Republican Now in 3rd in Assembly Primary Race

Brad Torgan, a Republican from West Hollywood, swung into third place Friday in the .

Los Angeles County elections officials processed 59,243 ballots Friday that weren't recorded Tuesday, the day of the June 5 primary. Of those, 4,452 were from voters in the 50th district, which spans the Westside and includes Agoura Hills, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood.  

The top and last-place candidates are separated by 1.64 percentage points.

By only 135 votes, incumbent Betsy Butler is maintaining her lead over Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom, who is still in second. He appears confident that he'll retain one of the two top spots and compete in the general election in November.

"I'm thrilled to be in the runoff and I feel honored given the competition," Bloom told the Santa Monica Mirror.

Election-night results are always unofficial, as vote-by-mail, provisional and write-in ballots are tallied up to 28 days following the election. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, will advance to the Nov. 6 general election.

Torgan has replaced political organizer Torie Osborn, a Democrat from Santa Monica, to take third. Osborn slipped into last place, separated by a mere 21 votes.

"I suspect I will move ahead of Osborn based on how we did in the absentees that were counted election day and that Bloom may move into first for the same reason," he wrote in an email Wednesday, before the latest results were released.

Countywide, the clerk-recorder's office still has 117,044 ballots to count. It is unclear how many of those are in the 50th district. The next official update is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Osborn posted the following statement on her website:

There will be much opportunity to analyze the statistics when the precinct numbers come in, in a few weeks. But this is a time to thank each and every one of you for supporting a first time candidate on a mission to lift the political conversation in our battered state—so we can reinvest in California Dreamin' again…

My work will take a different course than I had hoped. But I look forward to working with you along the way. You and your support have been the lasting gifts of this campaign, and I will always be grateful.

Her campaign did not return messages seeking comment.

"While I am deeply disappointed that Torie Osborn will not be representing our Assembly district in Sacramento come November, I take comfort in knowing that we will once again be represented by a dedicated Democrat," said Beverly Hills Planning Commission Vice Chair Brian Rosenstein, who campaigned for Osborn.

What do you think of the latest AD 50 results? Tell us in the comments section below.