The biggest news in California's presidential primary election Tuesday? That an initiative to impose a $1-per-pack tax on cigarettes appears to have lost.
Prop 29, which would have raised $735 million a year to be spent primarily on cancer research, lost by just over 1%, although thousands of late-ariving and absentee ballots remain uncounted.
Prop 28, which reduces California State Legislature term limits from 14 to 12 years, passed by over 20%.
Prop 28: Limits on Legislators' Terms in Office: 61.4% Yes, 38.6% No
Prop 29: Tax on Cigarettes for Cancer Research:49.2% Yes, 50.8% No
The biggest surprise in the LA County election is that Chief Deputy District Attorney Jackie Lacey came in the lead in her bid to become LA County's first African American and first female district attorney. She surpassed LA City Attorney Carmen Trutanich -- thought to have been the frontrunner -- as well as Deputy Dist. Atty. Alan Jackson.
In the presidential primary, 79.6% of California Republicans voted for Mitt Romney. And in the US Senate race, Dianne Feinstein, with 49.3% of the vote, won comfortably over her Republican opponent Elizabeth Emken, who received 11.5%.
RUNOFF RACES
This election was California's first time voting under the new top-two primary system, which ignores party affiliation in the runoff; the following races will be determined in a November runoff.
LA District Attorney
Chief Deputy District Attorney Jackie Lacey 31.9%
Deputy Dist. Atty. Alan Jackson 23.7%
LA City Attorney Carmen Trutanich 22.3%
In the San Fernando Valley and South Bay, Congress members ran against each other because recent redistricting landed them in the same district.
San Fernando Valley (Cong. District 30)
Rep. Brad Sherman (D) 42.2%
Rep. Howard Berman (D) 32.4%South Bay (Cong. District 44)
Rep. Janice Hahn (D) 59.8%
Rep. Laura Richardson (D) 40.2%
A few close-call Southern California Assembly races:
Downtown to Huntington Park (Assembly District 46)
Adrin Nazarian (D) 27.5%
Brian Johnson (D) 20.3%
Jay Stern (R) 20%Westside (Assembly District 50)
Assemblywoman Betsy Butler (D) 25.9%
Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom (D) 25.6%
Torie Osborn (D) 24.3%
Bradly Torgan (R) 24.2%San Fernando Valley (Assembly District 39)
Raul Bocanegra (D) 36.5%
LA City Councilman Richard Alarcon (D) 27.03%
SAFE SEATS
All three LA County Supervisors up for re-election safely held on to their seats:
2nd District
Mark Ridley-Thomas: Unopposed - 100%4th District
Don Knabe: Unopposed - 100%5th District
Michael D. Antonovich: 79.4%
Raj Pal Kahlon: 20.7%
For more results, click here for California's presidential primary election and here for LA County's primary election.