Bakersfield, Ca. --After Tuesday's Special Election, it appeared Republican Andy Vidak won the seat vacated by Michael Rubio. But new numbers show the race isn't over just yet.
Friday, the Secretary of State's office reported Vidak has slipped below 50% of the vote. Vidak now has 49.8% to Leticia Perez's 43.8%. If this holds, it will not be enough votes to win the seat and Vidak will be forced into a runoff with Democrat Perez in July.
Even though Leticia Perez conceded the race after election night, officials say it's the number of votes that ultimately counts. Perez is elated, while Andy Vidak's office says they're hanging tight and waiting for the final totals to come in.
Excitement from Leticia's Perez's camp after what they thought was a final result from Tuesday's Special Election. Perez says she's excited about the news of a runoff election in July. Giving the voters in the district another chance to consider the future of this district. "In a one to one head off for July 23rd this district is going to have the great opportunity to see the clear differences between Mr. Vidak and myself," Perez said.
Tuesday's results showed Andy Vidak won the election, but 17 News political analyst and Republican Cathy Abernathy says she didn't think the race was over on election night. "We're having this situation where the way the laws have been changed by the legislature, people can register closer and closer to the election and the whole thing with getting absentees in and checked and counted," Abernathy said.
Both candidates are expected to hit the ground running and campaign hard if there is indeed a runoff in July. "We are definitely going to sit down, we're going to look at the numbers, we are going to see what worked, what didn't work." Perez said. "We're going to fix it, we're going to make it better, and we're going to win."
Fresno County says all of its ballots are counted. Kern County's Registrar said Friday morning they have about 460 absentee and provisional ballots left to count. Kings County has about 130 ballots still outstanding. Tulare County's Registrar could not be reached, but Vidak's campaign said they had 170 ballots left to tally.
The Secretary of State's office says the election will be certified when all of the counties are done counting and that must be done by next Friday. Andy Vidak is on vacation and was not available for comment.
Friday, the Secretary of State's office reported Vidak has slipped below 50% of the vote. Vidak now has 49.8% to Leticia Perez's 43.8%. If this holds, it will not be enough votes to win the seat and Vidak will be forced into a runoff with Democrat Perez in July.
Even though Leticia Perez conceded the race after election night, officials say it's the number of votes that ultimately counts. Perez is elated, while Andy Vidak's office says they're hanging tight and waiting for the final totals to come in.
Excitement from Leticia's Perez's camp after what they thought was a final result from Tuesday's Special Election. Perez says she's excited about the news of a runoff election in July. Giving the voters in the district another chance to consider the future of this district. "In a one to one head off for July 23rd this district is going to have the great opportunity to see the clear differences between Mr. Vidak and myself," Perez said.
Tuesday's results showed Andy Vidak won the election, but 17 News political analyst and Republican Cathy Abernathy says she didn't think the race was over on election night. "We're having this situation where the way the laws have been changed by the legislature, people can register closer and closer to the election and the whole thing with getting absentees in and checked and counted," Abernathy said.
Both candidates are expected to hit the ground running and campaign hard if there is indeed a runoff in July. "We are definitely going to sit down, we're going to look at the numbers, we are going to see what worked, what didn't work." Perez said. "We're going to fix it, we're going to make it better, and we're going to win."
Fresno County says all of its ballots are counted. Kern County's Registrar said Friday morning they have about 460 absentee and provisional ballots left to count. Kings County has about 130 ballots still outstanding. Tulare County's Registrar could not be reached, but Vidak's campaign said they had 170 ballots left to tally.
The Secretary of State's office says the election will be certified when all of the counties are done counting and that must be done by next Friday. Andy Vidak is on vacation and was not available for comment.
