California Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez (D) is projected to advance to the runoff 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 former Los Angeles city planning commissioner Robert Lee Ahn (D) finishing in second place in the district's crowded "jungle primary."

With 100 percent of precincts reporting early Wednesday morning, Gomez had 28 percent while Ahn had 19 percent, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.

A jungle primary places all candidates in a single field regardless of party, with a 50 percent threshold set to avoid a runoff. Since no candidate received 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters will compete in a runoff scheduled for June 6.

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Gomez went into Tuesday's jungle primary as the front-runner and was one of 24 candidates to compete for the reliably Democratic, heavily Latino district based in Los Angeles.

He received a groundswell of support from high-profile lawmakers in the state including Becerra, now the state's attorney general; Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), whom Becerra succeeded; and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D).

Gomez’s competitors, however, sought to frame him as the establishment candidate, and the race morphed into a test of Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersSenate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll Schumer, Sanders call for Senate panel to address election security MORE’s (I-Vt.) movement from the 2016 Democratic presidential primary. Candidates played up their progressive credentials and aligned themselves closely with Sanders, who defeated Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Virginia Democrat blasts Trump's 'appalling' remark about COVID-19 deaths in 'blue states' The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden asks if public can trust vaccine from Trump ahead of Election Day | Oklahoma health officials raised red flags before Trump rally MORE by a few points in the district. But the progressive icon stayed on the sidelines and didn’t endorse a candidate in the run-up to Tuesday’s primary.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Gomez said at a party at his campaign office late Tuesday that Ahn will probably be able to raise a lot of money, but Ahn's “message and his credentials will probably fall flat.”

“I’m going to make a play for every community, every neighborhood, every single vote,” Gomez added.

“When we first announced our candidacy, not many people gave me a chance,” Ahn told the newspaper in a phone interview, calling Gomez a “professional politician.”

“I think that politics as usual is not working for this country. We’ll let the people decide,” Ahn added.

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.

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