Welcome to a special California primary edition of Essential Politics. We’re tracking state politics and happenings in government on our regular Essential Politics news feed.
- Secretary of State Alex Padilla reported on Friday afternoon that some 2.4 million votes remain uncounted from the statewide primary.
- A state lawmaker wants to open up California’s presidential primaries to all voters.
- After four years, voters and candidates are still getting used to the state’s top-two primary system.
- Kamala Harris has nabbed first place and Loretta Sanchez second place in California’s U.S. Senate primary, according to AP. The two Democrats will face off in a November runoff.
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As the week ends, 2.4 million uncounted ballots from California’s primary
For the politically curious, it’s the best guessing game around: What’s in the uncounted ballots from election day, and how many of them will change closely watched races across the state?
On Friday afternoon, Secretary of State Alex Padilla reported that there were 2,423,607 uncounted ballots statewide. About two-thirds of those are vote-by-mail ballots, with three Southern California counties leading the way: Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange.
Reports from a number of the state’s 58 counties haven’t changed for a few days, so expect the figures to shift pretty noticeably by early next week.
And one other part of the process: This is the first year in which ballots that arrive up to three days late -- Friday would be the deadline -- can be counted. So the number of ballots on hand could also change.
There are more than 2.5 million uncounted ballots left from Tuesday’s statewide primary
More than 2.5 million ballots were left uncounted on election day across California, a process that could take several days or longer and leave close races in limbo.
Secretary of State Alex Padilla posted a report late Thursday on unprocessed ballots. Most of that total -- about 1.8 million -- were mailed to voters but returned only on Tuesday.
Six million ballots have already been counted from the statewide primary. The uncounted tally would push total voter turnout to about 8.5 million, or around 47% of all registered voters.
Los Angeles County had more unprocessed ballots than anywhere, about 616,000. San Diego County reported 285,000 uncounted ballots.
A portion of the unprocessed total are provisional ballots -- designated for voters whose registration status can’t be immediately verified on election day. If a provisional ballot is later found to have been cast mistakenly, it may not be counted.
Voters and candidates still acclimating to state’s top-two primary system
For voters who spent decades – even lifetimes – trying to understand the rules for elections in California, the last four years of a new system have been a jarring jumble of candidates and choices.
The seismic shock responsible: an overhaul of the rules for congressional and legislative primaries. That change, promised as a way to reform state politics, tore down election rules that had been built by political parties to give a leg up to their preferred candidates.
What’s left is a system that’s far from settled, for either voters or candidates.
“It has no doubt upped the uncertainty factor,†said Dave Gilliard, a Republican political consultant who managed several legislative races across California on Tuesday’s ballot.
As many as two dozen races for the Legislature or Congress will pit same-party candidates against each other on Nov. 8, according to early returns from Tuesday. In most of those contests, it was outside money and the number of candidates on the primary ballot -- not political strategy -- that shaped the outcome.
Lawmaker wants to open presidential primary ballots to all voters
With voters registered as no party preference locked out of voting in this week’s closed Republican presidential primary, one lawmaker proposed Thursday to open future votes to everyone.
Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced) and the Independent Voter Project announced the proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would create a single presidential ballot from which all Californians could pick and choose candidates from any party.
However, the proposal would leave it up to the political parties to decide whether to count votes from no-party-preference voters or those of other parties.
“When voters fill out their ballot they expect to be able to vote for their candidate of choice, regardless of political party,†Gray said in a statement. “While voters have that right in every other state and federal election, their choices are artificially limited when voting for president of the United States.â€
In addition to being locked out of the Republican presidential primary, no-party-preference voters also had to ask poll workers for ballots containing Democratic presidential candidates and those of other parties. Gray said that is unfair given that elections are paid for by taxpayers.
“If political parties want to write the rules, then they should pay for the primary elections themselves instead of asking taxpayers to foot the bill,†Gray said.
Republican Party officials were not immediately available to comment on the proposal, which would have to be approved by the state’s voters.
2,300 votes separate GOP rivals in Central Coast congressional district -- with 27,000 to count
All eyes are on the No. 2 spot.
Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal won the primary with a commanding lead of 33% of the vote in a crowded field of nine candidates to replace retiring Rep. Lois Capps in the 24th Congressional District.
Just 2,357 votes separate Republicans Justin Fareed, a 28-year-old former Capitol Hill staffer who works for his family’s sports medical devices company, and state Assemblyman K.H. “Katcho†Achadjian of San Luis Obispo. Fareed is ahead.
