Voters in the heart of Orange County will determine who the front runners to represent them in the state assembly in a race are facing off to succeed Assemblyman Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim).
Early election night results Tuesday night showed Santa Ana Councilman David Penaloza, a Democrat, was in the lead with over 36% of the vote ahead of Republican Mayra Ruiz at 32% – a difference of over 1,283 votes between the two.
Santa Ana Councilwoman Jessie Lopez, a Democrat, was trailing behind Ruiz by 2,258 votes as of 8:10 p.m. Tuesday.
So far, nearly 31,000 votes have been tallied.
The district covers parts of Anaheim, Orange and Santa Ana.
[Read: OC’s Most Competitive Races For The June Primary Election]
Penaloza is endorsed by a host of public safety unions, labor unions and the California Democratic Party and received his largest support from tech companies and executives.
Lopez is endorsed by California Working Families Party, Chispa, CAIR Action, progressive organizations and some labor unions, including the Service Employees International Union.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org.
