News

Days into a recount for the area’s state Senate Democratic position, candidate Mary Salas conceded to rival Juan Vargas in one of the tightest races in state Senate history.

Salas called off her recount request for both San Diego and Riverside counties Wednesday after showing no improvement in the race. Through the three days of reviewing ballots Salas lost 10 votes and Vargas gained four.

Vargas, a former assemblyman from San Diego, won the victory nearly two months after the June 8 primary for the 40th Senate district, which includes parts of San Diego and Riverside counties and all of Imperial County. Only 22 votes separated the two in results certified by the Secretary of State’s office July 16, which is less than a percent of the 50,000 ballots counted in the three counties.

It was a rough election, landing in court after 12,000 mail-in ballots in Riverside were not originally counted because they arrived to the elections office after the deadline on June 8. A Riverside County judge ordered they be counted, which pushed Vargas from 12 votes ahead of Salas to 22 votes above her.

Salas, who had declared victory the morning after the election after grabbing a slim lead over Vargas, ultimately called for a recount in San Diego and Riverside counties — where she led over Vargas — but not in Imperial County. Vargas had a big lead in Imperial County with 4,406 votes against Salas’ 3,479.

Vargas will now take on Republican candidate Brian Hendry, a Chula Vista educator and businessman who ran unopposed in the June primary.

Staff Writer Elizabeth Varin can be reached at evarin@ivpressonline.com or 760-337-3441.