There are 27,866 ballots still waiting to be processed in San Luis Obispo County alone, according to officials there. Santa Barbara County is still counting unprocessed ballots and should have an update by Friday morning.
“It’s still a tight race,†said Nyri Achadjian, the assemblyman’s daughter and campaign manager. “There are several thousand votes to be counted and we’re looking forward to seeing them come through.â€
Fareed’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Labor icon Dolores Huerta’s son locked in tight race for general election spot in the Central Valley
Election day is over, but the wait has just begun for Daniel Parra and Emilio Huerta, two Democrats running for Congress who are currently separated by just 467 votes.
They each hope to advance to the general election and take on Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford), who already clinched his November spot, in a district Democrats have been struggling to crack for two election cycles.
Democrats have a 16-percentage-point advantage over Republicans in the Central Valley’s 21st Congressional District, but Valadao has steamrolled his last two opponents.
Huerta, an attorney and the son of labor icon Dolores Huerta, was supported by many in the state’s Democratic establishment and boasted a 2-1 fundraising advantage over Parra, a Fowler city councilman.
At the party’s convention in February, he even managed to successfully block Parra from getting the party’s endorsement through some dramatic maneuvers off the floor.
But it is Huerta who is lagging behind Parra with thousands of ballots in the district yet to be counted. It is unclear who will come out ahead.
“I’m a first-time candidate so everything is a surprise to me,†Huerta told The Times on Wednesday. “We were hoping, of course, to have better numbers.â€
Parra said he was happy with his showing so far, especially considering what he was up against. One of the speakers who advocated for blocking Parra from getting the party endorsement was Rep. Zoe Lofgren, chair of California’s Democratic congressional delegation.
“The guy had money and he had the DCCC over working for him,†Parra told The Times. “So I’m feeling pretty damn good to have done what I’ve done. I’ve had the machine come at me and I’m still here.â€
Kern County expected to have an estimate of total uncounted ballots by Thursday afternoon. About 40,000 mail-in ballots and 15,000 provisional ballots still need to be tallied in Fresno County, where about a third of the district falls.
L.A. County estimates there are more than 500,000 ballots left to count
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder and County Clerk Dean Logan estimates that the county has more than 500,000 ballots left to tally from Tuesday’s primary election. More than 1.4 million ballots have been tallied in the county so far, he said in a news release.
The estimate of uncounted ballots includes 240,063 provisional ballots, 125,280 vote-by-mail ballots dropped off at polling sites and 204,946 ballots that were postmarked by election day.
The rise of voting by mail among Californians means it can often take weeks to get final election results, especially in close races such as the handful of congressional and legislative races that are still too close to call.
County election officials have until July 5 to submit their final results for presidential delegates to the office of California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, and until July 8 to submit results for all other offices. Padilla then has until July 15 to certify the state’s primary election results.
State Senate race in Compton and Assembly race in Diamond Bar are over
Super PAC focused on GOP voters to back U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez
A Republican political consultant on Wednesday said he is working with a super PAC to support Orange County Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez’s campaign against state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris in November.
The Democrats were the two Senate candidates who finished in the top two in Tuesday’s primary election and will face off in the general election.
Sacramento consultant Dave Gilliard said the pro-Sanchez campaign by the Jobs Opportunity and Freedom PAC will be focused on Republican voters because no GOP candidate will be on the November ballot.
“Representative Sanchez’s experience on national issues, especially those related to national security, veterans and public safety, make her the easy choice in November,†Gilliard said in a statement.
Kamala Harris says she’s the U.S. Senate candidate who can unify Californians
A day after dominating the U.S. Senate primary election, state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris hobnobbed with diners at Oakland’s Home of Chicken and Waffles and then told reporters that Tuesday’s results showed she was the candidate who can unify all of California.
According to preliminary results, Harris finished with 40.4% of the vote Tuesday, compared with 18.6% for her Democratic rival, Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Orange. Harris bested Sanchez in all but four counties, and the two were neck-and-neck in the congresswoman’s home county.
The two Democrats will face off in the November general election. Harris dismissed speculation that Sanchez may appeal to moderates and Republicans in hopes of building a patchwork of support that could lead to victory in the general election.
“California spoke last night in terms of the primary,†Harris said. “People of every demographic, every geographic location in our state, all came together. It was not North versus South; it was not the coast versus inland. All Californians spoke. And we unified them .… That that’s how were going to go into November.â€
Harris promised to debate Sanchez, but declined to say how many times, and sidestepped questions about the differences between them.
