Live results
There's a new leader in the race to represent Los Angeles City Council District 14.
As of Thursday afternoon, tenant rights attorney Ysabel Jurado had held onto her lead over incumbent council member Kevin de León still by nearly 400 votes.
Assemblymember Miguel Santiago, who was polling second behind De León on election night, remained in third place, more than 700 votes behind De León.
The top two vote-getters will advance to a November runoff.
Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo, who was in fourth place as of Tuesday afternoon, conceded the race earlier in the week via the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. Carrillo thanked her supporters and said she was looking forward to finishing her term in the Assembly.
The post read in part: "While the results are not what we hoped, I am so proud of our work, honored by all the encouragement and humbled by all the kindness I have received. I have learned a lot, grown as a human being and met some incredible people along the way, including the candidates who SHOWED UP to every forum and answered every question.
"I am inspired by the energy to fight for a better future for Los Angeles and Council District 14."
Community advocate Genny Guerrero, who was in seventh place, also conceded, LAist confirmed.
A note on the results
Jurado has gained ground against De León in nearly every updated vote count since election day. She is a self-described progressive seeking to join a growing block of progressive members of the city council.
Jurado was outspent 2-to-1 by Santiago, who also benefited from an additional nearly $700,000 in independent expenditures on his behalf — mostly by labor unions.
Jurado was also outspent by De León.
Jurado’s performance speaks to the effectiveness of her get-out-the-vote efforts and perhaps growing discontent with traditional politicians. She has never held elected office.
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Keep in mind that in tight races particularly, the winner may not be determined for days or weeks after Election Day. In Los Angeles County, the first batch of results released includes vote-by-mail ballots received before March 5, followed by early votes cast in-person at vote centers, then votes cast in-person on Election Day.
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The results you see are the votes counted through March 29, when they were certified.
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As of March 29, here's where the vote count stands:
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Total count to date:
- 1,641,715 (28.9% of registered voters)
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Estimate still to be counted: 0
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Note: In California, ballots postmarked on or before March 5 are counted toward the results as long as they arrive within seven days of the election (March 12). Results must be certified by county election officials by April 4.
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How we got here
De León is running to represent the district for a second time. Before he was elected to the seat in 2020, he served in the California State Assembly for four years and the State Senate for eight years.
He’s up against seven challengers, many of which are campaigning on government transparency and accountability after de León was caught on a secret recording, with two other council members and a labor leader, using frank and racist terms to discuss how to use the city’s redistricting process to amass more power.
Jurado, a tenants rights attorney and Highland Park native, is one of the candidates running to replace him.
She’s said that for decades, Council District 14 has been run by men who’ve betrayed their constituents' trust, pointing to De León and Jose Huizar, his predecessor, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison in late January for racketeering and tax evasion.
A pair of state assemblymembers are also vying for the seat — Santiago, whose 54th district overlaps some of the area he’s running to represent, and Carrillo, whose 52nd district covers much of the council district.
Santiago, who was first elected to the State Assembly in 2014, has said the city needs to cut through “bureaucratic red tape” for more affordable housing, and plans on pushing to fill vacant LADOT positions to boost traffic safety.
Carrillo, a Boyle Heights native, was the first undocumented immigrant to be elected to the State Assembly in 2017, according to her campaign website.
She’s said she supports more citywide shelter beds, mental health programs, and stronger tenant protections. In early November, Carrillo was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. She pleaded no contest to DUI on Jan. 19, later calling it a “blessing in disguise.”
The other candidates include Nadine Diaz, a healthcare care professional and Boyle Heights native, Genny Guerrero, a community advocate and former Huizar field deputy, Teresa Y. Hillery, a trial attorney who sits on the Downtown L.A. Neighborhood Council, and Eduardo "Lalo" Vargas, a Highland Park public school teacher who is part of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
About the district
Council District 14 covers Boyle Heights, Eagle Rock, El Sereno, as well as parts of Lincoln Heights and downtown L.A, including Skid Row.
More than 264,000 people live in the area, according to 2021 L.A. City Council demographic data and a majority of the population is Latino at 61%.
The second highest is the white population at 16%, followed by Asian at 14.7%, and Black at 6%.
The district also has the highest unhoused population in the city. More than 9,200 people are experiencing homelessness on any given night, including about 6,500 people without shelter, according to the 2022 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count.
What's next
A candidate needs more than 50% of the vote to win the election outright. But with low voter turnout and eight options, it’s unlikely anyone will reach that threshold.
The top two candidates are probably headed for a runoff race and your November ballot.
David Roachford, a Council District 14 voter who lives in the Arts District of downtown L.A., told LAist that he was really disappointed in de León after the secret City Hall recording, and he wants the next representative to address homelessness, public safety, and transportation.
“I think there was some really inspiring candidates out there that were making better promises in those areas and trying to make the city a better place to live,” he said. “I will be enthusiastically supporting whoever this challenger is against him.”
Idalmis Vaquero, a voter and volunteer with Jurado’s campaign, told LAist that homelessness is a big issue in the area that has been unanswered for so long.
Vaquero said the district needs a councilmember who is willing to put in hard work year around, not just during election season.
“I hope that the person who does get elected, or makes it to the runoff, like, whoever makes it, will sit down with constituents and residents,” she said. “Not just hear from those who have a home, but also like the unhoused folks who live in our community who also have a voice.”
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Tracking your ballot
You can track the status of your ballot:
If your mail-in ballot is rejected for any reason (like a missing or mismatched signature), your county registrar must contact you to give you a chance to fix it. In Los Angeles County, the registrar will send you a notification by mail and you have until March 27 to reply and "cure" your ballot.
How we're covering this election
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Early voters and mail-in ballots have fundamentally reshaped how votes are counted and when election results are known.
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Our priority will be sharing outcomes and election calls only when they have been thoroughly checked and vetted. To that end, we will report when candidates concede and otherwise rely on NPR and The Associated Press for race calls. We will not report the calls or projections of other news outlets. You can find more on NPR and The AP's process for counting votes and calling races here, here and here.
