A month after Election Day came and went, all votes are finally counted in the race for the State Assembly’s 47th District. They show Palm Springs City Councilmember Christy Holstege fell .06% short.
Driving the news: Assembly District 47 is comprised of portions of both Riverside and San Bernardino counties. While Riverside County finished counting its votes last week, it took until Wednesday for San Bernardino County to finish.
- With all votes now counted, Republican Greg Wallis appears to have eked out a 84,752 to 84,667 victory over Democrat Holstege, the District 4 representative on the City Council.
- “As promised I’ll work with anyone with good ideas … to make real changes that make life more affordable, with more opportunity, for everyone,” Wallis said in a statement.
Moving forward: Holstege said Wednesday evening her team plans to examine the votes and determine its next steps. Anyone can request a recount of the ballots, but it comes at a potentially steep cost.
- “This is one of the closest legislative elections in California history,” Holstege said in a statement. “We owe it to the voters to get it right. 85 votes is incredibly close in a district with 170,000 votes cast, and the difference is less than 1%. Over the next several days our team will be closely analyzing the results and assess whether a recount is worth pursuing.”
Looking back: Holstege, Wallis, and voters have all been in a state of suspense since voting concluded on Nov. 8. As new counts were released nearly every day for weeks, multiple lead changes were reported.
- Voters grew frustrated, the candidates and their team members grew weary, and nobody in Sacramento knew whose name to put on signage outside office doors.
Bottom line: Holstege said that no matter what the outcome, “I will remain committed to our region and serving out community.”
- Should she remain on the City Council, her current term will expire in December 2024.
