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The Secretary of State’s office reported yesterday that Congressman Jerry McNerney (D-Pleasanton) is now leading his Republican challenger David Harmer by 498 votes.
But McNerney’s campaign manager Doug Greven took the voting results one step farther, sending out a press release by email yesterday stating that “with nearly all the votes tallied in California’s 11th Congressional District, Congressman Jerry McNerney has won re-election (with) an insurmountable lead of 1,681 votes.” In a similar report Tuesday, Greven said the lead was 2,269 votes.
In a separate email release, Harmer said many votes remain to be counted and “it would be premature to concede defeat now.”
According to figures listed by Secretary of state Debra Bowen at 4:10 p.m. yesterday, McNerney has 98,504 votes, or 48.3% of the votes cast, against Harmer’s 96,006 votes, or 47.0%. A third candidate, American Independent candidate David Christensen, received 9,695 votes, or 4.7% of the votes cast.
She said the latest count came from votes cast in the 11th Congressional district race in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin and Santa Clara counties
With a press release headline stating that “MCNERNEY WINS RE-ELECTION IN CALIFORNIA’S 11th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT,” Greven analyzed the vote count as follows:
“In San Joaquin County, approximately 6,500 provisional ballots remain to be counted. Currently, McNerney is reporting 44.34 % of the vote and Harmer 48.61% in San Joaquin County. Applying these same trends to the remaining ballots, Harmer could gain at most only 278 votes.
“In Contra Costa County, approximately 4,500 vote-by-mail and provisional ballots remain to be counted. Currently, McNerney is reporting 48.45 % of the vote and Harmer 48.66%. Applying these same trends to the remaining ballots, Harmer could gain at most 9 votes from Contra Costa County.
“In Alameda County, approximately 200 ballots remain at most to be counted. Currently, McNerney is reporting 56.29% of the vote and Harmer 40.82% in Alameda County. Given that Alameda County has overwhelming broken for McNerney, he is expected to gain votes from these remaining ballots.
“In Santa Clara County, approximately 500 provisional and other ballots remain to be counted. McNerney is currently reporting 52.10% of the vote and Harmer is reporting 43.88%. McNerney is likely to gain approximately 41 votes in Santa Clara County.”
Not so fast, Harmer responded.
“On election night, when I led by thousands of votes, and supporters were congratulating me and calling me ‘Congressman,’ I cautioned that it was too early to claim victory. Many votes remained to be counted.
“That is still the case. Just as it would have been premature to claim victory then, it would be premature to concede defeat now.
“As I said the day after the election, my objective is to ensure that every legitimate vote is accurately counted. Once that has been done, I will offer a statement about the results.”
Momentum toward McNerney? How can you have momentum counting a bunch of ballots already submitted?
I’m so tired of the immaturity of these candidates. Every time there is a close race the losing side wants to get in there and count the votes themselves because apparently the people who were trained – the election officials – must be cheating them.
– OH PLEASE –
These challenges and legal wrangling do nothing but slow the process down and waste taxpayer money. Perhaps Mr. Hammer should ask the US Supreme court to appoint him since he’s having a hard time getting ahead the old fashioned way – the counting every vote.
I suggest Mr. Hammer, go back to his corner to wait the final count and get out of the way of democracy.
Isn’t it fascinating that in so many of these contests that are close that there is a big surge of Democrat votes that come in from late-reporting precincts and from absentee ballots that were deposited at polling places. It is pretty well accepted now that substantial voter fraud occurred in the 2008 election in Minnesota by these methods. Is this becoming a systematic thing with the Democrats?
I agree with the comment by Tim that you cannot call this “momentum” and you cannot say that “momentum is growing.” There is no momentum, motion, inertia, etc. The votes were already cast a week ago. All that is happening now is that counting is occurring relating to a past event.
If there is “momentum” that is “growing” a week after the election, that sounds like more and new votes are being cast for McNerney after the election. That would obviously be voter fraud by creating new votes after-the-fact.
This late and slow counting of mailed ballots and absentee ballots is already fraught with more risk of voter fraud than what happens in the voting booth on election day.
The fact that evades the reporter is the fact that McNerney has also requested donations to fund the recount. ’nuff said…
Yes, Jerry, it is just one big conspiracy. The world against the Tea Party.
Jerry, Are you not aware that Democrats got two ballots? One to cast on election day and another to mail in the following week.
As much as some of you would like to diss what Jerry has to say, check out the facts. Over 95% of so-called “close” elections, which require extra attention AFTER the polls have closed, seem to favor the democrats. The Minnesota election for Franken was a joke…one of the poll workers “finds” a box of ballots in her car trunk that she ‘forgot’ she had. Amazing how Franken squeaked that one out. They counted until he supposedly won by 225 votes.
“As much as some of you would like to diss what Jerry has to say, check out the facts. Over 95% of so-called “close” elections, which require extra attention AFTER the polls have closed, seem to favor the democrats.”
