, including Kevin McCarthy, the House majority leader who comes from central California, had feared that having no Republicans running for a high-profile statewide office would diminish turnout among party voters in the fall.”
