Kamala Harris’ camp has refused to declare victory after a narrow race

Kamala Harris’ camp has refused to declare victory after a narrow race between her and Republican Steve Cooley to become California’s next attorney general could take weeks to declare the winner. According to a press release from campaign spokesperson Ace Smith, “uncounted ballots will only bolster Kamala Harris’s lead… the provisional ballots cast on Tuesday will reflect Harris’s victory.”

Harris has vowed to let Proposition 8 die in a federal appeals court. Cooley had said he would support California’s initiative banning same-sex marriage. Oral arguments in the case begin December 6 — the current governor and attorney general of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger and incoming governor Jerry Brown, are refusing to defend the antigay ballot initiative. It can only bolster the case of attorney Ted Olson, leading the case against Prop. 8, that the state’s incoming executives also do not support the proposition.

In the days leading up to the election, a political action group cofounded by Karl Rove pumped $1.1 million into Cooley’s campaign.

Harris, if elected, would be the first female attorney general and first Asian American in California. A win for Harris would also mean a Democratic sweep in California, with the state electing Democrats as governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, controller, insurance commissioner, U.S. senator, and, obviously, attorney general.