Running neck and neck

These are the races tightening up with 6 days to Election Day; Election 2024 storylines; AASEG leader and recallers tussle in Oakland; St. Rose Hospital has a pulse

ELECTION 2024

6 days to Election Day

—THE STRETCH RUN—The contours of several races in the East Bay are now exposed with less than a week before ballots are counted.

—You don’t need a poll to know who’s winning, who’s losing, and which races are too close to call.

—All over the county, we’re seeing frantic flurries of mailers, digital ads, and late influxes of campaign contributions.

—These are the races that appear to be tightening up:

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS - DISTRICT 2: Nikki Fortunato Bas appears bullish about making a strong, final push against John Bauters, who most insiders believe is sitting firmly in the driver’s seat. However, IEs are not spending much in support of Bas or against Bauters, which can be construed as a sign that they don’t think she can win.

OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL - DISTRICT 3: Councilmember Carroll Fife’s re-election appears in danger. The unions are definitely spending on Fife’s behalf. IEs supporting opponent Warren Logan, however, are spending more. It’s likely that Fife is going to need a big lead in first-place votes over Logan to serve as a cushion in the event the rest of the field backs Logan through ranked choice voting.

OAKLAND CITY ATTORNEY: Ryan Richardson is doing all he can to hold back a strong, late run by Brenda Harbin-Forte, whose surge is forcing labor to expend resources on Richardson’s behalf. Keep in mind, Harbin-Forte and Warren Logan are both backed by the folks behind the recalls. In addition, to the recall of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, victories for Harbin-Forte and Logan are the best chances for success among the group of candidates backed by the Revitalize East Bay Committee.

FREMONT MAYOR: Raj Salwan appears to be in a more advantageous position, but opponent Vinnie Bacon may still be within striking distance. Salwan’s campaign spent more than any candidate in Alameda County over the past month. An IE supporting Salwan has also rushed to his aid. If Bacon had not solely relied on funding his entire campaign and presenting himself as uninterested in IE help, he would have been in a much stronger position.

BART BOARD - DISTRICT 7: Dana Lang smells blood in the water. On Tuesday, she contributed another $15,000 to her campaign. Over the past two weeks, opponent Victor Flores has seen an uptick in contributions.

PLEASANTON MAYOR: For about a month, there’s been a sense that momentum is favoring Councilmember Jack Balch. He appears to be simply out-campaigning incumbent Mayor Karla Brown. A sign-stealing scandal, always a fan-favorite of election watchers, was featured on the local news yesterday. It’s a sign that Brown is worried.

—411 ON THE 510—There’s much more inside! Become an East Bay Insiders subscriber today and get full access to the inside scoop every weekday morning at 6 a.m. It’s what the insiders read.

---

—JOIN US FOR THE EPISODE 100 LIVE RECORDING. GET YOUR FREE TICKETS HERE!