Richmond Councilmember Jovanka Beckles completed her electoral comeback Thursday by securing the second spot in the 15th Assembly District fall election. With Alameda County concluding its vote count Wednesday night, Beckles appears to have an insurmountable 295-vote lead over Oakland Councilmember Dan Kalb. Up next is the winner of the June 5 primary, fellow Democrat Buffy Wicks.
Although roughly 10,000 ballots remain to be counted in the Contra Costa County portion of the district, Beckles has performed far better than Kalb in her home county. As of Thursday morning, Beckles is leading Kalb by 10 points in Contra Costa County, an advantage that is overwhelming Kalb’s nearly 5 point lead in Alameda County, which possesses a larger portion of the district’s registered voters.
Currently, Wicks hold 31.6 percent of the overall vote, followed by Beckles at 15.7 percent; and Kalb at 15.4 percent.
The fall matchup between Wicks and Beckles, in some ways, will also be a rematch of the 2016 California presidential primary between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Wicks led Clinton’s campaign in California and has been dubbed, “Buffy the Bernie Slayer.” Beckles, meanwhile, was possibly the most progressive candidate in a field of 12 progressive candidates in this June’s 15th District primary. Beckles is also endorsed by Sanders’ organization, Our Revolution.
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