“I like getting things done. That’s the work I did as attorney general of California,†Harris said. “And that’s the work on want to do going forward.
Key local ballot measures had clear results on election day
Police shootings in San Francisco will face extra scrutiny, the minimum wage in San Diego will go up and medical marijuana shops will stay where they are in San Jose as voters made their preferences overwhelmingly clear in key local ballot measures across California on Tuesday, according to preliminary results from county registrars.
Almost 80% of voters in San Francisco decided to have the city’s civilian police review board investigate all officer-involved shootings. More than two-thirds also backed a measure that will increase the amount of new housing reserved for low-income residents to 25% — the nation’s highest figure.
Voters in San Diego gave high support for a measure to boost the city’s minimum wage more quickly than the state’s plan to raise the wage gradually to $15 by 2022.
In San Jose, almost two-thirds of voters shot down a measure that would have expanded where medical marijuana dispensaries could go in the city. Glendale voters took a strong stance against the repeal of a tax on electricity, water and gas rates, with 71% opposed.
Tax hikes did very well, according to Michael Coleman, a fiscal policy advisor to the League of California Cities. Nearly 90% of them passed, including large bond measures for community colleges in Long Beach and Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
California voters overwhelmingly approve anti-corruption Proposition 50
California voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved Proposition 50, an anti-corruption ballot measure that allows each house of the Legislature to suspend a member without pay for misconduct.
The state constitutional amendment passed with 75.3% of voters in favor and 24.7% opposed. It was placed on the ballot by the Legislature in response to a series of scandals in 2014 in which senators charged with crimes were suspended but were allowed by the Constitution to continue to be paid.
“Californians want to have every tool to rein in corrupt politicians,†Kathay Feng, who heads the watchdog group California Common Cause, said Wednesday.
Sen. Joel Anderson (R-San Diego) said he was disappointed in the vote results because he feels the measure is not going to end corruption and may be misused by the majority party against dissenting legislators.
To guard against misuse, Proposition 50 now requires a two-thirds vote of the Assembly or Senate to suspend that house’s member without pay. Previously, suspensions were allowed with majority votes.
The vote outcome was not surprising to Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC.
“Asking voters if they want to take money away from politicians is like asking if they want to give puppies and ice cream to orphans,†Schnur said. “The only surprise with Proposition 50 is that the margin wasn’t even larger.â€
Rep. Ami Bera comes in first in 7th Congressional District
U.S. Rep. Ami Bera came out on top in the 7th Congressional District in Tuesday night’s primary.
The Sacramento Democrat received 53.3% of the vote, according to the Secretary of State’s results. Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, a Republican, received 46.7%. Mail-in and provisional ballots are still being counted.
In May, Bera’s father, Babual Bera, pleaded guilty to illegally funneling more than a quarter of a million dollars to his son’s 2010 and 2012 campaigns.
The congressman has said that neither he nor campaign aides knew of his father’s activities until they were contacted by federal prosecutors. An aide said Ami Bera wrote a check from his political account to the U.S. Treasury on the day of the plea to cover the entire amount identified by prosecutors.
Republicans have pushed Bera to provide more information about what happened, and political observers questioned how the lingering questions might affect voters.
Before Tuesday’s results came in, the second-term congressman said he expected to pull in only 40% of the vote and lose the primary to Scott. He lost the primary in his previous two races, but he won in the general.
“I wouldn’t read too much into the results,†he said by phone. “Historically in the primary, we have fewer younger voters, fewer minority voters.â€
It’s deja vu all over again with these November runoffs
As was expected, California voters in several races will be choosing between some familiar names in the general election.
Here are the competitive races in which incumbents will square off against the same opponent they faced in 2014:
- Assembly District 36: Assemblyman Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) will again face Steve Fox, a Democrat who won this seat in 2012 and whom Lackey ousted in 2014. This will be the third cycle in which these two rivals meet: In 2012, Fox edged out Lackey in the primary before winning against another Republican in November. Democrats have a voter registration edge in this seat and could make it one of their pickup priorities for the fall.
- Assembly District 39: Assemblywoman Patty Lopez (D-San Fernando) may be an incumbent, but she hasn’t shed much of her outsider status since her surprise win in 2014. Primary results show her nearly 20 points behind former Assemblyman and fellow Democrat Raul Bocanegra, whom Lopez has defeated by less than 700 votes.
