Republican Finishes Second in CA Special Election, Headed to Runoff

I wouldn't be overly excited that this guy finished second. He'll probably be crushed in the runoff.

In a seemingly major upset in the race to replace former Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), Republican Craig Huey appears to have captured one of the spots in a July 12 runoff.

With all of the election night ballots counted late Tuesday, Huey squeaked past California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, a Democrat, by 206 votes.

If the outcome stands after outstanding ballots are counted, Huey will face Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, a Democrat. Antiwar activist and teacher Marcy Winograd, who challenged Harman twice in Democratic primaries, finished fourth.

Huey, a conservative businessman who pumped $500,000 of his own money into the race, faces long odds in the runoff, given the district’s strong Democratic tilt. Democrats (45%) hold an edge over Republicans (28%) in the 36th Congressional District, which runs mostly along the coast, from Venice to San Pedro. More than 22% of voters are unaffiliated with any state-recognized political party.

If he could pick off all the unaffiliated voter, maybe Huey's got a shot. Now while Huey edged Bowen by 206 votes, Bowen's a Democrat, so she has no plans to concede.

"This has been a very spirited campaign and it remains very close. There are 9,811 ballots that still need to be processed — more than enough to make up the difference. We are confident Debra Bowen will be in the runoff," Dan Chavez, Bowen's campaign manager, said in a statement.

Not sure where's she's getting her special stash of 9,811 votes, but here are the numbers as they stand now.