Laura Richardson emerged the victor of the competitive, costly and feisty election to win a South Los Angeles seat in the state Senate — completing her political comeback more than 10 years after a tumultuous tenure in the House of Representatives.

Richardson narrowly won the race against Michelle Chambers, a community justice advocate who faced accusations of misconduct in prior public office. The Associated Press called the race Friday after weeks of ballot counting.

The contest between two Democrats with similar social policies but differing views on crime and business attracted huge spending by special interests.

Independent expenditure committees poured more than $7.6 million into the race, making it the most expensive election for state Legislature this year, according to California Target Book, a political database. Negative campaigning dominated the race as business interests and labor unions battled for their favored candidate.

Richardson, a moderate Democrat, will join a Democratic supermajority in the Legislature. But Republicans are on track to flip three legislative seats this year, one in the Senate and two in the Assembly.

Richardson’s biggest supporters were businesses, including PACs funded by oil companies, and law enforcement associations that said they advocated for candidates who shared their beliefs on free enterprise and public safety. Meanwhile, Chambers’ biggest portion of support came from healthcare workers and teachers unions, who spent millions of dollars backing her.

Chambers wrote in a statement she was “proud of the campaign we ran,” thanking supporters who canvassed, phone-banked or cast votes for her “vision of better jobs, better wages and a California that works for everybody, not just the wealthy and well-connected.”

“This was the closest state senate race in the state, but unfortunately it appears that we will fall just short of victory,” she added. “Our people-powered efforts were not quite enough to overcome millions of dollars in outside spending on lies from the oil and tobacco industry and their allies.“

Richardson will succeed Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) in the 35th District, which encompasses the cities of Carson, Compton and stretches down to the harbor. Bradford, who had endorsed Chambers, said he believed both candidates were “qualified to do the job.”

Bradford, who championed reparations legislation during his tenure, hoped the future senator would be “willing to meet with all factions of the community, because it’s a great diverse need in this district.”

“I’m also deeply sad to see how negative this campaign was, probably one of the most negative campaigns I’ve experienced in my 30-plus years of being involved with elections,” he said. “I just hope that we can come together after such a negative campaign, regardless of who the victor is, and understand that we have to work together.”

Richardson and Chambers took aim at each other’s past controversies. For Chambers, who had picked up the endorsement of various state and local elected officials, opposition groups seized on a criminal misdemeanor charge from 30 years ago. She was also accused of bullying and intimidation from her time as a Compton City Council member, allegations that she has repeatedly denied.

Richardson faced criticism over her tenure in Congress, where a House Ethics Committee investigation found her guilty in 2012 of compelling congressional staff to work on her campaign. The committee report also accused Richardson of obstructing the committee investigation “through the alteration or destruction of evidence” and “the deliberate failure to produce documents.”

Richardson admitted to wrongdoing, according to the report, and accepted a reprimand and $10,000 fine for the violations. She previously said that during her time in Congress, Republicans frequently targeted members of the Black Caucus. After she lost her reelection bid for a fourth term, Richardson said she worked at an employment firm to improve her managerial skills and has recognized previous mistakes.

“It’s been said voters are very forgiving, and if you stand up and you accept responsibility and you improve in the work that you do — we need people who’ve been through things, who understand what it’s like to have had difficulties,” she previously told The Times. “And so that’s exactly what I did. I didn’t shy away from it.”

The penultimate week of the 2024 regular season is here.

The weekend features three games between ranked teams, including two monster matchups that pit a traditional power program against a surprising contender. All eyes will be on these David vs. Goliath matchups and more.

Here’s what we’re following on Saturday. (All times are Eastern and all odds are from BetMGM.)

Time: Noon | TV: Fox | Line: Ohio State -13.5 | Total: 51.5

The College Football Playoff discussion has been unfairly dominated by Indiana’s weak strength of schedule, so here’s the Hoosiers’ chance to prove their 10-0 record is no fluke. Indiana is powered by an efficient passing offense led by fringe Heisman contender Kurtis Rourke and a defense that’s forcing nearly two turnovers per game. Indiana will have to contend with a Buckeyes team that’s giving up the fewest points per game of any team in college football.

Time: 3:30 p.m. | TV: Fox | Line: Colorado -3 | Total: 59.5

The Buffaloes are two wins from clinching a spot in the Big 12 title game, but the first test will be a Kansas team that just ended BYU’s perfect season. Colorado has scored at least 34 points in each of those wins as Shedeur Sanders is playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the country. Kansas (4-6) isn’t far from having a winning record as the team has lost five games by one possession.

