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… And the votes are still being counted

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OK, residents did their part and voted — whether by mail, by vote box, or in person — during Tuesday’s midterm elections. Now, for many races, it’s waiting time before final results are known.

“Over the past two years, we’ve seen just how powerful the Black vote can be,” wrote Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP. “Together we elected the first Black and female vice president, and this year, we witnessed the confirmation of the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Most recently, we moved one step closer to reaching the NAACP’s goal of alleviating the burden of student debt.

“Every new election grants us the opportunity to lay the groundwork for the road ahead,” Johnson added.

“There’s a drumbeat out there,” agreed Melanie L. Campbell of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation who participated on NNPA’s “Let it be Known.” She was cautiously optimistic for the results. “Our people understand the real threat that is out there.”

At press time, the results of the race for mayor of Los Angeles, according to LAvote.net included vote by mail ballots returned before Election Day and all ballots cast at a Vote Center from Oct. 29 through Nov. 7. They have Rick J. Caruso in the lead, edging out Karen Ruth Bass, 51.25% to 48.75%.

“We feel great about these early numbers, and we expect to see support for our campaign build even more as further reports are released, just like we did in June,” said Sarah Leonard Sheahan, Karen Bass for Mayor communications director. Caruso lost the primary to Bass by seven points in June.

“As we eagerly await the next rounds of updates, we are also looking forward to rolling up our sleeves and launching our urgent solutions for homelessness, public safety and affordability,” she added. “The people of Los Angeles sent a clear message that they want our city to move in a new direction, and Karen Bass will be ready to lead us forward on day one.”

The third and recurring rounds of voting results will include ballots cast at a Vote Center on Election Day. Those were still being counted as of this writing.

“We are the greatest city in the world,” Bass said at the LA County Democratic Party election night event Tuesday. “But our city is at a crossroads.”

Bass noted that she is in a fight for the soul of the city, in that it needs to become more inclusive in order for it to heal from the recent City Hall chaos. But she acknowledged that it may take a while before the voting results are final.

“We take a break while we wait to win and then, we prepare to govern,” she said optimistically. “This campaign has never been about slogans. This campaign has been about solutions. That’s because forward is where we are going and together is how we will get there, because we will have a new Los Angeles.”

Bass then led a chant of “We will win!” with the election night crowd of supporters.

In Inglewood, incumbent Mayor James T. Butts won re-election for the post, garnering 55.64% of the vote. Coming in second and third were Fredrisha “Sha” Dixon with 15.97% and Miya Angelou Walker with 12.65% of Inglewood voters.

Measure HC in that city, an ordinance To establish minimum wage for certain employees of privately owned healthcare facilities, passed, with 53.49% of Inglewood voters approving the idea.

In Carson, Measure R, an essential services protection measure, passed, with 77.41% of the vote there.

Some other election results are listed below, and totals for LA County are available at LAvote.gov, the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office.

Elsewhere in the Country

On Monday, the New York Times and Siena College released polling for the top four Senate races across the country. Four races could determine future important Senate votes in the capitol. In Pennsylvania, John Fetterman defeated Dr. Mehmet Oz by five percentage points. In Nevada, Catherine Cortez Masto was tied with Adam Laxalt at 47% of polled voters. And in Arizona, Mark Kelly was leading in the polls at 51% to his opponent Blake Masters’ 46%.

And the fourth pivotal race that is being watched carefully is taking place in Georgia, where two Black candidates were in a close race.

Rev. Raphael Warnock, the incumbent senator, was earlier polled to receive 49% of the vote, leading his popular, Republican opponent, Herschel Walker, by only three percentage points. But as of 4 a.m. Wednesday morning, Warnock and Walker were neck and neck at 49.4% and 48.5% of the vote, respectively.

The presence of Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver, a 37-year-old Atlanta businessman, helped to deny Warnock and Walker the majority they needed to win outright.

