LOCAL ELECTIONS / 23rd SENATE DISTRICT : Rosenthal Concedes Primary to Hayden

State Sen. Herschel Rosenthal on Friday conceded the fiercely waged Democratic primary in the 23rd Senate District race to Assemblyman Tom Hayden, who is now ahead by 575 votes.

The apparent victory is a coup for Hayden, who was fighting for his political life against the powerful Westside political organization of Reps. Henry Waxman and Howard Berman, to which Rosenthal belongs.

At a cost of about $1.3 million, the three-way race was one of the most expensive legislative primaries in state history.

The newly drawn district stretches from Santa Monica to the Ventura County line, taking in hillside communities on both sides of the mountains, the suburban enclaves of Calabasas and Agoura Hills, along with Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and the Fairfax area of Los Angeles.

Hayden, who has steadily improved upon his 277-vote election night lead as absentee ballots were tallied, is ahead with 36.84%. Rosenthal is in second place with 36.39%, just 0.45% behind.

Pacific Palisades public relations consultant Catherine O’Neill came in third with 26.75% of the vote, according to preliminary results.

Because no Republican candidate filed in the heavily Democratic district, Hayden’s primary victory is tantamount to election, though a write-in candidate may still qualify to be on the November ballot.

In his concession statement, Rosenthal said simply, “It is clear that Assemblyman Hayden has won the primary election and I wish him success in November.”

Hayden had declared victory on Thursday when the latest update from election officials showed him increasing his lead with scattered absentee votes remaining to be counted.

“I send my thanks to my supporters who have proven again that every individual act can make a difference, and to the voters who have chosen me to fight for our quality of life against the Special Interest State in Sacramento,” Hayden said in a prepared statement.

Though he is a veteran lawmaker, Hayden portrayed himself as an outsider who would reform a system paralyzed by the influence of special interest groups. He relentlessly attacked Rosenthal as a creature of a corrupt system in a blitz of direct mail that brought voters as many as six flyers a day from Hayden.

Despite losing in the new district, Rosenthal will serve out the two years that remain on his term in his old district, under an anomaly of reapportionment.

Hayden won the race with a strong showing in his liberal home turf of Santa Monica, where he outpolled Rosenthal more than 2 to 1. West Hollywood and Malibu were also Hayden country, while Rosenthal prevailed in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, but not by enough to turn back Hayden, who poured in more than $700,000 from his personal fortune and political campaign committees.