In one of the most heated battles for the statehouse, former
Assemblyman Rusty Areias edged out opponent Jeff Denham by just
over 200 votes.
In one of the most heated battles for the statehouse, former Assemblyman Rusty Areias edged out opponent Jeff Denham by just over 200 votes.
With 100 percent of the precincts reporting at 4:39 a.m. Wednesday, Republican Denham saw what earlier was a double-digit percentage-point lead evaporate as Areias made a late evening surge in votes and pulled out a narrow win by two-tenths of a percent with 47.9 (60,337 votes) to 47.7 percent for Denham (60,111). Libertarian candidate David Eaton garnered 4.4 percent of the vote (5,615).
After early ballots were tabulated, Denham’s lead was as much as a 13 percent over Democrat Areias (57 to 44 percent), according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
The race took a sudden turn Tuesday when the elections department in Monterey County, which had been experiencing problems in one of its computers used to tally votes, reported results heavily in Denham’s favor. But after the computer problem was solved, the count took a big surge toward Areias.
Denham edged out Areias in several Central Valley counties such as Merced, Madera and Stanislaus. However, things changed when Areias won big in Monterey County with 60 percent of the vote and in San Benito County with 52.3 percent.
“We’re closing the gap. We’re only a few hundred votes behind in Monterey County and I feel good about it,” Areias said as the returns from Monterey started to come in.
Denham’s campaign declined to comment on the race while it was still considered too close to call.
The hard-fought campaign featured television, radio and print ads in which each candidate pummeled the personality and character of the other.
Charges and counter-charges flung back and forth between the two campaigns alleging everything from possible criminal misconduct to sexual harassment.
“I was a little disturbed by that (mudslinging), but I fought through those claims from my opponent just the way I will fight for the people of this district,” Denham said in an earlier interview.
Denham, who owns Denham Plastics which makes plastic containers used in the agriculture industry, believes that local farmers have been left without anyone to fight for their issues.
Areias, 53, who served as 28th District Assemblyman representing San Benito County for 12 years, said his experience in the state Capitol makes him the better candidate to lead the newly formed district.
Denham said his years as a successful businessman give him the upper hand because he knows how to operate within a budget and would not squander the state’s money.
Areias said that transportation has always been a key issue with him and he knows its importance to San Benito County and the rest of the oddly shaped district, which includes King City, Greenfield, Soledad, Gonzales, Salinas, Madera, Atwater, Turlock, Ceres, and a portion of Merced as well as all of San Benito County.
Election officials said the final results of the race may not be known until Thursday or Friday when all the ballots have been tallied.
In San Benito County alone, there are 2,128 absentee and provisional ballots that were not counted Tuesday, County Clerk John Hodges said.
“We probably won’t get to those until Friday,” he said.
