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By Brian Hews
Publisher | Follow X
June 6, 2026
As ballots continue to be counted following Tuesday’s primary election, voters across Southeast Los Angeles County delivered a mix of incumbent victories, tax measure approvals and several intriguing matchups heading toward November.
The highest-profile local contest was the Los Angeles mayoral race, where incumbent Karen Bass finished first with 34.97% of the vote. Television personality Spencer Pratt placed second with 29.91%, while City Councilmember Nithya Raman finished third with 22.81%. Because no candidate received a majority, Bass and Pratt will advance to a November runoff.
One of the most closely watched local races was the 67th Assembly District contest, which stretches across portions of Los Angeles and Orange counties. Republican Paulo Morales finished first overall with 20,205 votes, while Cerritos Mayor Mark Pulido placed second with 14,708 votes. Democrat Ada Briceño finished third with 11,516 votes, followed by Ali Taj with 4,475 votes, Paul Gonzales with 3,085 votes and Republican Adrian Ayub with 3,840 votes.
While Morales led the primary, the numbers suggest a potentially competitive general election. If Democratic voters largely consolidate behind Pulido and Republican voters rally behind Morales, the combined primary totals would give Democrats approximately 33,784 votes compared to 24,045 votes for Republicans, a potential 58% to 42% advantage. General elections attract different voters and coalitions can shift, but the primary results indicate the district may be more competitive than Morales’ first-place finish initially suggests.
Candidate Pulido told LCCN, “As ballots are still being counted, I want to take this moment to thank all of the voters who exercised their right to vote in this important election. I want to thank all of my family, friends, neighbors, supporters, student interns, volunteers, endorsers and donors, who helped power our grassroots campaign for Assembly. I am humbled and honored that we worked very hard together towards building a brighter future for California and for all of our families and communities.”
In the 41st Congressional District, incumbent Congresswoman Linda Sánchez narrowly edged Republican challenger Mitch Clemmons. Sánchez received 37.11% of the vote compared to 37.06% for Clemmons, a difference of just 34 votes. Both candidates advance to November under California’s top-two primary system.
The 45th Congressional District produced a decisive showing for incumbent Congressman Derek Tran, who captured 59.89% of the vote. Republican Chuong V. Vo finished second with 18.40%. The result represents another setback for Vo, who declined to seek the Cerritos mayoralty when his turn in the city’s mayoral rotation arrived and chose not to seek reelection to the Cerritos City Council in 2024. Despite running for Congress in a district far larger than Cerritos, Vo received fewer votes than he earned during some of his previous city council campaigns.
State Senator Bob Archuleta easily led the 30th Senate District race with 62.14% of the vote, defeating Republican challenger Araceli Martinez, who received 37.86%. Both candidates advance to the November election.
In Compton, incumbent Mayor Emma Sharif led the field with 41.83% of the vote. Andre A. Spicer finished a distant second at 16.65%, setting up what appears likely to be a November runoff.
Compton voters also elected other city officials. Satra D. Zurita won the City Clerk race with 63.12% of the vote, while Brandon Mims captured the City Treasurer position with 58.17%.
Lakewood voters elected Rudy Villarreal to the City Council’s Second District seat. Villarreal received 51.89% of the vote, easily outdistancing second-place finisher Laura Sanchez-Ramirez, who received 15.82%.
Several local tax measures also won overwhelming voter approval. Commerce voters approved Measure PC, the Commerce Essential Services Protection Measure, by a 71.76% to 28.24% margin. Bell Gardens voters approved Measure BG with 56.63% voting yes, while Bell voters approved Measure BB, a public safety and city services measure, by a 62.22% to 37.78% margin.
Bell voters also selected two new City Council members. Ana Maria Quintana led the field with 28.37% of the vote, followed by Pablo Sifuentes with 23.12%. Alicia Romero finished third with 21.79%.
While vote counting remains ongoing, early returns show voters largely supporting incumbents and local revenue measures while setting the stage for several significant November contests throughout the region.
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