- Assembly District 53: In the 2014 primary, Assemblyman Miguel Santiago ran against three other Democrats for this open seat and still walked away with 56% of the vote. This time, he faced only two others and got just 47%. He’s now in a rematch against activist Sandra Mendoza, who lost to him by wide margins in the last general election.
- Assembly District 65: In Tuesday’s primary, Democratic challenger Sharon Quirk-Silva, who won this seat in 2012 only to lose it in 2014, pulled ahead of Assemblywoman Young Kim (R-Fullerton) in this true swing district. With 100% of precincts reporting, Quirk-Silva was up by more than 3,000 votes.
- Assembly District 66: Al Muratsuchi is another Democratic challenger who’s ahead of a Republican incumbent after Tuesday’s results. He and Republican Assemblyman David Hadley (R-Manhattan Beach) will face off in November in one of the more hotly contested races with an eye toward the Democrats’ supermajority.
- Congressional District 10: Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) will again face Democrat Michael Eggman, who lost to Denham in 2014. With voter registration virtually tied, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has placed this on its “Red-to-Blue†priority list.
- Congressional District 17: Repeat challenger Ro Khanna appears to be ahead of Rep. Mike Honda (D-San Jose), a stark contrast from the 2014 primary, when Khanna trailed Honda by 20 points. Khanna has been building up momentum toward what is sure to be a lively rematch of the last election.
- Congressional District 31: Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) will again face Iraq war veteran Paul Chabot, who ran against Aguilar for this open seat in 2014. Aguilar beat Chabot by three percentage points in the 2014 general election, and while Democrats maintain a slight edge in voter registration here, it could be a competitive race for the first-term congressman this fall.
Tehachapi rancher Phil Wyman’s surprise finish
We’ll know how many ballots remain to be counted in L.A. County later today
From the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters Dean Logan:
The numbers could swing close races, including who will take on incumbent Democratic Rep. Grace Napolitano in Norwalk. Currently, Republican Gordon Fisher leads Democratic Assemblyman Roger Hernández by fewer than 250 votes for second place.
State Assembly race in Anaheim is over
The Associated Press has called a close race for an open seat to represent Anaheim in the Assembly. Democrat Sean Jay Panahi has finished first and will face Republican Harry Sidhu, who edged out fellow Republican Steven Choi.
It’s over in Anaheim’s congressional primary
Former Democratic state Sen. Lou Correa will take on Republican Bob Peterson in the congressional race to replace U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez, according to the Associated Press.
Peterson edged out Democrats Bao Nguyen and Joe Dunn for second place.
These are the closest races in the California primary
Thousands of ballots across California remain uncounted on the morning after election day, and they could determine the fate of numerous races for Congress and the state Legislature.
The top two finishers in each district advance to November. Here are some of the most interesting outstanding races, per the Secretary of State’s Close Contests results page.
U.S. House of Representatives
- Former Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, a Republican, trails Democrat Rita Ramirez by 1,085 votes for the right to face incumbent Republican Rep. Paul Cook in Yucca Valley.
- Two Democrats, Emilio Jesus Huerta and Daniel Parra, are separated by less than 500 votes, with Parra leading to oppose incumbent Republican Rep. David Valadao in Hanford.
- Two Republicans, Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian and Justin Fareed are close in the battle to go up against Democrat Salud Carbajal in an open seat in Santa Barbara. Fareed has an almost 2,400 vote edge over Achadjian.
- Incumbent Democratic Rep. Grace Napolitano of Norwalk might face either a Republican or Democrat in November. Fewer than 250 votes separate Republican Gordon Fisher and Democratic Assemblyman Roger Hernández.
State Senate
- A Democrat-on-Democrat race is assured to represent Compton for an open seat currently held by Sen. Isadore Hall, who is running for Congress. Warren Furutani leads Isaac Galvan by about 1,500 votes to go up against top-finisher Steven Bradford.
State Assembly
- It’s a tight one in the Modesto-area race to replace Republican Kristin Olsen. Republican Ken Vogel leads, but two Democrats and a Republican are within a couple thousand votes for second place. Currently, Republican Heath Flora holds the edge for second.
- For the open seat to represent Menlo Park, Democrat Marc Berman is in first, with Democrat Vicki Veenker leading Republican Peter Ohtaki by about 1,200 votes for second.
- Visalia Republican incumbent Devon Mathis will face either Democrat Ruben Macareno or Republican Rudy Mendoza in the fall. Macareno leads Mendoza by about 600 votes for second place.
