Rico Oller Down 5.4% in Preliminary
Election Results
In a major defeat for taxpayers,
Assembly candidate Frank Bigelow has the lead in semi-official results for
California’s new 5th Assembly District.
As of Wednesday morning, the results are 52.7% for Frank Bigelow and
47.3% for Rico Oller with 100% of precincts reporting. San Andreas businessman Rico Oller was
outspent nearly 4 to 1 in the primary and more than 5 to 1 in the general
election by Sacramento special interest groups who wanted an Assemblyman they
can influence.
“I
am deeply disappointed by the
results,” Oller said. “I was looking
forward to representing the foothills in the Assembly and protecting
taxpayers. I want to thank those who supported my campaign.”
The Rico Oller campaign and its large
volunteer base made tens of thousands of calls, walked precincts in the
districts few urban areas, and held a number of rallies on street corners
featuring the Assembly candidate himself.
“It has been a lot of hard work. I attended fairs, went door to door,
and made a lot of calls,” Rico stated looking back at the long campaign.
Under
Proposition 14 passed in 2010
the top two candidates from the primary proceed to a runoff regardless
of party
leading to this awkward Republican vs Republican runoff. “A lot of
voters feel disenfranchised. They feel that they should have the choice
of
candidates from both major parties as well as smaller parties and
independents,” Oller noted.
