In what is perhaps one of the most surprising results from Tuesday's primary elections, embattled state Sen. Leland Yee came in at third place for California Secretary of State with nearly 300,000 votes.
As of Wednesday, Yee, who was indicted in April on corruption and conspiracy charges, captured 287,590 votes (9.8 percent), right behind Democrat state Sen. Alex Padilla (30.1 percent) and Republican Pete Peterson (29.6 percent).
Yee withdrew from the race shortly after his arrest on March 26, which made national headlines and received broad coverage in the Bay Area. Yee represents Senate District 8, which includes the western half of San Francisco and most of San Mateo County. He declared his candidacy for secretary of state in 2012, one of eight candidates.
Yee's name remained on the ballot, and his candidate statement in part reads:
"Under the Constitution, the Secretary of State's job is to empower Californians to govern California, to guarantee fair elections, expose special interests, and prevent corruption. I am the Democrat who will represent everyone. I hope to be your Secretary of State."
Yee and Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow, leader of the Chee Kung Tong Free Masons in San Francisco, were among 26 defendants charged in the federal criminal complaint, which accused the San Francisco Democrat of engaging in a conspiracy to traffic firearms and accepting campaign donations in exchange for official acts.
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Yee is currently free on a $500,000 bond.