- In Diamond Bar, Democrat Gregg Fritchle is on top and will take on a Republican, either Phillip Chen or Mike Spence. Chen leads Spence by about 600 votes for second place.
Hillary Clinton wins California primary
Hillary Clinton has won California’s Democratic primary, sending her into the general election with a convincing victory in the state with more delegates up for grabs than any other.
Her opponent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, campaigned hard here as he sought a win that would persuade superdelegates that he was the candidate with the best chance to beat Donald Trump in the general election. Sanders has vowed to stay in the race to try to wrest the nomination from Clinton at the party convention next month.
So, what just happened?
The Times made a little primary history too.
With results still outstanding in so many races and a lot of material to sort through, I didn’t file our daily Essential Politics newsletter until about an hour before it publishes at 3 a.m. As master editor Scott Sandell will tell you, I frequently miss deadline. But I’ve never before stretched deadline into the next day.
Check it out, and please sign up to have it free in your inbox each weekday.
Wednesday’s big question: How many uncounted California ballots?
Tuesday may be in the record books, but the new day in California arrives without a full tally of votes cast in the state’s presidential primary.
And that wasn’t unexpected.
With California’s evolution to a state where most voters cast their ballots by mail, political watchers have concluded that election day has turned into election week.
The independent Target Book, a publication that handicaps congressional and legislative races, called it “probable†that as many as 3 million ballots could remain uncounted by time Tuesday night ended. And traditionally, said the analysts, those ballots tend to have come from Democrats, young and Latino voters.
As of early Wednesday morning, about 5 million ballots had already been counted, but there was no official word on how many remained. State election law gives counties 30 days to finish their canvassing of votes cast. Secretary of State Alex Padilla must receive certified results from each of California’s 58 counties by July 8.
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer wins reelection
The primary bet: Streaking around the state Capitol?
Paul Mitchell, one of California’s most quoted political analysts, was on a losing streak early Wednesday morning.
Literally.
A veteran of campaign data analysis, Mitchell was certain a few months ago that the state’s U.S. Senate primary wouldn’t end in a same-party runoff in November.
So certain, in fact, that he wagered a naked jog around the state Capitol if he was wrong.
Which leads us to Tuesday’s election, in which state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris and Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez -- two Democrats -- came out on top. It will be the first Senate general election in state history without a Republican on the ballot.
So what about Mitchell’s bet?
Just before 1 am, Mitchell posted a tweet in which he claimed to have made good on the wager.
The link in the tweet shows a short path around Capitol Park, a five-minute run in which Mitchell apparently burned 76 calories. And, it appears, he took a shortcut through some shrubs.
Garcetti, Villaraigosa reflect on Hillary Clinton’s historic nomination
Celebrating at an election-night party in downtown L.A., Hillary Clinton supporters marveled at the historic nature of her nomination.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who endorsed Clinton last fall, said in an interview that he was moved by her victory speech.
“It’s impossible not to feel the joy of this historical moment,†he said. “I got tears in my eyes thinking about my daughter, thinking about this country and realizing that’s going to be the president.â€
Clinton’s director for California, Buffy Wicks, reiterated Clinton’s campaign message that her candidacy isn’t simply about being a woman, but about being the most qualified candidate. Still, Wicks said, “she recognizes the historic magnitude of where she is.â€
Claudia Carrasco, 30, said she and two friends started campaigning for Clinton in the 2008 election. Carrasco said she liked Clinton from the beginning because she was a woman, but that she also respected her experience and her work on behalf of women and children.
“I can’t believe it took so long for a woman to get this far,†she said.
Carrasco and her friends said they were unusual among their peers for their support of Clinton.
“All my friends were in Sanders booths,†said Glenys Bronfield, a first-time voter who became a citizen in 2015. But Bronfield labeled herself a “proud Latina for Hillary,†and planned to continue volunteering on Clinton’s behalf in the general election.
Former L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said a Clinton nomination “means a lot†to the immigrant community.
“People know her, they’ve worked with her, they trust her,†he said.
Any division among Latinos over the Democratic presidential nominee is insignificant in comparison with the threat posed by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, Villaraigosa said.
“Let’s be clear. People in this state know that no one in this race except for Trump is arguing for the forced deportation of 11 million people,†he said.
Villaraigosa and others emphasized the need for the Democratic Party to come together against Trump.
“We have to unite the party, and we will,†he said.
