LOS ANGELES _ Alex Villanueva, the retired cop who has commanded a startling lead in the election for Los Angeles County sheriff, edged closer to triumph Tuesday, stretching his margin to nearly 87,000 votes ahead of incumbent Jim McDonnell.
Almost 261,000 ballots still need to be counted in a race that _ no matter who wins _ has already defied convention in Los Angeles County as a nail-biter threat against a sitting sheriff.
Villanueva had 1,193,670 votes compared with McDonnell's 1,106,750. Villanueva, a retired sheriff's lieutenant, claimed victory last week, though he has yet to receive a concession from McDonnell.
The latest vote tally comes as the Los Angeles County district attorney's office is investigating a complaint about potential straw donors to Villanueva's campaign. Villanueva has said that he believes all the contributions to his campaign were legal and that he is not considering refunding them.
Under state campaign finance laws, an individual may not conceal their campaign contributions by using another person _ a so-called straw donor _ to make the payment under the straw donor's name.
McDonnell, who won in 2014 vowing to clean up a department marred by a jail abuse scandal, has argued he's the best person to continue reforms in one of the nation's largest policing agencies.
The former Los Angeles Police Department official, who also served as Long Beach police chief, touted a drop in serious jail assaults under his administration and his support for the 2-year-old Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission, though some community advocates have expressed frustration that the department hasn't become more transparent.
Villanueva has promised to rid the department of corrupt officials _ holdovers, he says, from the time of former Sheriff Lee Baca, who was convicted last year of obstructing an FBI probe into the jails he oversaw.
Villanueva trumpeted his status as a Democrat and promised to kick immigration agents out of the county jails, earning him a key endorsement from the Los Angeles County Democratic Party as well as from an immigrants rights group. But he's also said he would deliver inmates directly to immigration authorities.
Political experts have said that the cues Villanueva provided to voters about being a Democrat and taking a stand against immigration agents were crucial in a race that typically gains little attention from most voters.
Outside groups that financed mailers to voter's homes promoted Villanueva's platform. McDonnell's campaign manager acknowledged the sheriff's platform lacked an equally effective messaging strategy.
