Smith unseats Acosta in 38th Assembly District race

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Assemblyman Dante Acosta, R-Santa Clarita, conceded Tuesday night to Democratic challenger Christy Smith in the hotly contested 38th Assembly District race.

As of Tuesday night, Smith had secured a 1,718-vote lead on Acosta after additional provisional and mail-in ballots were counted.

Acosta announced the news of his concession in a Facebook post Wednesday afternoon, citing the updated ballot counts as his reason.

“With yesterday’s vote update it has become clear that the voters have spoken,” he wrote in the post. “While votes are still being counted, the outcome appears set. Last night, I called Christy Smith to congratulate her on her victory.

“During my term in office I fought hard for bipartisanship,” he wrote. “In that spirit our community must come together and work hand-in-hand to solve the problems that face us.”

The latest update on Tuesday showed Smith with a 1.14 percent lead on Acosta. Smith is now at 50.6 percent of the vote, while Acosta has 49.4, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

On Wednesday, Smith said she thanked Acosta for his “gracious congratulations” and she thanked those who volunteered on her campaign.

“I would like to thank [Assemblyman Acosta], Carolyn [Acosta], and their children for their service to our district and our nation,” she said. “In the coming weeks,  I look forward to meeting with stakeholders and leaders across the 38th to shape the framework of our community’s legislative agenda.”

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