In GOP primary for insurance commissioner, Mike Villines closes gap on Brian FitzGerald to 234 votes

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Former Assembly GOP leader Mike Villines has closed the gap in the Republican primary for state insurance commissioner to a razor-thin 234 votes, out of more than 1.6 million counted statewide.

Villines has narrowed the margin from more than 11,000 votes on the Wednesday after the election.

The Clovis lawmaker trails Department of Insurance attorney Brian FitzGerald, a political unknown who with less than $5,000 in campaign spending vaulted from obscurity to become the leading vote-getter.

The vote count as of Tuesday morning: FitzGerald: 814,647 Villines: 814,413.

-- Shane Goldmacher in Sacramento