In the Los Angeles City Council District 11 race, frontrunner Mike Bonin, the longtime chief of staff to outgoing District 11 Councilman Bill Rosendahl, is expected to win big. But just how big? Will he grab more than 50 percent tonight and avoid a May runoff?

As of now, Bonin is cleaning up with 6,312 votes or 59 percent. Rivals Tina Hess has 2,206 votes or 21 percent, Fred Sutton has 1,230 votes or 12 percent, and Odysseus Bostick has 778 votes or 7 percent.

When Rosendahl announced that he was not running for another four-year term, Bonin quickly jumped into the CD 11 race and grabbed numerous major endorsements from politicians, neighborhood groups, and labor unions.

He also raised $357,000, far outpacing his rivals Odysseus Bostick, Fred Sutton, and Tina Hess. None of them raised anywhere near $100,000.

Bonin is one of several gay candidates across Los Angeles who have a solid chance of winning their races. Others include L.A. City Controller candidate Ron Galperin and L.A. Council District 13 candidates Mitch O'Farrell, Matt Szabo, and Alex De Ocampo. Underdog mayoral candidate Kevin James is also gay.

Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.