A race that's already known as the most expensive District 11 Senate matchup ever might soon gain another remarkable element, as one of the tightest in recent memory.
The day after the June 7 primary, Scott Wiener led Jane Kim by around 2,800 votes, with the soon-to-be-termed-out District 8 Supe described by a local newswire as the "widely viewed... favorite to win."
But that was when the San Francisco Department of Elections still had to review over 78,000 ballots, as they did the morning of June 8, Department of Elections Director John Arntz said.
Since then, as the DoE has processed ballots, Kim has slowly but surely gained on Wiener. Then last night, it happened: The also-soon-to-be-termed-out District 6 Supe overtook Wiener "by 70 votes in San Francisco, or 45.33 percent to Wiener’s 45.3 percent,' the Ex reports.
According by the latest counts released by the DoE, Kim currently has 105,304 San Francisco votes, Wiener has 105,234. But there are votes for both to be counted in San Mateo County, as well — and with those added in, Wiener still clings to the lead, 111,907 to 110,863.
Ultimately, who "wins" the primary isn't the biggest deal, as the results already confirm that the duo will face off for the seat in the November election, as they both handily spanked Republican Kenneth Loo, the third contender for the State Senate seat currently occupied by Mark Leno.
Even before the primary, Wiener and Kim had raised over $2 million between them, more than any other race for that seat in history. With around five months to go, you can expect to see that number grow and grow.
Typically, a political fund raiser tells SFist, whoever can claim success in the primary can net even bigger and more donations than the second-place finisher, so it's likely that Wiener and Kim are on tenterhooks as this one shakes out. And tenter-hooked they will remain for a few more days, for as of last night, Arntz says, the DoE still has "approximately 10,000 ballots" to tally. And in a race that's this close, every one of those 10,000 counts.
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