Updated Wednesday, Nov. 7, 9:00 a.m.
All the votes have been counted and it appears it is safe to declare Democratic candidate Ken Cooley the victor in the state's District 8 Assembly race.
Updated Tuesday, Nov. 6, 11:56 p.m.
With 93 percent of precincts reporting and Ken Cooley holding 52.2 percent of the vote over opponent Peter Tateishi's 47.8 percent, the gap begins to close in the Assembly District 8 race.
“I’ve led from the start," Cooley said. "I’m feeling good with the direction of things, but with respect for the process, you wait until the end. But I feel very positive.”
Updated Tuesday, Nov. 6, 11:20 p.m.
Ken Cooley continued to show a strong lead in the District 8 race, with more than 76 percent of precincts giving 53 percent of the vote to the Democratic councilman, according to the County Elections Office. Republican opponent Peter Tateishi trailed Cooley with 47.7 percent of the vote.
District 5 Assemblyman Richard Pan declared Cooley the victor, but was clear in acknowledging that it wasn't definitive yet.
"It's great to be here with Ken celebrating this wonderful ... I'm going to say victory," Pan said to cheers from the audience.
Original story:
Amid cheers over President Obama's reelection, supporters of Democratic District 8 Assembly candidate Ken Cooley braced for their own election verdict.
Supporters of the candidate assembled in Arden-Arcade at the Taqueria Garibaldi, waiting for Cooley to arrive. Across town in Gold River, his opponent, Republican nominee Peter Tateishi and his supporters continued to hold tight while local results streamed in through Tuesday evening.
By 8:42 p.m. Cooley was carrying 53 percent of the vote, Tateishi 46.6, with 208 of the 366 precincts reporting, according to the Sacramento County Elections Office. While early counts were looking in favor of Cooley, Tateishi remained optimistic.
"We anticipated being down in that first count," Tateishi said. "I think at this point, we're exactly where we were hoping to be."
Cooley wasn't willing to declare victory, either, despite the favorable statistics.
"It's still very early," he warned. "We're going to wait and see."
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