2 outsider candidates take early lead in Chilean election

By EVA VERGARA and JOSHUA GOODMAN
Associated Press

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Two outsider candidates hailing from opposite extremes of the political spectrum have taken an early lead in Chile’s presidential election following a bruising campaign that laid bare deep social tensions in the region’s most economically advanced country. With barely 4% of voting booths reporting results, most of them from Chilean embassies abroad, far right lawmaker José Antonio Kast had 29% support compared to 25% for former student protest leader Gabriel Boric. If neither candidate secures a 50% majority, the two top finishers will compete in a Dec. 19 runoff.