Just like in 2000
In case people are wondering, “I’m” one of those people who handed in their absentee ballots on election day. I also had three neighbors who had to vote with provisional ballots (all Democrats) because for some reason they were not on the rolls. Right wingers need to stop trying to disenfranchise people with BS accusations of voter fraud. Get some proof (not from some lame blog) before you open your mouth…
Hm, so according to the blahggers in the P-town Weekly, not only is Jerry McNerney the personification of Evil itself, a latter-day Boss Tweed, but Al Franken is a corrupt Machiavellian who rigged the vote in Minnesota?
Well, to quote the late President Kennedy’s father in that famous telegram (almost certainly apocryphal) after the Kennedys were accused of vote fraud: “‘Dear Jack: Don’t buy a single vote more than is necessary. I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay for a landslide.”
We handed ours in the day of the election as well due to busy schedules. 3 votes for McNerney.
Maybe more people voted for McNerney than Harmer. It’s happened before.
Can any of you alleging or implying voter fraud in THIS election please supply some verifiable evidence for your claims? Has there been a single case of suspected fraud in any precinct in the 11th district? Has anyone in the entire 11th district been accused of fraudulently casting a ballot? Has a single dead person shown up to vote? I would be interested to hear some facts, any facts, to support the innuendoes.
McNerney wins with nearly all the votes tallied in California’s 11th Congressional District, Congressman Jerry McNerney has won re-election.
“Congressman Jerry McNerney has won re-election in California’s 11th Congressional District,” said Doug Greven, Campaign Manager, McNerney for Congress. “With the vast majority of votes tallied, the results are clear. Congressman McNerney now has an insurmountable lead.”
California’s 11th Congressional District includes Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin and Santa Clara Counties. With today’s results, all four counties have reported nearly all outstanding votes and Congressman Jerry McNerney now maintains an insurmountable lead of 1,681 votes.
Included below is further information with an analysis of outstanding ballots to be counted:
In San Joaquin County, approximately 6,500 provisional ballots remain to be counted. Currently, McNerney is reporting 44.34 % of the vote and Harmer 48.61% in San Joaquin County. Applying these same trends to the remaining ballots, Harmer could gain at most only 278 votes.
In Contra Costa County, approximately 4,500 vote-by-mail and provisional ballots remain to be counted. Currently, McNerney is reporting 48.45 % of the vote and Harmer 48.66%. Applying these same trends to the remaining ballots, Harmer could gain at most 9 votes from Contra Costa County.
In Alameda County, approximately 200 ballots remain at most to be counted. Currently, McNerney is reporting 56.29% of the vote and Harmer 40.82% in Alameda County. Given that Alameda County has overwhelming broken for McNerney, he is expected to gain votes from these remaining ballots.
In Santa Clara County, approximately 500 provisional and other ballots remain to be counted. McNerney is currently reporting 52.10% of the vote and Harmer is reporting 43.88%. McNerney is likely to gain approximately 41 votes in Santa Clara County.
I handed my absentee ballot in on Election Day. Jerry FTW!
I’m with you Jerry. I understand the real world and do not live in a liberal bubble.
Anna,
Democrats win most of the close elections????? That explains the Bush second term.
MCNERNEY ANOTHER RUBBER STAMP FOR THE OBAMA AGENDA. GOD HELP US.
For heaven’s sake, Susan, stop shouting!
Perhaps it would interest you to know that Congressman McNerney was rated as the “most moderate” member of the California delegation to the House of Representatives by the non-partisan and highly respected National Journal.
http://bit.ly/a2Js5h
The figure from the CQ Weekly tallying Mr. McNerney’s record of voting in support of the Obama administration at 93% includes, I believe, a large number of party neutral procedural votes which would skew the tally upward by a substantial amount.
The last several short paragraphs of the McClatchy article posted above provide a pretty good characterization of Mr. McNerney’s calm and rational approach to legislation and government.
LucyMcDonald- We will always have sore losers like Susan but you and I know the better man won and we have a good man Jerry McNerney as our Rep in Washinton D.C.
If he were a rubber stamp for Obama I wouldn’t have had to call begging that he vote for the health care bill. His aide was polite and gracious but told me Mr. McNerney was studying the legislation and would take my comments with gratitude but would make his decision thoughtfully. I was grateful for his decision, and I voted for him.
Given the phone calls and doorbell ringing we experienced, his team made a hell of an effort to get out the vote. I’m not surprised that last-minute votes are breaking in his favor.
McNerney had to vote for ObamaCare, or else he would have been blacklisted by the Dems. He knew that. Unfortunately, he was ignorant and had no clue to what he was voting on. We the people must destroy ObamaCare. It’s a fascist monster that tramples the constitution, individual and property rights, and a basic right to life and health decisions that each of us gets to make for ourselves and our families. It obstructs those decisions to our detriment. Government control over health care is government control over your physical and mental being.
I thought Obamacare was socialist.
Make up your minds, people.
mooseturd, I thought you crawled back into your cave?
Heck, here I thought things would die down for awhile and we could get back to local issues…
jim01, you out there? Haven’t heard much from you since all these nasty Socialist Democrats stuff the ballots.
Guys, get a grip. No hanky-panky happened.