Election results: Riverside County DA Hestrin heads toward outright victory in bid for new term

Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin might have garnered enough votes to win another term as the county's top prosecutor over two challengers.

Hestrin had 53% of the votes with all 795 precincts reporting Wednesday. Habeas attorney Lara Gressley and Riverside County Superior Court Judge Burke Strunsky about split the remainder of the vote with 23% each.

Hestrin had 98,543 votes, Gressley had 43,470  and Strunsky had 43,101.

By capturing an outright majority, Hestrin would avoid a runoff in November.

Hestrin said Wednesday he was eagerly awaiting the final count and expressed frustration that Riverside County was far behind the vote-counting pace of neighboring Orange County.

Gressley expressed her gratitude for her supporters Wednesday as she waited for the final ballots to be processed.

"I want to thank everyone who supported my campaign and voted for me," she said. "No matter what unfolds as the outstanding ballots are counted, I know I was called to speak out against the injustices I have seen. I also believe I was called to bring awareness to the conflicts that exist when police unions and partisan politics get involved in our criminal justice system. I accomplished both. Looking ahead, I am confident change will happen as long as we continue to speak the truth. I will never stop doing just that."

Strunsky declined to comment Wednesday morning as tens of thousands of ballots remained to be counted.

Election night vote counting is complete but results are not final, according to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters. Approximately 136,000 vote-by-mail and 2,000 provisional ballots still must be processed. Ballots that are postmarked on or before Election Day also remain to be counted. Updated results are expected at 6 p.m. Thursday.

The Secretary of State must certify results by July 15.

Hestrin ran on a platform that he has the experience to continue to be the county's DA, has earned the trust of leaders in the county's criminal justice system and has characterized himself as a victim's advocate who pursues aggressive prosecutions.

His challengers traded barbs with him over a ballooning department budget, number of case resolutions and the practicality of pursuing the death penalty when the state has stopped carrying out executions.

The race has had several flashpoints. Questions were raised about SAFE Family Justice Center, a non-profit housed in the DA's Office, and its management of a donation intended to help the Turpin siblings after their rescue from years of abuse.

The Desert Sun reported that the DA's office has been plagued by missing case information and data related to demographics in light of a recent law change requiring such data to be made available when requested in criminal cases.

And, most recently, a case in which a man accused of a domestic violence assault negotiated a plea deal and is accused of killing his child months later. A prosecutor from the DA's office wrote a scathing brief in the case claiming Strunsky, the judge who oversaw the plea, should have sentenced him to jail. Strunsky disputed the claim and characterized it as "political warfare" intended to incorrectly brand him as soft on crime.

Gressley told The Desert Sun she takes issue with the DA's office having allowed the man to plea down a previous case in which he was accused of strangling a domestic partner to a lesser misdemeanor of fighting in public.

Hestrin, who has been criticized by Strunsky and Gressley for his acceptance of contributions from law enforcement unions, has a considerable fundraising advantage over the two challengers, outraising each of them by more than $500,000 since January.

Hestrin has raised roughly $615,000 this year, while Strunsky's campaign has gained roughly $113,000 over the same period, and Gressley's team reported raising roughly $73,000 in contributions this year, according to campaign finance records.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Christopher Damien covers public safety and the criminal justice system. He can be reached at christopher.damien@desertsun.com or follow him at @chris_a_damien.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Riverside County election results: DA Hestrin vs. Strunsky, Gressley