California Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez (D) and lawyer Robert Lee Ahn (D) are running neck-and-neck with early leads in the race to replace former Rep. Xavier Becerra Xavier BecerraOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Trump casts doubt on climate change science during briefing on wildfires | Biden attacks Trump's climate record amid Western wildfires, lays out his plan | 20 states sue EPA over methane emissions standards rollback 20 states sue EPA over methane emissions standards rollback Investigation underway after bags of mail found dumped in Los Angeles-area parking lot MORE (D-Calif.).

With 3 percent of precincts reporting early Wednesday morning, Ahn is slightly ahead of Gomez with nearly 28 percent of the vote, while Gomez has more than 26 percent, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.

The other 22 candidates are currently polling in the single digits. Two dozen contenders are running in the “jungle primary” in the reliably Democratic, heavily Latino district based in Los Angeles.

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Gomez, who went into Tuesday's primary as the favorite, received a groundswell of support from high-profile lawmakers in the state including Becerra, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Gomez’s competitors sought to frame him as the establishment candidate, morphing the race into a test of Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersNo new taxes for the ultra rich — fix bad tax policy instead Democrats back away from quick reversal of Trump tax cuts The Memo: 2020 is all about winning Florida MORE’s (I-Vt.) progressive movement from the 2016 Democratic presidential primary. Sanders defeated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonBiden courts veterans amid fallout from Trump military controversies Biden looks to shore up Latino support in Florida MLB owner: It's 'very necessary' to vote for Trump MORE by a few points in the district.

Ahn, a lawyer and businessman, has strong ties to the district’s large Korean-American community. He demonstrated strong fundraising leading up to the primary, though nearly half of his contributions reportedly came from self-funding.

While Ahn and Gomez are the current front-runners, the race remains fluid, with most precincts still unreported.

Other contenders in the special election include former Sanders deputy political director Arturo Carmona, labor activist Wendy Carrillo, Los Angeles Times editorial board-backed low-income housing developer Maria Cabildo and former public school teacher Sara Hernandez.

If no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff scheduled for June 6.