Some were disappointed that that unification didn’t start Tuesday night. When Clinton’s Democratic rival, Bernie Sanders, announced to supporters in Santa Monica that he would continue to fight through the primary in Washington, D.C., and the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, some members of the crowd grunted, calling for him to move on.
Elena Ong, a member of the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for Hillary Leadership Council, said she agreed with some of the principles Sanders stands for, but she had hoped he would start to take steps to support Clinton and unite Democrats under one platform.
“I think he has a responsibility to unify the party now,†Ong said.
A hint of big battles to come?
As returns continued to crawl in early Wednesday, a few November races were beginning to take shape.
In Assembly District 66, for example, incumbent Assemblyman David Hadley (R-Manhattan Beach) was trailing Democrat Al Muratsuchi by the smallest of margins.
If numbers hold, Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown (D-San Bernardino) could be heading into a November runoff against fellow Democrat Eloise Reyes. Spending by outside groups had already neared $2.3 million by the time of the primary.
And in the open seat in Assembly District 43, Ardy Kassakhian and Laura Friedman were also neck and neck with 42% of precincts reporting.
The California Charter Schools Assn. Advocates, an affiliate of the association itself, has already demonstrated it’s ready to spend big in that race, having dropped $1.4 million in the primary alone to support Friedman and oppose Kassakhian.
Update, June 8, 1:59 p.m.: This post was updated to reflect that the California Charter Schools Assn.’s independent expenditure committee has spent money in Assembly District 43.
Wednesday’s front page of the Los Angeles Times
Isadore Hall served with subpoena at election night party
State Sen. Isadore Hall (D-Compton) was met by a process server at his congressional campaign’s election party in San Pedro on Tuesday night, and was served with a subpoena in a lawsuit over a real estate deal, CBS 2-TV reported. Hall, who has been accused by opponent Nanette Barragán of campaign finance violations, is leading Barragán in early returns for South L.A.’s 44th Congressional District seat.
Election returns yield some unexpected results
With 62% of precincts reporting in Orange County:
And with just 15% precincts reporting in the San Fernando Valley:
Cardenas wins 29th Congressional District primary
U.S. Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-Los Angeles) secured the top spot in the 29th Congressional District primary Tuesday night.
At midnight, former Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon and retired military officer Joe Shammas were still competing for second place and the other spot on the November ballot, according to the Associated Press.
With 27% of the vote counted, Alarcon had 11% of the vote and had Shammas 15%.
Incumbent leads in heated O.C. supervisors race
In the race for Orange County’s First District seat, incumbent Supervisor Andrew Do led in early returns Tuesday night, surging ahead of opponents Michele Martinez and Phat Bui.
Do, going into his 17th month on the Board of Supervisors, had won more than 40% of the votes by 10:30 p.m., according to a count of absentee ballots from the county’s Registrar of Voters.
Martinez, a Santa Ana councilwoman, claimed nearly 30%, and Bui, a Garden Grove councilman, had won 21% of votes, according to the early results.
Experts predicted that Do and Bui -- the two highest-profile candidates in the race -- would split the Vietnamese American vote in an area where immigrants command a powerful presence at the polls.
Hahn and Barger ahead in L.A. County supervisor races
U.S. Rep. Janice Hahn (D-San Pedro) held a large early lead Tuesday night in the primary race for a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, but it was not yet clear whether she would garner the majority needed to avoid a November runoff.
In a second county contest, Kathryn Barger, chief of staff to the current supervisor, was the top vote-getter in initial results. She was followed by state Sen. Bob Huff, with former Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian close behind. That contest appears almost certainly headed for a runoff.
This year’s election represents the second phase of a major shift on the Board of Supervisors brought on by term limits approved by voters in 2002.
Two Democrats will challenge each other for California’s U.S. Senate seat
California voters made history on Tuesday in the race for the U.S. Senate, sending two Democrats to a November runoff and denying a Republican a spot on the fall ballot for the first time since the state’s first direct election of senators in 1914.
State Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris won the largest share of the vote and the title of winner in the primary. With 37 percent of precincts reporting, Harris led Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez by 24 percentage points.
Under California’s relatively new top-two primary rules, the two Democratic women will square off on Nov. 8 – a contest that pits Harris’ strength as the party favorite against Sanchez’s potential appeal to Republicans, unaffiliated voters and Latinos.
