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Harder, Howze Prepare For Congressional Race
district 10 candidates
Democratic Congressman Josh Harder (left) and Republican challenger Ted Howze have already started aggressive ad campaigns for the 2020 District 10 election (Journal file photos).

There are still ballots remaining to be counted in Stanislaus County following the March 3 Presidential Primary Election.

On Election Day, the Stanislaus County Registrar of Voters reported 55,731 ballots both voted at the polls and vote by mail ballots received and processed the week before the election. As of Friday night, the Elections office had scanned over 14,000 additional vote-by-mail ballots with approximately 38,000 left to be processed.

While there are still plenty of votes to be tallied in Stanislaus County, the race to see which Congressional District 10 candidates will move on to the general election was decided early on. It will be Democratic Congressman Josh Harder and Republican candidate Ted Howze on the ballot in November, after the incumbent nabbed 39.8 percent of the vote (29,683 votes) and his challenger received 37.5 percent of the vote (27,987 votes) as of Friday night. Those were the numbers for Stanislaus County – the District also includes portions of San Joaquin County and Harder and Howze finished top two in terms of vote totals in that county as well.

Behind the two primary winners were Republicans Bob Elliott (14.2 percent) and Marla Sousa Livengood (3.4 percent), followed by Democrats Mike Barkley (3.1 percent) and Ryan Blevins (2 percent).

“It’s my honor to once again earn the support of my friends and neighbors here in the Valley,” Harder said in a statement. “I will continue fighting for the Valley by lowering health care costs, protecting our water and bringing good-paying jobs to the Valley.”

In a statement of his own, former Turlock City Councilman Howze thanked Republican, Independent and Democrat voters he said supported him throughout his campaign.

“Our top-two finish was a team effort, with countless people tired of the special interest-dominated politics in Congress coming together and waging a positive campaign,” Howze said. “… I want to thank everyone who has supported me to this point, your effort and hard work has been inspiring, but this is just the first step. Moving forward to November, we welcome everyone who wants to see positive change and are ready to give the D.C. political class a swift kick in the ... well, you know.”

District 12 Assemblyman Heath Flora, a Republican, received a strong showing of support on Tuesday with 66.9 percent (36,371 votes) of the votes cast in his favor over Democratic challenger Paul Akinjo. Akinjo, a Lathrop City Councilmember, received 33.1 percent of the vote (17,958 votes). Still, the pair will face off again in November.

The canvass of remaining ballots by the County Elections office will continue until complete, and California law requires certification of the election to be on or before April 2. To stay up to date with election totals, visit www.stanvote.com.