TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — An economist from Mexico’s ruling party appeared to have defeated Tijuana’s flamboyant, self-proclaimed billionaire mayor in a hotly contested Baja California gubernatorial race, according to returns released today.
With 90 percent of the ballots counted, preliminary results from state electoral officials showed Jose Guadalupe Osuna, of President Felipe Calderon’s National Action Party, with a 50 percent to 43 percent lead over Tijuana Mayor Jorge Hank Rhon.
National Action Party President Manuel Espino declared victory for Mr. Osuna shortly after the polls closed yesterday,citing exit polls showing the candidate with leads ranging from four to 10 points.
But Hank Rhon had not conceded, and election officials — under scrutiny amid fears of fraud — said it was too soon to declare a winner. It is common for parties to challenge election results in courts, which occasionally overturn them.
A loss would have been a symbolic blow to Mr. Calderon because Baja California is a National Action stronghold. In 1989, it became the first state to oust a governor from Hank Rhon’s Institutional Revolutionary Party, the PRI, which had governed every Mexican state since 1929.
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