NNPA – After a long-fought and bruising battle to be the state’s top law enforcement official, Kamala Harris has prevailed to become the next attorney general of California. She will be the first woman and the first African American to be elected to statewide office in more than three decades. A career prosecutor, Harris embarked on a campaign that many thought was insurmountable, but she overcame all the obstacles and barriers that were thrown in her path – and like her campaign slogan stated, she is not only “Smart On Crime,” she is smart.
More than three weeks ago, D.A. Steve Cooley prematurely announced victory in the hotly contested race. But, apparently the subsequent counting of the mail-ins and absentee ballots forced Cooley to concede, and recently he did, as he trailed by more than 50,000 votes in what was one of the closest statewide races in California history.
His concession means that San Francisco district attorney Harris will be transitioning to the post of California’s next attorney general. And now California Democrats can claim a clean sweep of California statewide offices in the 2010 midterm elections.
Cooley issued the following statement: “While the margin is extremely narrow and ballots are still being counted, my campaign believes that we cannot make up the current gap in the vote count for Attorney General. Therefore, I am formally conceding the race and congratulate Ms. Harris on becoming California’s next Attorney General.”