And the vote continues for the hotly contested Assembly District 50 race under the watchful eye Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan, who many people wish would hurry things up.

It's been two weeks since Election Day, and all we know at this point is that Democratic Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom still leads Democratic Assemblywoman Betsy Butler. Logan's office refuses to release any more details, and only promises that the winner will be announced on December 4.

The most recent tally, which was posted on the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder web site on Tuesday evening, shows that Bloom leads Butler by an incredibly narrow margin: 79 votes. During the two previous counts, Bloom had widened his lead to nearly 300 votes.

The race is obviously very close, with Bloom collecting 85,508 votes to Butler's 85,429.

It is the smallest lead Bloom has held over Butler since the extended vote count started after Election Day.

If Bloom wins, it would be an upset victory against Butler, who was backed by the state and local Democratic machine but plagued by scandal.

Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.

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