In Santa Monica, Bernie Sanders vows to fight on
Sanders said he expects the gap between him and Hillary Clinton in California to diminish as more returns come in and says he will take his fight to the last primary, which is next Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Sanders avoided hitting Clinton during the speech and congratulated her on her wins tonight. Instead, he focused on Trump.
With more than a third of the votes counted, the gap between Sanders and Clinton is more than 20 points.
Harris says ‘California has spoken,’ vows to conduct a positive Senate campaign
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Kamala Harris took the stage just after 10 p.m. at the Dulancey Street Foundation clubhouse in San Francisco to hoots and cheers.
“California has spoken,†Harris told the crowd after being declared the first place finisher in California’s U.S. Senate primary election.
Harris warned that it would be a difficult five months before the November election, and inferred that the nation would be overwhelmed by the divisive, racially-charged politics of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
“Our unity is our strength. Our diversity is our power,†Harris said in her brief 10-minute speech. “We understand that we have so many challenges as a country and we are prepared to lead.â€
Harris said she is prepared to pass comprehensive immigration reform, combat climate change, reform the criminal justice system and address income inequality.
Afterward, Harris said she plans to run a positive campaign. When asked about whether Democratic rival Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Orange poses a serious threat, Harris brushed the question aside, saying she plans to stay focused on the many critical issues facing the country.
At Delancey’s, which is above the Bayside restaurant of the same name, the clubhouse was overflowing with Harris supporters. A party-like atmosphere took hold after Associated Press declared her the first place winner earlier in the evening.
Wine flowed freely, and selfies were taken in abundance as the crowd waited for Harris to take the stage.
Silicon Valley technology executive Ken Coleman, who has supported Harris since she was San Francisco’s district attorney, marveled at the prospect of Harris becoming only the second African American woman elected to the U.S. Senate.
“We are very excited to be here, where there’s the possibility of an African American woman being elected to the Senate. If not, an Hispanic woman Senator,†said Coleman, chairman of Saama Technology. “That says a lot about how far we have come.â€
Democratic state Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, who has endorsed Harris for Senate, said he had expected the attorney general to dominate the primary and doesn’t think she’ll have any trouble winning in November.. Harris was endorsed by the California Democratic Party and Gov. Jerry Brown.
“I’m not surprised,†said Jones. “She’s a representative of the best of California. She’s been a marvelous attorney general and she’ll be an exceptional senator.â€
Within a half hour after Harris’s speech, the clubhouse was emptying fast. Outside, Harris’s supporters blended in with disappointed San Francisco Giants fans, who just saw their team lose to the Boston Red Sox at AT&T Park just blocks away.
Correa wins 46th Congressional District primary
Former state Sen. Lou Correa won the 46th Congressional District primary election Tuesday. While the second-place finisher has not been determined, former state Sen. Joe Dunn, one of the strongest fundraisers in the race to replace Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange), was not expected to land in the top three.
Correa and Dunn had received more money than the rest of the candidates combined. As of midnight, the race to second place and a spot on the ballot in November was between Republican Bob Peterson and Democrat Bao Nguyen.
Loretta Sanchez declares victory as second-place finisher in U.S. Senate primary
No media outlet has yet called the race for the second-place finish in the U.S. Senate primary, but Loretta Sanchez has declared victory. The Associated Press earlier called the first-place finish for Kamala Harris.
With about 33% of precincts reporting, Sanchez has just over 16% of the vote. Her closest rival for second place, Duf Sundheim, has 9.4%. The first- and second-place finishers face a runoff in November.
“We’re excited tonight, we’ve looked at the numbers, we know we’re going to be there and we’re just going to start working tomorrow toward November,†Sanchez said.
Sanchez said increased turnout in the November general election will make up the difference between her and Harris — who currently has 41 percent of the primary vote. They are both Democrats.
Scenes from the Hillary Clinton victory party
Donors, supporters, volunteers, campaign leaders and a group of Clinton surrogates were at the Edison in downtown Los Angeles to watch the results come in tonight. She is leading in early returns in California, and declared victory in the Democratic primary early this evening in a speech from Brooklyn, N.Y.
Southern California Democrats including Rep. Maxine Waters, Supervisor Hilda Solis, Rep. Brad Sherman and Mayor Eric Garcetti celebrated Clinton’s status as the presumptive nominee:
Spotted in Santa Monica: Sanders tattoo
Knight will face Caforio in 25th Congressional District race
U.S. Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) won the 25th Congressional District primary Tuesday night and will face off against attorney Bryan Caforio in November, according to the Associated Press.
Democrats are eager to oust Knight, considered to be one of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents in the House.
