Dr. Jasmeet Bains maintained a 12.8 percentage point lead Wednesday as Kern County election workers continued counting ballots in the 35th Assembly District race.
With all precincts at least partially reporting as of 9:42 a.m., the incumbent Democrat had 56.2% of the vote to Republican challenger Robert Rosas’ 43.8%, according to the California Secretary of State’s website.
Bains defeated Rosas by 14 points in the March primary. Democrats have a roughly 22-point lead over Republicans in voter registration preferences in the 35th, which is entirely within Kern, including northern parts of the county, Arvin, eastern Bakersfield and Lamont.
Tuesday’s election was Bains’ first general election against a Republican. Two years earlier, she defeated a better-known Democrat by 21 points, becoming the state legislature’s first Sikh American.
Bains and her campaign spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
The Delano resident campaigned on improving affordability for local residents, while Rosas, an elected member of the Kern County Young Republicans board of directors, pledged to protect small businesses from what he viewed as a regulatory overreach in Sacramento.
Rosas said by phone Wednesday that he was “very impressed” with the number of votes he has received so far — nearly 25,000 — “given the overwhelming differences in registration numbers.”
“You know, the voters have spoken. We all need to get back to everyday life,” he said, adding that he remains grateful for the support he received in the elections.
