Bera Gains Lead In Congressional Race Against Lungren; Tateishi Concedes
SACRAMENTO (CBS13)- Dr. Ami Bera and Dan Lungren have been deadlocked in one of the most competitive political races of this election, but Bera now has increased his lead for the congressional seat.
The Sacramento County Registrar of Voters announced Friday that Democrat Bera has added to his slim lead in the race for California's 7th Congressional District seat. Bera now is leading the race by 1,779 votes, putting him in front by about 1 percentage point.
Bera released a statement saying in part, "The Sacramento County Registrar's Office staff are working diligently and are committed to the integrity of our elections."
Lungren, the GOP incumbent, and Bera have been in a close race for the seat since initial results starting coming in on Election Night, but a winner has yet to be declared. The most current results have Bera with 105,245 votes (50.43 percent) and Lungren with 103,466 (49.57).
In another close race, Republican Peter Tateishi conceded defeat to Democrat Ken Cooley Friday in the state's 8th Assembly District, representing eastern Sacramento County. Cooley, a Rancho Cordova councilman, told CBS13 that Tateishi left "a gracious message of concession" for him Friday afternoon.
The margin between them grew Friday from about 5,000 votes to 7,500.
Democrats must win two more narrow contests to gain the 54 seats they need for a supermajority in the 80-member Assembly.
Sharon Quirk-Silva is leading in her bid to unseat Republican Assemblyman Chris Norby in Orange County's 65th Assembly District. Democrat Rudy Salas also has a narrow lead in the Central Valley's 32nd Assembly District.
The registrar's office is still going through thousands of ballots and said it will have an update on Tuesday.
