Both Riverside and San Bernardino counties released additional vote counts Tuesday evening, but in the race involving Palm Springs City Councilmember Christy Holstege it still wasn’t enough to produce a clear winner. For Mayor Pro Tem Grace Garner, however, her re-election bid appears secure.
Democrat Holstege, seeking a seat in the State Assembly as the 47th District representative, had been unable to pull away from Republican challenger Greg Wallis, leading by 52 votes entering Tuesday. But she is now behind by 12 — 84,420 to 84,408 — after Wallis outgained her again in San Bernardino’s vote count released Tuesday afternoon and she didn’t have enough votes fall her way to overcome his lead after Riverside County’s latest count.
With 4,425 votes left to tally in San Bernardino County — which has been favoring the Republican — and only 1,000 left in Riverside County, Wallis appears to have the advantage. San Bernardino County has promised another release of results Wednesday, while Riverside County will release again on Thursday.
Garner, who would become the city’s first Latina mayor if re-elected, picked up an additional five votes in the count released Tuesday, the same as Nevins. She maintains her 51% to 49% edge — 1,460 to 1,396 — with little chance of enough votes left to erase her lead. She had trailed at the end of vote counting on Election Day but overtook Nevins after vote totals were updated Nov. 16.
In other Palm Springs City Council races, both Jeffrey Bernstein and Ron deHarte are headed to the dais in December, winning two seats left open when incumbents chose not to run. Bernstein’s count against Renee Brown in the District 2 race is now 1,990 votes to 1,664 (54% to 46%). In District 3, deHarte leads Joy Meredith, 1,965 to 1,071 (65% to 35%).
Holstege is midway through her second term on the City Council as the District 4 representative. Should she win a seat in Sacramento, it would create a vacancy that would be filled by either a special election or an appointment. So far, four people have stepped up to say they would like to fill a potential vacancy.
You can track both the City Council and Assembly District 47 races here.
