Watsonville Mayor Luis Alejo will be moving to Sacramento, his
lead over GOP rival and San Benito County resident Rob Bernosky
seemingly insurmountable.
Alejo carried Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, and was well
ahead in Santa Clara and Monterey counties, where ballots were
still being tallied close to 2 a.m. Wednesday.
Watsonville Mayor Luis Alejo will be moving to Sacramento, his lead over GOP rival and San Benito County resident Rob Bernosky seemingly insurmountable.
Alejo carried Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, and was well ahead in Santa Clara and Monterey counties, where ballots were still being tallied close to 2 a.m. Wednesday.
The 28th District heavily favors Democrats in registration, and Alejo, 36, was expected to win after trouncing two rivals in the June primary. Alejo, who raised more than $300,000 in campaign contributions since Jan. 1, also outspent Bernosky, whose brought in closer to $30,000.
The race between Alejo and Bernosky was a classic ideological tussle between a progressive Democrat and conservative Republican.
For both candidates, jobs were the central issue.
Alejo said he’d push for state government to give bidding preferences to California companies when awarding state construction projects. He also said the state needs to provide incentives to build green industries.
Bernosky, 46, said his expertise in corporate finance and turning around struggling businesses would stand him in good stead in Sacramento.
Cannella GOP bright spot
According to the latest poll numbers, Anthony Cannella, who was running on the Republican ticket for state Senate District 12, which includes San Benito County, was leading incumbent Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, the former mayor of Salinas.
Pinnacle wire services contributed to this report.
