6% Turnout for 26th State Senate Race, 3 Contenders Head to Runoff

Shortly after 11 p.m., officials with the LA County Recorder-Registrar completed tallying a meager amount of votes casted Tuesday for the 26th State Senate seat vacated by Mark Ridley-Thomas last year when he became a Los Angeles County Supervisor. The semi-official results show that Democratic State Assemblyman Curren Price, Republican Rabbi Nachum Shifren and Cindy Varela Henderson of the Peace & Freedom Party will run in the May 19th runoff election.

With 390,409 registered voters within the district, which spans from Hollywood and Silver Lake to South LA and Culver City, only 24,039, or 6.16%, voted. More than half of those ballots were mailed and received prior to the election.

Price led the race with 35.65%, or 8,442, of total votes, but he needed 50% to win outright. Because of that, top candidates from each party go to a runoff. Rabbi Shifren and Henderson received 11.53% and 1.75% of the vote, respectively.

Five other Democratic candidates rounded off the ballot. Assemblyman Mike Davis came in second overall with 21% of votes.

Provisional ballots and vote-by-mail ballots received in the mail on Tuesday or turned in at polling locations have yet to be counted. County officials have until Friday to finish their count and certify the election.

Previous 26th District Race Coverage
- Stories from the Field: Voters See Low Turnout and Odd Voting Methods
- Why Are There so Many Elections?