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Cooley Concedes To Harris In Calif. Attorney General Race

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Republican Steve Cooley is conceding the California attorney general's race to Kamala Harris, giving Democrats a sweep of all statewide offices.

 

Cooley spokesman Kevin Spillane said Thursday that there aren't enough outstanding votes for Cooley to overtake Harris.

"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," Cooley said in a statement.

Spillane said Cooley called Harris Thursday morning to congratulate her.

The San Francisco district attorney is set to become the first woman and first minority elected as California's top law enforcement official.

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"District Attorney Harris thanks District Attorney Cooley for a spirited campaign and looks forward to working together on the critical public safety challenges facing California," Brian Brokow, Harris' campaign manager said. "The counties continue to tabulate votes, and District Attorney Harris believes it is only appropriate to wait until all the votes are counted before making a public declaration. She will be holding a press conference on Tuesday, November 30, the deadline for counties to report final counts to the Secretary of State."

Harris defeated Cooley in a bruising north-south battle between the top prosecutors from California's two most prominent cities. Cooley is Los Angeles County district attorney.

Harris is up by 51,000 votes, a half-percentage point margin, with 150,000 votes still uncounted.

She replaces Democrat Jerry Brown, who gave up the office in his successful bid for governor.

(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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