Absentee Ballots in Senate Race Build Hayden’s Lead to 453 Votes
Assemblyman Tom Hayden’s narrow lead in the 23rd Senate District race has blossomed to 453 votes with most of the absentee ballots counted, according to county election officials.
The new figures make it almost certain that Hayden (D-Santa Monica) has defeated veteran Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles) in a hotly contested and expensive three-way race with businesswoman Catherine O’Neill. “The trend is obvious,” said Hayden consultant Parke Skelton. “I can’t imagine it turning around.”
Initial results showed Hayden ahead by 277 votes, but his lead now is 453, or 0.36%. Election officials could not say how many absentee ballots remain to be counted.
The 23rd Senate District stretches from Santa Monica to the Ventura County line, taking in hillside communities on both sides of the Santa Monica Mountains, as well as West Hollywood and the Fairfax area.
Though a veteran lawmaker, Hayden positioned himself in the campaign as an outsider seeking to reform a system gridlocked by the power of the special interests in Sacramento.
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