Time: 3:30 p.m. | TV: ESPN | Line: Arizona State -3 | Total: 48.5

It’s time to start paying attention to Arizona State, which has fought its way into the Big 12 title picture thanks to an offense led by RB Cam Skattebo and his 1,500-plus all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns. BYU can still make the conference title game with two more wins despite last week’s loss to Kansas. The loser of this game is on the outside looking in.

Time: 7 p.m. | TV: NBC | Line: Notre Dame -14.5 | Total: 44.5

How long can Army (9-0) keep its magical season going against Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium? The Black Knights’ triple-option offense is not built to post a quick comeback, but they’ve given up just 10 points per game this season, albeit against a manageable schedule. Notre Dame isn’t far behind, giving up 11.4 ppg. This game is likely a playoff eliminator, so the stakes are sky high.

Time: 7:30 p.m. | TV: ESPN | Line: Texas A&M -2.5 | Total: 46.5

The Tigers are 1-5 in the SEC this season and need to beat both Texas A&M and Alabama to make a bowl game. A&M is tied with Texas atop the SEC and needs the win to make next week’s rivalry game a semifinal for the SEC title game. Can Auburn play the spoiler?

Playing at the speed of blur, the 10th-ranked North Carolina basketball team ran away to an 87-69 victory over Hawaii in Friday’s nationally televised game in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

A crowd of 8,377 saw the Tar Heels’ starting guards combine for 48 points and lead the charge into the lane.

The Tar Heels (3-1) colored the paint Carolina Blue, outscoring the ’Bows 26-6 at the rim in the second half. The Tar Heels also constructed a 19-1 advantage in fast-break points.

“One of the things we talked about was attacking the basket,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “Penetration. We felt like our guards could get to the rim any time they wanted to. We put a lot of pressure on the rim.”

The ’Bows (4-1) went with three-guard lineups and even used a sliding 2-3 zone to slow lane entries.

“Kind of the theme was easy to say, hard to do,” UH coach Eran Ganot said of creating the “wall” to defend the paint from UNC’s driving guards.

All-America guard R.J. Davis led the Tar Heels with 18 points. Elliot Cadeau, who was limited to six first-half minutes because of early foul trouble, finished with 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting. Sean Trimble contributed 13 points.

“We have good guards, good guards that compete on both sides of the floor,” Hubert Davis said.

Ganot noted the Tar Heels were able to parlay turnovers and UH misses into extremely fast turnarounds the other way.

“You saw the power of what they do when they get a miss or a turnover,” Ganot said. “They dominated us at the rim versus what we were doing at the rim.”

The ’Bows controlled the boards, building a 40-27 advantage, including 15-5 off the offensive glass.

Half of center Tanner Christensen’s 10 rebounds were grabbed off missed UH shots. Gytis Nemeiksa came off the bench to grab 10 rebounds and score a team-high 16 points. Nemeiksa and reserve wing Akira Jacobs each buried three 3s.

“You beat a team 13 on the boards — (against) a really good rebounding program — you put yourself in position,” Ganot said.

The Tar Heels used a 10-0 run to take a 13-2 lead with 13:41 left in the first half.

Spurred by a crowd of white shirts — some emblazoned with “Save Craig” in honor of recently fired athletic director Craig Angelos — the ’Bows cut a once 11-point deficit to 35-32 when Ryan Rapp pump-faked then scored on a floater with 1:16 left in the first half.

But R.J. Davis shuffled at the top of the key, then buried a 3 to extend the Tar Heels’ lead to 38-32.

UH guard Tom Beattie answered with a layup with 38.5 seconds to play. But then Ian Jackson got the ball on the right wing and swished a 3 for a 41-34 lead to complete the first-half scoring.

Christensen’s pivot-pivot-pivot dunk opened the scoring for UH in the second half. But the Tar Heels reeled off 11 unanswered points to make it 52-36 with 17:15 to play. The ’Bows would not get under double digits the rest of the way.

“Start of the game, start of the second half, really brutal,” Ganot said. “Maybe that’s what our team needs to go through. I do believe that. And as we have some of these new faces, we had a lot of lapses in possessions, disorganization. They took advantage of us.”

The Tar Heels’ drives also created free-throw opportunities. The Tar Heels hit 12 of 14 from the line in the first half, 26 of 34 overall. The ’Bows were 17-for-24 on free throws.

“Give them credit,” Ganot said. “Some bright spots we can build off of. But obviously, when we were good, we’re good, and when we were bad, we’re really bad. Good teams take advantage of that.”

Ganot also indicated the ’Bows would not settle for fighting the good fight.

“We’re not going to be OK with this,” Ganot said. “We’re not going to be OK with some of the bright spots. It’s not what we do.”