As neither candidate reached 50%, a runoff is planned for Dec. 6. Warnock is the first Black senator to represent a former Confederate state in United States history and was first elected to the post in 2021. Since 2005, Warnock has been the senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Warnock won the seat to fill the remaining term of the late Sen. Johnny Isakson, who stepped down for health reasons midway through his term.

“This is turning into a race that is way closer than people anticipated,” said comedian Trevor Noah in his interview last week with Warnock. “It is turning into a race that has become a lot more national than many people anticipated.”

“We always knew this would be a close race,” Warnock replied. “And I think that speaks to where the country is and where people are. But when I think you look close — and you don’t have to look that close — you can see that Georgians have a clear choice, I think, about who’s ready and who’s fit to serve — to represent them in the United States Senate. And I believe at the end of the day. Georgians are going to get it right.”

Warnock conceded that he knows these are tough times and American citizens are feeling the pain of a pandemic; rising inflation; and bad actors in the private sector who are exploiting the pandemic and raising prices.

“I take this job very seriously,” Warnock said. “It’s a real honor for your neighbors to say ‘we want you to represent us in high office.”

As a U.S. senator, Warnock has embraced a progressive agenda. As of June 2022, Warnock had voted in line with President Joe Biden’s stated position 95.5% of the time.

After it was determined that a runoff election would be set, Warnock encouraged his followers to be patient.

“We always knew that this race would be close. And so, that’s where we are. So, you all just hang in there. I’m feeling good. I do,” Warnock told his supporters Tuesday night.

“We won’t know the final answers until the final votes are counted,” said CNN commentator Karen Finney on NNPA’s webinar. She stressed that it may take a while to find voting outcomes.

“It could be election week, but that’s OK, because it means the system is working,” she added. “It’s going to be an interesting week.”

Other OW endorsements’ election results:

• Measure A – YES

• Measure C – YES

• Measure ULA – YES

• Measure LH – YES

• Measure SP – NO

• Measure LA – YES

• Prop. 1 – YES

• Prop. 26 – NO

• Prop. 27 – NO

• Prop. 28 – NO

• Prop. 29 – NO

• Prop. 30 – NO

• Prop. 31 – YES

• Christy Smith – LOST

• Sydney Kamlager – WON

• Maxine Waters – WON

• Alex Padilla – WON

• Gavin Newsom – WON

• Karen Bass – yet undetermined

• Dr. Shirley Weber – WON

• Rob Bonta – WON

• Fiona Ma – WON

• Malia M. Cohen – WON

• Tony K. Thurmond – WON

• Paul Koretz – LOST

• Tim McOsker – WON

• Eleni Kounalakis – WON

• Lola Smallwood- Cuevas – WON

• Isaac Bryan – WON

• Reggie Jones-Sawyer – WON

• Tina Simone McKinnor – WON

• Mike Gipson – WON

• Bob Archuleta – WON

• Robert Luna – WON

• Malia M. Cohen – WON

• Jeffrey Prang – WON

• Hydee Feldsein Soto – WON

• Ricardo Lara -WON

• Antonio Vazquez – WON

• Steve Veres – WON

• Sara Hermandez – WON

• Gabriel Buelna – WON

• Kelsey Iino – WON

• Joy Langford – WON

• Judge Abby Barron – WON

• Judge Elizabeth Lashley-Haynes – LOST

• Judge Holly L. Hancock – WON

• Judge Melissa Lyons – WON

• Judge Melissa Hammond – WON

• Judge Patrick Hare – WON

• Carson Measure R – YES

• Jim Dear – WON

• Arleen Bocatija Rojas – WON

• Khaleah Bradshaw – WON

• Monica Cooper – WON

• John D.S. Allen – 49%

• Harold Williams – WON

• Inglewood Measure HC – YES

• James T. Butts – WON

• Gloria D. Gray – 2nd place with 23%

Pasadena

• Patrice Marshall McKenzie –

yet undetermined

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