Calif. Lawmaker Edges Ahead in Insurance Commissioner Contest

A California lawmaker is leading the close contest to become the GOP’s nominee for California Insurance Commissioner, but the outcome is still far from certain.

Assemblyman Mike Villines of Clovis was winning as of June 16 by nearly 3,000 votes in a matchup against a little-known state worker who spent less than $5,000 on his campaign.

Brian FitzGerald, an attorney at the California Department of Insurance, has seen his lead of 11,000 votes shrink since the day after the June 8 primary election.

The secretary of state’s office estimates that counties have nearly 800,000 ballots left to count by July 9, including vote-by-mail, provisional and damaged ballots.

Whomever emerges as the GOP nominee will face Democratic Assemblyman Dave Jones of Sacramento in November.