The midterm election results show some favorites and incumbents won, but there were more than a few surprises.
Former Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is predicted to be the next governor of California. With 100 percent of precincts reporting in, Newsom had a 10 point lead over his Republican challenger John Cox.
Newsom, who is originally from San Francisco, rose to national prominence as mayor of the city. He ran on a progressive campaign which promised to back issues such as ending the state’s housing shortage, education and clean energy. Also, as governor, Newsom will be seen as one of the nation’s foremost opponents of President Donald Trump’s harsh immigration stance. Newsom is a supporter of sanctuary cities, while Trump claimed Californians were “rioting” against this issue. (This was incorrect.)
Cox, an attorney and real estate entrepreneur, ran on a campaign of reducing taxes and regulations which he claimed were strangling economic growth in California. He poured $4 million of his own money into his campaign. Cox, who is originally from Illinois, has never won a race for an elected position.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein retained her U.S. Senate seat. She defeated fellow Democrat State Sen. Kevin de Leon by almost 10 points.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra was another incumbent who won reelection. Becerra won 60 percent of the vote, while his Republican challenger Steven C. Bailey received about 40 percent of the electorate.
Democrat Marshall Tuck, the former CEO of Green Dot Public Schools, a charter school company, is the winner of the state superintendent of public instruction race. He faced off against Democrat Assemblymember Tony Thurmond in a tight race.
And in the race for state insurance commissioner, Democrat Ricardo Lara, defeated Independent Steve Poizner. Lara had 50.8 percent of the votes, while Poizner had 49.2 percent of the electorate.
There were surprising results from state ballot measures. Proposition 10, a rent control question failed, as did Prop. 8, a question to regulate charges on kidney dialysis treatment. Prop. 6, a question to repeal the fuel tax also failed. This question was supported by Cox and other Republicans.
However, some of the measures that passed were Prop. 1, to fund veteran and affordable housing, Prop. 2, to amend the existing housing program for mental illness, and Prop. 7, to change daylight savings time.
Polls closed on Tuesday night, but Sec. of State Alex Padilla said the official tally won’t be known for a few days.
“State law gives county elections officials up to 30 days after Election Day to complete vote counting, auditing, and certification. In California, we work to ensure every ballot is counted properly and every ballot is accounted for,” said Padilla in a press statement.