California Congressional candidate Mike Cargile was the top Republican vote-getter for District 35 during the June primary but it’s too early to tell who won the mid-term race.
“We have 35 days to finish counting the ballots,” he said.
So far, Cargile, a filmmaker, has garnered 43.7% of the vote compared to his Democrat opponent Norma Torres, who collected 56.3% of the vote, according to the Secretary of State website.
“We got hit with a storm of rain and there are people in California who just don't go out in the rain,” Cargile told the Southern California Record. “It rains so seldom here that when it does rain, it brings the whole area to a standstill. It wasn't a drizzle. It was multiple downpours over these crucial two days.”
The voter participation rate statewide was 31.8% as of Nov. 12.
Although the election will not be certified until Dec. 16 because ballots are still being counted, GOP Assemblyman Kevin Kiley is leading in the new Congressional District 3 with 53.1% of the vote while rival Democrat Kermit Jones is trailing with only 46.9% of the vote.
“The Trump endorsement seems to be holding in Kiley’s race,” Cargile said. “He was endorsed at the CPAC conference.”
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is a mainstream political gathering where politicians and conservative activists convene twice a year to network and strategize.
In the race for mayor of Los Angeles, at 50.2% of the vote, Rick Caruso is heading for a runoff against Karen Bass who gained 49.8%, according to media reports.
Bass is currently a Congresswoman representing District 37, which encompasses Culver City, West Los Angeles, Inglewood, and Playa Vista.
“Caruso is a businessman,” Cargile added. “Caruso is liked by law enforcement and he understands what's at stake with the city. You've got liberals coming out and supporting him because you can't sustain what Mayor Garcetti has been doing. It's the death of Los Angeles.”
In Congressional District 6, Tamika Hamilton, whom the GOP endorsed, is trailing her Democratic opponent Ami Bera, and in Congressional District 36, Democratic candidate Ted W. Lieu, who collected 65.9% of the vote, is leading GOP-backed Joe E. Collins III.
In Congressional District 14, vote-by-mail, provisional, and other ballots are still being processed. So far, Republican Alison Heyden has secured 33.4% of the vote to incumbent Democrat Eric Swalwell's 66.6%.
"None of them got any money from the GOP," Cargile said of the Republican candidates.
For State Assembly in the 43rd District, Jan. 6 defendant Siaka Massaquoi has so far collected 29.1% of the vote compared to his Democrat opponent Luz Maria Rivas who has 70.9% of the vote. Congressional Republican candidate Lucie Volotsky in the 32nd Congressional District, with only 34.2% of the votes, has fallen behind Democrat Brad Sherman.