CD2 early results: Krekorian leads Essel 58% to 42% in absentees

The first results in today's CD2 runoff are in, and with 10,988 absentee ballots counted, here are the numbers:

CHRISTINE ESSEL 	4,567 votes     41.75 percent
PAUL KREKORIAN 	6,373 votes     58.25 percent

Vote-by-mail is always a big factor in these low-turnout elections where only the motivated will come out to vote for a single-contest ballot. If you can lock in a vote before the fur/mud really begins to fly, you've got an advantage.

Looks like Krekorian's ground/phone game paid off in this respect.

But with none of today's votes yet counted, Los Angeles City Council District 2 is still proverbially anybody's game.

As the night wears on, I'll be dropping out of the horse race, so check Daily News City Hall reporter Rick Orlov's Sausage Factory blog for more results and analysis.