Updated results posted by the LA County Registrar Recorder/County Clerk Friday afternoon show Hugo Soto-Martinez leading the vote totals in CD 13, and Katy Young Yaroslavsky increasing her lead in the CD 5 race, over results first posted on Thursday morning.
Both races are headed to a run-off this fall. According to updated results posted by the County Elections department late Friday afternoon, Hugo Soto-Martinez is now leading incumbent Mitch O’Farrell, who took the lead on election night, by a narrow forty vote margin.
“This is historic,” wrote Hugo Soto-Martinez in a message to the Buzz today. “It’s nearly impossible for a challenger to beat an incumbent in the primary. We faced millions of dollars in attacks from Wall Street landlords, the police union, and big developers, but if voting trends continue we’ll come out on top.”
Earlier in the week, Soto-Martinez told the Buzz, “Last night proved that the movement we built is well on its way to winning power for working people in CD13. People across race, class, gender, and identity lines understand that LA is heading in the wrong direction and are joining together demanding the city they deserve.”
Meanwhile, CD13 incumbent Mitch O’Farrell told the Buzz, “We will continue bringing our strong record of constituent services and innovative policy achievements before voters in November. I have a track record of real results: several thousand units of affordable housing; more than almost anywhere in the city; leading our fight against the climate crisis; and thoughtful solutions to homelessness. The choice is clear: a longtime public servant and coalition builder who has produced real results while in office; or someone who just moved into the district to launch his political career, and promises to abolish the police while pushing an ideological agenda.”
CD 13 candidate Kate Pynoos, who secured the LA Times endorsement, finished a distant third in the contest, followed by Steve Johnson and Albert Corado. All three candidates continued to gain additional votes in the latest tally, but not enough to affect the outcome of the race.
In our other local city council race, Katy Young Yaroslavsky has increased her lead in the CD 5 race against second highest vote getter Sam Yebri.
On election night, Yaroslavsky came very close to getting a majority of votes with total of 50.93% of ballots counted late Tuesday evening. But as votes continued to be tallied, she ened up 47.43% of the votes counted on Wednesday. Her closest competitor, Sam Yebri, ended with 31.78% of the votes, followed by Jimmy Biblarz at 10.81% and Scott Epstein at 9.97%.
In a statement to the Buzz, Katy Young Yaroslavsky told the Buzz: “I’m deeply grateful to the voters of CD 5 for their overwhelming support, and their faith in me…Voters saw my track record of getting things done to make our city safer and more sustainable and agreed with organizations like the LA Times, Planned Parenthood and the Sierra Club that I’m the best person to represent them with integrity at City Hall. I’m especially grateful that Council District 5 voters weren’t fooled by the $1,000,000 in outside special interest money that funded false attack ads that the LA Times called out as “inaccurate.” Voters made clear that CD 5 isn’t for sale to special interests. Fifth District residents, like all Angelenos, are deeply frustrated by homelessness and public safety. I’ll be focused like a laser beam on addressing these challenges in an effective and intelligent way. My team and I are looking forward to meeting many more voters between now and November, earning their support, and then getting to work on behalf of, and in partnership with, CD5 constituents in December.”
“The results are still coming in, but our team is excited that we will be moving forward to the general election,” Sam Yebri told the Buzz. “This win is a victory for those with the courage to stand up to the establishment and the status quo. Voters are hungry for common sense solutions, for immediate action on our homelessness and public safety crises, and for ending the culture of corruption at City Hall. I am proud to have the support of firefighters, small businesses, and over 1,300 community leaders from across the 5th District, and our broad coalition looks forward to victory in November.”
According to the county there are still more than 506,050 ballots to be processed.
See estimates below:
• Vote by Mail ballots (VBM): 500,000
• Conditional Voter Registration ballots: 5,500
• Provisional ballots: 300
• Misc. ballots*: 250
Most voters decided to vote by mail. Approximately 70 percent of the ballots cast were mailed in with the remaining 29 percent cast at a vote center.
Another updated vote count will be published on Tuesday, June 14.
