Kamala Harris Wins Final Ballot Count in Race for State Attorney General
Last Wednesday, Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley (R) conceded defeat to San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris (D) in the race for California's attorney general, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Although the election occurred on Nov. 2, the attorney general's race remained too close to call for several weeks (Sanders, Sacramento Bee, 11/25).
As of Nov. 23, a tally from the Secretary of State's office showed that Cooley had received 45.5% of the votes, while Harris had 46% of the votes (Richman, Oakland Tribune, 11/24).
Harris' victory means that Democrats won a clean sweep of statewide offices in this month's election.
Harris' Stance on Health Reform
In her new role, Harris will have the authority to act on several controversial political issues, including the federal health reform law (Leonard/Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 11/25).
Harris has said she opposes joining lawsuits to block implementation of the health care overhaul. Cooley previously said he would join such lawsuits only if the governor and state lawmakers agreed to do so (Sacramento Bee, 11/25).
Coming Up
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) or his successor will need to appoint someone to fill Harris' position as the city's district attorney. Newsom recently won the election to serve as California's next lieutenant governor (Lagos, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/25).
Broadcast Coverage
Headlines and links to broadcast coverage of Harris' victory are provided below.
- "Cooley Concedes California Attorney General Race to Harris" (Stoltze, "KPCC News," KPCC, 11/24).
- "Republican Concedes Attorney General's Race" (Russ, "KXJZ News," Capital Public Radio, 11/24).