Vote margins widen in close California legislative races

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The vote gap is growing between the leaders and trailers in two closely watched state legislative races, as county registrars continue to count vote-by-mail and provisional ballots not tallied on election night.

Republican state Assemblyman Bill Berryhill has a 4,812-vote lead over Democratic Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani in a closely watched contest for the 5^th Senate District seat in the San Joaquin Valley. The election night tally had him leading by a 3,988 votes.

The economy was a big issue in the district, with both candidates living in Stockton, a city that has filed for bankruptcy. Galgiani campaigned on her leading role in getting funding for a bullet train, which Berryhill opposed at a time when the state was cutting funding for schools and public safety.

Another closely watched race has Republican Assemblyman Chris Norby of Fullerton trailing Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva by 1,809 votes in the 65^th Assembly District. On election night Quirk-Silva’s lead was 1,004 votes.

A victory by the challenger would help give the Democrats a 54-vote supermajority in the Assembly, allowing them to raise taxes without requiring Republican votes.

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--Patrick McGreevy in Sacramento