Eric Guerra inching his way into California Assembly race with Stephanie Nguyen
The south Sacramento-Elk Grove Assembly primary has become a tight race for second place as a Democrat slowly ekes out a lead over the third place Republican.
Democratic Elk Grove City Councilwoman Stephanie Nguyen continues to maintain the top spot in the Assembly District 10 race with 32.7% of the vote as of Friday, the latest ballot count.
Meanwhile, Sacramento City Councilman Eric Guerra, another Democrat, is clinging to the second place spot he’ll need to make it to the November general election.
The top two candidates will advance to the next round, regardless of party preference.
Guerra currently has 28.2% of the vote, while Republican Eric Rigard trails with 26.2%. The councilman has expanded his lead over Rigard to about 944 votes in an update announced by election officials.
The two candidates were neck-and-neck following the first two Election Day ballot releases, which left Guerra with just a 50-vote advantage over Rigard.
Sacramento County reported there are still more than 88,700 ballots left to process across all elections as of Friday. The AD 10 race has seen voter turnout of about 18.7% so far, although it’s unclear how many ballots remain outstanding.
If the current trend continues, the general election will be a face-off between Democrats from the city and the suburb. Anti-Guerra primary ads comparing a homeless encampment in Sacramento to a well-kept park in Elk Grove have started this competition early.
“The results from the primary elections say it clear — our community wants someone who can fight for us at the California state Legislature,” Nguyen tweeted on Wednesday. “Our pathway to making a Sacramento region for all is just getting started.”
“We have the general election coming in November,” she added. “I respectfully ask for your continued support for us to finish strong.”
Two additional candidates trail Nguyen, Guerra and Rigard, leaving them almost no chance to advance.
Tecoy Porter, an Elk Grove Democrat who pastors a south Sacramento church, had about 7.5% of the remaining vote on Friday. Another Democrat, Ben Thompkins, took about 5.4%.
Sacramento County will release the next ballot count on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
This story was originally published June 10, 2022 at 5:17 PM.