Dianna Duran
Voters elected Republican Dianna Duran to be the next secretary of state today, making her the first Republican to be elected to the position since 1928.
Duran currently leads Mary Herrera by 20 points, but the race has already been called.
Neither candidate could immediately be reached for comment.
Herrera is the first Democrat to lose the secretary of state race in more than 80 years. Her loss follows scandal that has plagued Herrera and her predecessor, Rebecca Vigil-Giron.
Vigil-Giron is under indictment, charged with 50 counts including money laundering, fraud, soliciting or receiving kickbacks and tax evasion in the alleged theft of millions of dollars from the office.
As for Herrera, three former employees have alleged potential criminal activity in her office and talked with law enforcement. Among the allegations laid out by former Elections Director A.J. Salazar is that Herrera ordered exempt employees to collect signatures for her re-election bid at a meeting held during work hours, that she was improperly soliciting donations from contractors doing business with the office to help fund a training, and that she retaliated against him after he tried to stop those potentially illegal actions.
Salazar resigned on his own, but the two others – former Office Manager Manny Vildasol and office spokesman James Flores – were fired after they went to the FBI with their allegations, prompting additional allegations that they were fired in retaliation for whistleblowing. That’s an allegation Herrera denies.