{"id":636602,"date":"2026-03-06T15:32:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T15:32:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/636602\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T15:32:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T15:32:17","slug":"villanueva-challenges-luna-as-la-county-primary-field-takes-shape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/636602\/","title":{"rendered":"Villanueva challenges Luna as LA County primary field takes shape"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/uy4wp3ye9mzuly8r.jpg\" alt=\"SUGGESTED COVERAGE: Political strategist talks local and state elections\" class=\"sr-only\" data-v-4292be72=\"\"\/>    <\/p>\n<p data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\"><strong>LOS ANGELES<\/strong> &#8211; The race for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxla.com\/tag\/us\/ca\/los-angeles-county\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Los Angeles County<\/a>\u2019s top law enforcement official has officially become a crowded battleground.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" origination_station=\"KTTV\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\">What we know:<\/p>\n<p data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\">The June 2 primary ballot is taking shape as the filing deadline closes for most county, state, and federal offices on Friday, March 6.<\/p>\n<p data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\">In the high-profile Sheriff\u2019s race, incumbent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxla.com\/tag\/people\/robert-luna\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Robert Luna<\/a> is defending his record, noting that homicides have dropped by 25% and deputy use of force has decreased by 25% since 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\">He faces a field of eight challengers, including:<\/p>\n<ul original-article-post=\"\" origination_station=\"KTTV\" data-v-03e8ff79=\"\" data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\">\n<li class=\"article-ct\" data-v-03e8ff79=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxla.com\/tag\/people\/villanueva\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><strong>Alex Villanueva<\/strong><\/a><strong>: <\/strong>The former sheriff seeking to reclaim his office.<\/li>\n<li class=\"article-ct\" data-v-03e8ff79=\"\"><strong>Eric Strong:<\/strong> A retired division chief who placed third in 2022.<\/li>\n<li class=\"article-ct\" data-v-03e8ff79=\"\"><strong>Karla Carranza:<\/strong> A sheriff&#8217;s sergeant and returning candidate.<\/li>\n<li class=\"article-ct\" data-v-03e8ff79=\"\"><strong>Sonia Montejano:<\/strong> A former senior deputy known for her work on &#8220;Judge Judy.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\">On the Board of Supervisors, Hilda Solis is termed out, leaving her district (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxla.com\/tag\/us\/ca\/los-angeles-county\/la-los-angeles-county\/hollywood\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Hollywood<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxla.com\/tag\/us\/ca\/los-angeles-county\/pomona\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Pomona<\/a>) open for a likely successor in State Sen. Mar\u00eda Elena Durazo.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\"><strong>SUGGESTED: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxla.com\/news\/california-governor-race-villaraigosa-urges-becerra-to-drop-out\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>California Democratic chair warns crowded governor race could hand GOP a top-two win<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\">Meanwhile, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath faces challengers including Tonia Arey, who is campaigning on a platform of accountability following the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxla.com\/tag\/us\/ca\/los-angeles-county\/la-los-angeles-county\/pacific-palisades\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Palisades Fire.<\/a><\/p>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" origination_station=\"KTTV\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\">Timeline:<\/p>\n<ul original-article-post=\"\" origination_station=\"KTTV\" data-v-03e8ff79=\"\" data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\">\n<li class=\"article-ct\" data-v-03e8ff79=\"\"><strong>Jan 26 \u2013 Feb 4:<\/strong> Filing period for Superior Court judge seats.<\/li>\n<li class=\"article-ct\" data-v-03e8ff79=\"\"><strong>Friday (Today):<\/strong> Primary filing deadline for most county, state, and federal offices.<\/li>\n<li class=\"article-ct\" data-v-03e8ff79=\"\"><strong>Next Wednesday:<\/strong> Extended deadline for offices where an eligible incumbent failed to file.<\/li>\n<li class=\"article-ct\" data-v-03e8ff79=\"\"><strong>March 27:<\/strong> Official list of qualified candidates to be released by the Registrar-Recorder.<\/li>\n<li class=\"article-ct\" data-v-03e8ff79=\"\"><strong>June 2:<\/strong> Primary Election Day.<\/li>\n<li class=\"article-ct\" data-v-03e8ff79=\"\"><strong>November:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxla.com\/tag\/politics\/election\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">General Election<\/a> for the top two finishers in each race.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" origination_station=\"KTTV\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\">What&#8217;s next:<\/p>\n<p data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\">The focus now shifts to the verification of signatures and the official certification of the candidate list on March 27.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\">Voters will see a packed ballot on June 2, featuring not only local county races but also primaries for Governor, all 52 congressional seats, and the State Assembly.<\/p>\n<p data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\"><strong>SUGGESTED: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxla.com\/election\/watch-live-california-governors-debate-february-3\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>WATCH: California governor debate<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\">If no candidate in the nonpartisan county races (Sheriff, Assessor, Supervisor) receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two will head to a runoff in November.<\/p>\n<p class=\"group-source-paragraph\" data-v-4fbf7207=\"\"><b data-v-4fbf7207=\"\">The Source:<\/b> This report is based on candidate filing data and official statements provided to City News Service by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder\/County Clerk\u2019s office. Information regarding crime statistics and candidate platforms was pulled directly from official campaign videos, websites, and public briefings by Sheriff Robert Luna and his challengers.<\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxla.com\/tag\/politics\/election\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Election<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxla.com\/tag\/us\/ca\/los-angeles-county\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Los Angeles County<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxla.com\/tag\/politics\/ca-politics\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">California Politics<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxla.com\/tag\/politics\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Politics<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxla.com\/tag\/organization\/lasd\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s Department<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxla.com\/tag\/people\/villanueva\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Alex Villanueva<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxla.com\/tag\/people\/robert-luna\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-06e3e0fd=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Robert Luna<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES &#8211; The race for Los Angeles County\u2019s top law enforcement official has officially become a crowded&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":636603,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,41120,276,8988,2961,27755,224,6080,5337,50,12632,3546,80,51506,68,54113],"class_list":["post-636602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-ca","tag-ca-politics","tag-california","tag-election","tag-la","tag-lasd","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-county","tag-losangeles","tag-news","tag-organization","tag-people","tag-politics","tag-robert-luna","tag-us","tag-villanueva"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116182957723926801","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}