10 Out Candidates Win Calif. Legislative Primary Races

Of the 14 out California statehouse candidates running this year, 10 survived Tuesday's primary, where the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the general election in November.

As expected, gay San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener was in first place in his bid for the 11th Senate District seat. The current officeholder, gay state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), is termed out this year and has endorsed Wiener to succeed him.

Based on unofficial returns Wednesday, Wiener was leading with 46 percent, or 83,310 votes. But his Democratic opponent, Supervisor Jane Kim, made a strong showing, likely boosted by the endorsement of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, whom she campaigned with in the Mission district this week.

Kim took second with 44 percent, or 79,682 votes. Republican candidate Ken Loo was in third with 9.9 percent, or 17,927 votes.

In a statement he posted to Facebook, Wiener took a swipe at the support Kim received from Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont.

"We will continue to work hard toward November in our deeply grassroots local campaign. Unlike my opponent, who needed a lot of outside, non-Bay Area support and money to stay competitive in this race, our campaign is fueled by local supporters - community members, elected officials, and donors," wrote Wiener.

At her election night party Tuesday at gay nightclub Oasis, Kim criticized Wiener's support from independent expenditures financed by corporate interests who, she claimed, want to "abolish rent control" throughout the state.

She asked her supporters to continue to campaign for her over the next five months as "we fight our way to Sacramento."

Other Out Candidates Advance

A number of gay and lesbian candidates advanced past Tuesday's primary and will now compete in November.

All four of the incumbent out Democratic lawmakers seeking re-election this fall landed in first place in their contests. The group includes gay Assemblyman Evan Low of Campbell; lesbian Stockton lawmakers Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman and Senator Cathleen Galgiani; and Senator Ricardo Lara, who is unopposed for his Los Angeles-area seat.

In San Diego lesbian Assemblywoman Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), who is running for the 39th District Senate seat, easily won first place against her GOP opponents. And gay San Diego City Councilman Todd Gloria easily took first place in his bid for Atkins' Assembly District 78 seat.

Sabrina Cervantes, a lesbian who is trying to oust Assemblyman Eric Linder (R-Corona) from his 60th Assembly District seat centered in northwestern Riverside County, took second in the three-person race with 40.1 percent of the vote. Linder earned 47.1 percent, while third place finisher, Democrat Ken Park, had 12.7 percent.

Should Park's voters swing to Cervantes in the fall then she could win an upset and defeat the sitting lawmaker.

Palm Springs resident Greg Rodriguez, a gay married father who is HIV-positive, took second, with 40.8 percent, in his race against Assemblyman Chad Mayes (R-Yucca Valley) in the 42nd Assembly District. Mayes came in first with 51.9 percent.

Republican Matthew Craffey, president of the Log Cabin California Los Angeles chapter, will square off against Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) for his 50th Assembly District seat this fall as he was the sole challenger to enter the race. He secured 20.1 percent of the vote Tuesday compared to Bloom's 79.9 percent tally.

Out Non-Incumbents Fail to Advance

Losing Tuesday were a number of out non-incumbent legislative candidates.

In San Jose gay Republican Anthony Macias fell short in his bid for the 15th Senate District, coming in fourth. Incumbent Senator Jim Beall (D-San Jose) took first with 49.2 percent, and termed-out Assemblywoman Nora Campos (D-San Jose), whose husband was involved in a homophobic tirade, came in second with 26.3 percent.

Katherine Perez-Estolano, a married lesbian Pasadena resident, fell short in her bid for the open 25th Senate District seat. She came in third with 13.8 percent.

Bryan Urias, a gay man seeking the 48th Assembly District seat located in the San Gabriel Valley, also landed in third place with 23.1 percent, according to the unofficial returns. The second-place finisher, Blanca Rubio, had 25.1 percent.

Teacher Andrew Blumenfeld was in fourth place in the race for the Assembly District 43 seat in the Los Angeles area.