Betty-Martinez Franco is on track to become the next member of the Irvine City Council as of Wednesday night.
She was in the lead with nearly 49% of the vote. In second place, former Councilman Anthony Kuo held 41% of the vote, with a 574 vote gap. Dana Cornelius held third place, earning just 771 votes, or just under 10% of the vote.
If Martinez-Franco maintains her lead, she’ll be the first ever Latina Councilwoman in the city and cement a four-person majority of council members backed by the Democratic Party of Orange County.
The party already declared victory in Irvine’s special election on Wednesday afternoon, with local Democratic party Chair Florice Hoffman praising the win as a sign that Irvine voters wanted to reject “big money influence.”
“Her opponent tried to buy the seat with outside spending and far-right rhetoric, but voters saw through it,” Hoffman wrote in a statement.
The county Republican Party declined to comment on the race, and did not endorse any candidates.
Martinez-Franco’s campaign was largely funded by small-dollar donations from residents, along with a $20,000 field advertising program from Unite Here Local 11, a labor union that represents hospitality workers in town.
Kuo’s campaign was funded almost entirely by special interest groups, including the conservative donor group the Lincoln Club and a committee used by Orange County fast food franchises.
[Read: Irvine City Council Race Sees a 10-to-1 Lead in Campaign Spending]
Martinez-Franco also set to be the tie breaker on a city council that’s wrestling with issues like their future membership in OC’s green power agency and designs for the Great Park.
She’s also vowed to support a veterans cemetery at the Great Park, one of Mayor Larry Agran’s most controversial proposals, despite the state project getting moved to a site in Anaheim’s Gypsum Canyon.
[Read: How Did Irvine Fail to Build a Veterans Cemetery After Nearly a Decade of Debate?]