Loren Taylor Maintains Minuscule Lead in Oakland Mayor's Race -- Many Votes Yet to Be Counted
Oakland City Council member Loren Taylor maintained a slim but shrinking lead over fellow Council member Sheng Thao in the city’s mayoral race, as of the latest “instant runoff” vote tally, posted Thursday evening.
Under the city’s ranked choice voting system, if no candidate receives a majority of first-place votes, then voters’ second- and third-place votes are redistributed. The latest ranked-choice results show the two contenders locked in a tight race, with Taylor ahead by just 464 votes — or 50.25%, to Thao's 49.75%.
“I am as eager as anyone to know the voters’ final decision, and believe even more strongly than I did on Tuesday night that we are on a path to victory," Taylor said in a Nov. 10 statement. "But the Alameda County elections staff are diligently working to ensure a fair, full and accurate count, and I urge patience as we wait for additional results.”
On Nov. 9, Thao's campaign said in a statement to KQED's Tara Siler that many votes remain to be counted.
"We are proud of the campaign we ran and we remain optimistic about the final outcome," the campaign said. "Every vote deserves to be counted."
https://www.kqed.org/news/11931400/loren-taylor-leading-as-oakland-mayors-race-heads-to-run-off