Election results: Close primary signals tight race coming in Assembly District 36

Early results released on Tuesday night indicate that Republican Jeff Gonzalez is leading the large field of primary contenders hoping to succeed long-serving Democratic Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia. Several Democratic contenders are still fighting for a slot to move on to the general election. Gonzalez was leading the contest to represent Assembly District 36, which includes the eastern Coachella Valley, with 9,034 votes, or 32.7% of the more than 27,000 ballots cast, according to figures that were put up on the California Secretary of State's website on Tuesday night. A number of Democratic contenders were still in the running to move on to the November election, with more ballots yet to be counted. Jose "Joey" Acuña Jr. came in second with 5,143 votes, or 18.6%, followed closely by Edgard Garcia with 4,584 votes, or 16.6%... Together, the two Republican contenders received 43% of the vote, while the five Democratic candidates received 57%. After Garcia, a Democr...