Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson appeared to be leading in his bid for reelection, outpacing his six opponents, according to initial returns from the Los Angeles County registrar’s office.
Unless one candidate wins a majority vote during the primary — that is, more than 50% of the votes — the top-two candidates will carry on their campaigns to the November general election.
Richardson had about 60% of the vote as of 8:17 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, according to the registrar’s office.
Mayor Rex Richardson celebrated Long Beach Transit’s new battery-electric commuter buses at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. The buses will be used for the new route from Long Beach to UCLA’s campus and Westwood Village. (Photo courtesy of Long Beach Transit)
Oscar Cancio is a candidate for Long Beach mayor in 2026. (Courtesy of Oscar Cancio’s campaign)
Lee Goldin is a candidate for Long Beach mayor in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Lee Goldin).
Terri Rivers is a candidate for Long Beach mayor in 2026. (Courtesy of Terri Rivers’ campaign)
Chris Sweeney is a candidate for Long Beach mayor in 2026. (Courtesy of Chris Sweeney’s campaign)
Joshua Rodriquez (Courtesy Photo)
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Mayor Rex Richardson celebrated Long Beach Transit’s new battery-electric commuter buses at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. The buses will be used for the new route from Long Beach to UCLA’s campus and Westwood Village. (Photo courtesy of Long Beach Transit)
School relations manager Oscar Cancio had about 2%; senior product manager Lee Goldin had about 4%; early childhood educator Terri Rivers had about 5%; small business owner Chris Sweeney had about 10%; police officer Joshua Rodriguez had about 19%. Results for last-minute write-in candidate April Ronay, a teacher, author and small business owner, had not yet been updated.
The first batch of returns included only vote-by-mail ballots that were received before Election Day. The registrar was scheduled to continue updating the results throughout Tuesday night until all VBMs and Vote Center ballots cast through Election Day are tallied. The semiofficial results for the June 2 primary were set to come out sometime early Wednesday morning.
The mayor serves as the head of Long Beach’s local government and is the city’s chief representative both locally and in larger political contexts. While the mayor presides over City Council meetings and participates in the nine-member body’s discussions, the position does not vote on items that come before the council. The mayor, though, does have the power to veto actions taken by the council.
Voters check in while others cast their primary election ballots on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at the Orizaba Park voting center in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Voters cast their primary election ballots on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at the Orizaba Park voting center in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Voters donning ‘I voted’ stickers exit Long Beach’s Orizaba Park voting center on Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Voters cast their primary election ballots on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at the Orizaba Park voting center in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Voters cast their primary election ballots on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at the Orizaba Park voting center in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Voters cast their primary election ballots on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at the Orizaba Park voting center in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Voters cast their primary election ballots on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at the Orizaba Park voting center in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Voters cast their primary election ballots on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at the Orizaba Park voting center in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Voters cast their primary election ballots on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at the Orizaba Park voting center in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
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Voters check in while others cast their primary election ballots on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at the Orizaba Park voting center in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Many of the major issues the city will face in coming years will center around the budget.
Long Beach, in recent years, has faced increasing economic pressure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, losing crucial federal funding, and moving away from oil revenue, which has historically contributed millions to the city’s budget.
The city, for example, closed out the 2025 fiscal year with a gaping $40 million deficit in its general fund, a major increase from the city’s original deficit projection of a $20.3 million structural shortfall. City leaders attributed the deficit to federal and state funding cuts, declining tax revenue, and other external forces.
While the FY25 book was balanced with city reserves and one-time funds, concern for Long Beach’s long-term fiscal future remains. The city’s projected structural shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year now sits in the $60-80 million range, according to a previous city staff report.
About 37,000 votes have been counted in the Long Beach mayoral race so far, according to the registrar’s office.
City Auditor
Two candidates ran to be Long Beach’s next city auditor, including longtime incumbent Laura Doud and challenger Ginny Gonzalez, a certified public accountant.
The city auditor’s office oversees independent audits and fraud investigations relating to city finances.
Doud has served as the city auditor for the past two decades. She was originally elected to the office in 2006 and has been reelected several times since then. Doud was leading the race as of Tuesday evening, with about 73% of the votes.
Gonzalez has been a CPA since 2017, according to her campaign website, and has worked as an auditor, accountant, tax preparer, controller and paralegal. She was trailing Doud on Tuesday evening with about 27% of the votes.
About 34,800 votes have been counted in the city auditor race so far.