Election results 2022 California - LA County Sheriff candidates await election results

The countdown is on for incumbent Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva and former Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna, as voting polls are now closed and election results begin to pour in. 

As of 4:10 a.m. Wednesday, the Associated Press reported about 42% of the votes had been counted. Luna was in the lead with 56.8% of the votes, with Villanueva at 43.2%. According to the Los Angeles County Registrar there are still about 1,000,000 ballots left to count.

Villaneuva, who was elected LA County Sheriff in 2018, has drawn plenty of criticism during his tenure as the county's sheriff for his combative relationship with the county's board of supervisors and handling of investigations. 

Villaneuva is holding his Election Day festivities in Montebello.

While a recent poll sponsored by the Los Angeles Times showed the sheriff trialing Luna, Villanueva isn't putting much stock into the numbers. 

"The poll is what the Times bought. They've been (promoting) a false narrative hard so they're going to get a poll that matches their false narrative," Villanueva told CBSLA Reporter Ross Palombo. "So I have no trust whatsoever. It's an inaccurate poll."

Villanueva said that the LA Times contacted one of his campaign workers, giving the sheriff an idea for the poll's methodology. 

"We had a very good insight for how they did their poll and how they arrived to those numbers. It's absolutely embarrassing for the times," Villanueva said. 

Meanwhile, Luna is attempting to break into the LA County Sheriff's Department after a 36-year-career with the Long Beach Police Department. 

It's the first time Luna has ever run for office. 

Luna said that if elected, he intends on hiring a new executive team and working with the civilian oversight commission to improve relationships with county residents. 

"I think it's going to make a significant difference and I believe it's going to be the difference. It's become very clear to me going through the entire county and listening to our residents that they want change," Luna said. 

The Los Angeles County Registrar said that its next update will come on Friday.