Votes are still being counted, but here are the preliminary election results for state Senate and Assembly races, including ballot initiatives as of this morning. For updates throughout the day, go to sos.ca.gov or click VOTE CALIFORNIA above.
There is a scenario where CA could lose up to 4 Republican seats in the Senate and 7 in the Assembly, although it will take several weeks to count all ballots. Republican Senator Niello, who was down last night, has now pulled ahead, but many of these races are too close to call. Overall, the Mod Dem candidates were very successful, except for the Connolly seat where Eric Lucan is behind Jackie Elward.
At this time, here is where things stand:
Close Contests
AD 70 - Republican Incumbent Tri Ta 50.8% leading Democrat Paula Swift (less than 2,000 vote difference)
AD 72 - (Dixon seat) Republican Gracey Van Der Mark leads with 50.8% of the vote over Democrat Chris Kluwe (a little over 2,000 vote difference)
AD 74 - Republican Incumbent Laurie Davies leads with 50.2% of the vote over Democrat Sergio Farias (less than 600 vote difference)
SD 36 - Republican Incumbent Tony Strickland now trailing Democrat Chris Duncan by 1,060 votes
Key Dem vs. Republican races:
AD 7 - Democrat Amy Slavensky ahead of Republican incumbent Josh Hoover with 52.5% of the vote
AD 27 - (Soria seat) - Mod Dem Brian Pacheco beat Republican Mike Murphy with 63.3% of the vote
AD 36 - Democrat Ida Obeso-Martinez leading with 58.7% of the vote over Republican incumbent Jeff Gonzalez
AD 47 - Democrat Leila Namver leading with 55.9% of the vote over Republican incumbent Greg Wallis
AD 58 - Democrat Clarissa Cervantes beat Republican incumbent Leticia Castillo with over 60.3%
SD 6 - Republican Incumbent Roger Niello with 49.7% and Democrat Sean Frame with 50.3%
SD 16 - Democrat incumbent Melissa Hurtado leads with 60.3% of the vote over Republican Guillermo Gonzalez
SD 40 - (Jones seat) - Democrat Mara Elliott ahead of Republican Kristie Bruce-Lane with 52.5 of the vote
Mod Dem vs. Dem competitive races:
AD 12 (Connolly seat) - Mod Dem Eric Lucan losing to Jackie Elward who has 56.7% of the vote
AD 35 (Bains seat) - Mod Dem Andrae Gonzalez won over Saul Lyon with 68.3% of the vote
AB 66 (Muratsuchi seat) - Mod Dem Paul Seo won with 61.9%
AD 68 (Valencia seat) - Mod Dem Penaloza leading with 52.4% of the vote
SD 24 (Allen seat) - Mod Dem Brian Goldsmith won with 58%
SD 26 (Durazo seat) - Mod Dem Sara Hernandez won with 57%
Other New Mod Dems
AD 31 (Arambula seat) - Annalisa Perea won
AD 65 (Gipson seat) - Ayanna Davis won
AD 67 (Sharon Quirk Silva seat) - Mark Pulido won
SD 10 (Wahab seat) - Scott Sakakihara won
Statewide, Insurance Commissioner’s race has Ben Allen at 48% and Jane Kim at 52% (over 250,000 vote difference).
Ballot Measures
Here is the status of the initiatives. Note, two housing initiatives passed, 1 and 37. While both measures address California’s affordable housing crisis, they pursue vastly different approaches. Under Prop. 1, the state will be authorized to secure a record-setting $11.25 billion in borrowing. The vast majority of these funds would directly support building affordable housing units aimed at homeless residents and low-income renters.
Conversely, Prop. 37 introduces a novel revenue bond mechanism. It permits the state to raise up to $25 billion from private investors to supply down payment assistance loans for eligible homebuyers. David Garcia, deputy director of policy at UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation, noted that significant unresolved issues persist concerning the administration of Prop. 37 and the scale of its reach. Nevertheless, he emphasized that its overwhelming approval margin “speaks to just how much the dream of homeownership matters to so many Californians.”
