Long Beach voting results: Mayor Richardson claims large lead in reelection bid, may avoid runoff

Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson stormed ahead in early returns Tuesday night, overshadowing six little-known rivals and potentially securing him four more years in office in a race that strengthens his standing for a potential run for higher office.

With over 56,000 ballots counted and more still being tallied, Richardson was holding just over 56% of the vote.

Joshua Rodriguez, a former law enforcement officer, was in second with 20.4%, followed by local business owner Chris Sweeney at 10.2%.

Standing beside family and several City Council members at a rooftop election night party, Richardson thanked his supporters, saying the results reflect a voter base that supports his vision for the city and the direction it is headed.

“For me, this means we’re going to continue building jobs, jobs that are accessible, good high-paying union jobs in our city,” he said. “We’re going to continue to attract companies as the fastest growing aerospace cluster in America in Space Beach. We’re going to continue building housing in every part of our city.”

Richardson used his speech to reiterate his plan to remake Long Beach as an entertainment and sports destination.

He gestured for the crowd to look right, toward the newly built coastal amphitheater that debuts Saturday. “The industries of the past will not serve us well in the future,” Richardson said.

Richardson first won his seat in a 2022 general election with 56.6% of the vote, or 63,184 ballots, over then-Councilmember Suzie Price.

None of his challengers this year had as much political experience as Price, and Richardson substantially outraised them all.

Richardson spent more than $358,000, pulling from the $472,000 raised through donations from powerful unions, established Democratic colleagues and many of the defense companies he has helped bring to the city. By comparison, nonprofit executive Terri Rivers spent $17,000, and Sweeney spent nearly $10,000.

The mayor’s race in Long Beach is a tough one for political newcomers. The city has not elected a mayor who hasn’t first sat on the City Council since Beverly O’Neill’s inaugural win in 1994.

Early results in other races also favor incumbents

Results are as of 2:08 a.m. Wednesday. See the latest numbers at results.lavote.gov

Five City Council offices and the city auditor’s seat were also at stake in Tuesday’s primary, with incumbents across the city — except in the 7th District, where longtime Councilmember Roberto Uranga was termed out — holding early leads over their challengers.

City Auditor

Incumbent Laura Doud was leading Ginny Gonzalez with 71.1% of the vote compared to 28.9%. They are the only two candidates in the race.

1st District 

Incumbent Mary Zendejas was leading with 50.9% of the vote. Deb Kahookele was in second place with 14.6% of the vote. There are six candidates in the race.

3rd District

Incumbent Kristina Duggan was ahead with 66.5% of the vote. Rebecca Hinderer was in second place with 25.9% of the vote among four candidates.

5th District 

Incumbent Megan Kerr had 51.2% of the vote versus 48.8% for her challenger Tara Riggi. They are the only two candidates in the race.

Kerr said she was “cautiously optimistic” her lead would hold after a bruising race. “This was not an easy ride this time around,” she told her supporters.

Megan Kerr, District 5 Councilmember, attends an election night party in Long Beach on Tuesday, June 3, 2026.

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Thomas R. Cordova

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Long Beach Post

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Richardson, who endorsed her, said he expected her to cruise to victory at this point.

“Councilwoman Megan Kerr stood up for affordable housing, and they tried to punish her for it, because she believes in a Long Beach that looks like this, where everybody has a seat at the table and a place to call home,” Richardson said in his election night speech. “And I’m so proud that the Fifth District voters agree.”

7th District 

LBCC Trustee Vivian Malauulu had 75.1% of the vote. Dameon Gordon was in second place with 17.5%. Jamies Shuford had 7.4% of the vote.

9th District

Incumbent Joni Ricks-Oddie led with 66.6% of the vote. Sequoia Neff is her only challenger and had 33.4% of the vote.

Will there be runoffs?

Any candidate who earns more than 50% of the vote in the June 2 primary wins outright. If no candidate reaches that mark, the top two vote-getters will advance to a Nov. 3 runoff. In tight races, final results may not be clear for weeks.

Voter turnout appeared strong Tuesday, with Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan reporting earlier in the day that at around 2 p.m., more than 100,000 voters had cast a ballot in person and nearly 1 million mail-in ballots had been received — about three percentage points higher than the June 2022 gubernatorial primary election.