Paul Fong Found a Challenger in Chad Walsh

They ran in Tuesday's Primary Election and you'll see them running again come Nov. 6.

Assemblyman Paul Fong, 59, D-Cupertino, hopes to get re-elected to the Assembly—though his district has changed—but he's challenged by

The district includes Cupertino, Los Gatos, Campbell, and Saratoga.

San Jose State University political scientist Larry Gerston said incumbent Fong comes from a district that's heavily Democratic and is inheriting new territory with the

Walsh was listed as a Republican until recently when he changed his party affiliation to Independent, along with other contenders in the open primary who bet that in a heavily Democratic district their chances were better as Independent, Gerston explained.

"If Fong walks away with a 60-40 vote, it's reasonable to believe that chances are that he'll prevail," Gerston added.

However, early results Tuesday evening had both candidates separated by a narrow margin. With 128 of 261 reporting numbers, Fong capture 54 percent and Walsh challenging at close to 46 percent.

Regardless of which candidate receives the most votes Tuesday, they'll each have five months to prepare for the general election, Gerston noted.