Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell dominated the open primary Tuesday to lead the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, but appeared to fall short of the majority necessary to avoid a runoff. On Nov. 4, he would face the second-place finisher, former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka.
Tanaka won a slight majority in the South Bay city of Gardena, where he serves as mayor, but picked up few votes elsewhere. McDonnell, who earned 49% of the vote with strong support countywide, racked up big margins in Long Beach and in wealthy Westside and South Bay communities along the coast. Patrick Gomez, a retired sheriff's lieutenant, will not advance but did win a pocket of support in heavily Latino areas east of downtown.
Footnote: The results here are from semi-official tallies released the day after the election. Some provisional ballots remain to be counted.
Source: Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder, Map data (c) OpenStreetMap contributors