After last-minute alarm, Democratic Rep. Julia Brownley hangs on to Ventura County seat for a runoff
This article is more than 1 year old
This article is more than 1 year old
A rare moment of triumph for Democrats: California is poised to determine a Senate seat after a bitter campaign, and they won’t even have to vote in person.
The party failed to earn a majority Tuesday night after Julia Brownley’s Democratic opponent, Ammar Campa-Najjar, called for a recount of votes cast in two counties – the latest in a series of legal challenges to incumbent Dianne Feinstein.
But the outcome did nothing to change the Democrats’ hold on the most populous California congressional district outside Los Angeles County.
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As of Tuesday night, Brownley had 6,859 more votes than Campa-Najjar, who is from a Palestinian family and supports Palestinian rights – and it’s still too early to declare a winner, given the low turnout among the 6.8 million Californians eligible to vote.
But by the end of the day, the two candidates had a clear advantage, which only deepened the sense of disbelief among Brownley’s supporters, who had been expecting to come out on top.
“We were ready to celebrate going into election night,” said a frustrated former member of the Brownley campaign team. “The outcome would have been the best-case scenario.”
While she had no regrets about not campaigning heavily before Election Day, the California Democratic party had no option but to keep her seat.
The seat had been in Democrats’ sights since the beginning of the campaign, as a swing region that is not only heavily Democratic but also home to significant Latino and Muslim populations. It’s the second most Jewish district in the US after the California district in the San