Primary Election: Incumbents Take Lead Going Into November

There were few surprises following the results of Tuesday’s Primary Election. Veteran representatives reaped the most votes in newly drawn districts, except Republican Joe Gardner overtook incumbent Roger Hernandez in the 48th Assembly District Primary.

In this year’s Primary, the top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, advanced to the November election.

As expected, Judy Chu (D-El Monte), who currently represents the 32nd Congressional District, took the most votes for the newly reshaped 27th District with 60 percent of the votes. Her challenger , was a distant second with 22 percent of the votes.

"I'm honored to get the votes of so many people," Chu said in an interview with Patch Tuesday. "I'm looking forward to representing this district because it has so many active people in the community."

maintained the Primary lead throughout the night for the 32nd Congressional District race with challenger not far behind. With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Napolitano posted 46 percent of the votes over Miller’s 41 percent.

Democrat Sen. Carol Liu also took a Primary victory Tuesday night with 53 percent of the votes in the 25th Senate District race over Republican challenger who earned 41 percent of the votes.

Liu, a La Canada Flintridge resident, has served one term in State Senate and previously served in the California Assembly.

Gonzales, 35, a first-time candidate, lives in Pasadena. He graduated from Pitzer College and is currently the Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations for Vons/Safeway.

Gonzales told Patch early Wednesday morning that he felt his 41 percent was a "very good showing," particularly in a district with more registered Democrats.  He said he believes he can win over non-Republican voters in November.

"I believe that what it comes down to is that everyone, whether Democrat or Republican, is looking for solutions," Gonzales said.

Overcoming incumbent Roger Hernandez in the 48h Assembly District race, narrowly took the victory with 45 percent of the votes early Wednesday morning. Hernandez, who raised more than $100,000 in campaign contributions, followed with 43 percent of the votes. Despite heavy campaign support, Hernandez has kept a low profile since his

In other races, , the $47 million general obligation bond, gained 62 percent of the votes. The measure needed 55 percent to pass.

, the measure on office term limits, passed with more than 61 percent of the votes, while , the cigarette tax to fund cancer research, was narrowly voted down with 50.6 percent of voters rejecting the measure.

Supervisor Michael Antonovich took a decisive victory in his reelection to the 5th District, which includes Glendora. Antonovich earned 79 percent of the votes over challenger Raj Pal Kahlon’s 20 percent.

“I deeply appreciate the vote of confidence and the opportunity to continue representing the over two million residents on the Board of Supervisors,” said Antonovich in a press statement. “Over the past eight terms, my office has empowered our unincorporated communities with a voice and supported public safety, foster youth and municipal services.”