LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The race for Los Angeles County sheriff effectively ended today, with updated results from the Nov. 6 election showing retired sheriff's Lt. Alex Villanueva with a 125,878-vote lead, with only 100,000 ballots left to be counted.
Villanueva proclaimed victory in the race last week, but incumbent Sheriff Jim McDonnell said he would not concede until all ballots have been tallied, despite acknowledging his shrinking odds of prevailing. The latest numbers, however, all but finalized McDonnell's impending defeat -- marking the first time an incumbent Los Angeles County sheriff has lost a reelection bid in more than a century.
According to the county Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's Office, Villanueva has 1,277,340 votes, while McDonnell has 1,151,462, equaling a 52.6 to 47.4 percent edge for Villanueva.
There are only about 100,000 ballots left to be tallied, all of them provisional ballots from the Nov. 6 election, according to the registrar's office.