Progressive Candidate Closes Gap in State Assembly Race
In one of Orange County’s closest and most expensive races, progressive-backed Santa Ana City Councilwoman Jessie Lopez is narrowing the lead of Police union-backed Councilman David Penaloza as of the latest election…
As of Friday evening’s election results, Police union-backed Councilman David Penaloza held a lead with about 50.4% of the vote, according to the latest count (1). His lead, which was roughly 8% at the start of election night, has dwindled down to less than 1% (1). Progressive-backed Santa Ana City Councilwoman Jessie Lopez trailed behind with about 49.6% – a difference of over 700 votes (1). [1]
Lopez said the tight race demonstrates the need to keep large corporations and special interests from buying political influence (1). She emphasized that the campaign has always been about affordability, accountability, and believing that we can have a much better future for everybody, not just those at the top (1). [1]
The race between Penaloza and Lopez remains close despite special interest groups, including real estate interests, oil companies, big tech, and labor unions, pouring millions of dollars into the assembly race (1). As of Oct. 27, a host of committees, including spending groups funded by big tech companies like Google and Meta, have spent over $8.3 million in support of Penaloza (1). [1]
As of Friday evening’s election results, Police union-backed Councilman David Penaloza held a lead with about 50.4% of the vote, according to the latest count (1). Lopez said the tight race demonstrates the need to keep large corporations and special interests from buying political influence (1). The race between Penaloza and Lopez remains close despite special interest groups, including real estate interests, oil companies, big tech, and labor unions, pouring millions of dollars into the assembly race (1). [1]
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Progressive-backed Santa Ana City Councilwoman Jessie Lopez continued to narrow Police union-backed Councilman David Penaloza’s lead as of Friday evening’s election results to represent the 68th State Assembly district in one of OC’s closest and most expensive races (1). The latest count showed Penaloza in the lead with about 50.4% of the vote after his roughly 8% lead at the start of election night dwindled down to less than 1% Friday (1). Lopez trailed behind with about 49.6% – a difference of over 700 votes (1). [1]
A host of committees, including spending groups funded by big tech companies like Google and Meta, have spent over $8.3 million in support of Penaloza, while other groups, including committees funded by labor unions, spent nearly $2.3 million supporting Lopez, as of Oct. 27 (1). A committee backed by Service Employees International Union spent over $1.3 million to oppose Penaloza’s campaign, while a host of groups including ones backed by oil companies, big tech and real estate interests spent over $4.1 million against Lopez, as of Oct. 27 (1). [1]
Progressive-backed Santa Ana City Councilwoman Jessie Lopez continued to narrow Police union-backed Councilman David Penaloza’s lead as of Friday evening’s election results to represent the 68th State Assembly district in one of OC’s closest and most expensive races (1). The latest count showed Penaloza in the lead with about 50.4% of the vote after his roughly 8% lead at the start of election night dwindled down to less than 1% Friday. Lopez trailed behind with about 49.6% – a difference of over 700 votes (1). [1]
The race between Penaloza and Lopez remains close despite special interest groups, including real estate interests, oil companies, big tech, and labor unions, pouring millions of dollars into the assembly race (1). A host of committees, including spending groups funded by big tech companies like Google and Meta, have spent over $8.3 million in support of Penaloza, while other groups, including committees funded by labor unions, spent nearly $2.3 million supporting Lopez, as of Oct. 27 (1). [1]
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A committee backed by Service Employees International Union spent over $1.3 million to oppose Penaloza’s campaign, while a host of groups including ones backed by oil companies, big tech and real estate interests spent over $4.1 million against Lopez, as of Oct. 27 (1). It also comes amid recent scrutiny of city officials for refusing to answer questions about why they held a ribbon cutting for a new aquatic center in the Ward Penaloza currently represents, featuring the entire city council weeks before the election when the pools were not open (1). [1]
The race between Police union-backed Councilman David Penaloza and progressive-backed Santa Ana City Councilwoman Jessie Lopez remains closely contested, with Penaloza leading by about 50.4% of the vote as of Friday evening’s election results (1). The gap between the two candidates has narrowed significantly from Penaloza’s initial 8% lead at the start of election night to less than 1% as of the latest count (1). Lopez trails with about 49.6% of the vote, representing a difference of over 700 votes (1). [1]
Both candidates have received substantial financial support from various interest groups. A host of committees, including spending groups funded by big tech companies like Google and Meta, have spent over $8.3 million in support of Penaloza (1). Meanwhile, other groups, including committees funded by labor unions, have spent nearly $2.3 million supporting Lopez as of Oct. 27 (1). [1]
In addition to these contributions, a committee backed by Service Employees International Union spent over $1.3 million to oppose Penaloza’s campaign, while a host of groups including ones backed by oil companies, big tech, and real estate interests spent over $4.1 million against Lopez as of Oct. 27 (1). The financial influence of these groups highlights the broader issue of campaign financing in this closely watched election race (1). [1]
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Anaheim News: City Council, the Resort District and Police
Prepared with AI assistance from the cited sources.
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