Caforio, who was backed by the national Democratic party, beat Democrat Lou Vince to come in second.
The power of voting, so to speak, is missing in Orange County
For some voters still waiting in line after polls close, patience is a virtue
A small group of voters in downtown Los Angeles had to wait an hour to vote after polls closed Tuesday when their polling station ran out of Democratic ballots.
Humberto Jacobo, 37, arrived at the small rec room at the Hayward Manor Apartments on 6th Street at 7 p.m. only to discover there were no ballots available for registered Democrats.
For the better part of two hours, a group of about 15 to 30 voters waited as apologetic poll workers tried to get officials to bring more ballots, “but they never did,†he said.
The voters “weren’t really complaining at all,†Jacobo said, including him. “I wanted my vote to count.†Finally, the group voted on yellow emergency ballots, he said.
Shortly after 9 p.m., the last of the voters had left, and a poll worker declined to comment to The Times as she cleaned up the station with other volunteers.
Kyle Bolden, a 35-year-old professional guitarist, wrote to me in a direct message: “Well, went to vote at Millikan Middle School in Sherman Oaks. Got there around 6:40 pm. Went in, got in line at my designated table. Then one of the [poll] workers told me that they had run [out] of Democratic ballots. So, I had to wait about 20 minutes before another [poll] worker showed up with the ballots. People were kind of irritated, but they did vote nonetheless.â€
And Kenneth Huang, a 31-year-old digital marketing manager, told me in a phone interview that when he got to his polling place at Burbank City Hall at 7:50 p.m., it had run out of Democratic ballots.
So poll workers offered him a crossover Democratic ballot for nonpartisan voters or a write-in ballot.
“There wasn’t any other choice left.â€
He was confused by what it might mean if he voted on a crossover ballot, so he took the write-in ballot. He said there were a couple of other people facing the same choice who were also confused.
Sacramento’s new mayor is the former leader of the state Senate
Darrell Steinberg, who served for six years as leader of the state Senate, was elected mayor of Sacramento on Tuesday night after a campaign in which his closest rival attempted to hang that long political resume around Steinberg’s neck.
Unofficial returns showed Steinberg, 56, besting seven other contenders for the capital city’s top job. Under city rules, his 60% of the vote means he won’t have to run again in November.
Steinberg, who launched his campaign last fall, had only one major challenger: Angelique Ashby, a city council member who argued that she -- not Steinberg -- best understood the city’s current needs.
Steinberg will succeed Kevin Johnson, the former NBA star who led the effort to keep the Sacramento Kings but leaves office under new criticism over 1996 allegations of molestation made by a 16-year old girl.
City politics is where Steinberg’s career began, serving on the city council before being elected to the state Assembly in 1998.
Early returns show voter support for state anti-corruption measure
In the latest backlash to a series of legislative scandals, early election returns Tuesday showed California voters approving a ballot measure that would allow the state Assembly and Senate to suspend members without pay for misconduct.
The ballot measure would allow the Assembly and Senate to suspend a member of its house without pay based on a two-thirds vote of that house. Only a vote by the Assembly would be needed to suspend an assemblymember, and the same would be true in the Senate.
James Mayer, president and CEO of California Forward, a government accountability group, a leading proponent, welcomed the support of Proposition 50, which was placed on the ballot by the Legislature as an amendment to the state Constitution.
“It puts the Senate and the Assembly in a better place to respond to another ethical problem should it arise,†Mayer said.
Valadao declared winner in 21st Congressional District primary
Among the Democrats hoping to challenge the incumbent this fall, Daniel T. Parra, a Fowler city councilman, was ahead with 21% of the vote and 22% of precincts. Parra was a computer systems analyst for more than 20 years.
Emilio Huerta, son of labor icon Dolores Huerta, was trailing Parra with 18% of the vote.
Huerta is a labor lawyer and worked for the United Farm Workers union that his mother co-founded. He hoped to rely on building a grassroots campaign base stemming from his family’s roots in the area and maintaining focus on economic issues as well as immigration.
Valadao is considered vulnerable this fall.
Intense emotions at Sanders rally in Santa Monica
Loretta Sanchez’s family and supporters dissect votes as returns roll in
There was an air of excited anticipation and anxious chatter at Loretta Sanchez’s election night party. As the campaign awaited results, Sanchez’s mother sat front and center.
Friends and supporters filtered by to greet Maria Macias through the evening, saying, “Hi, Mom,†and kissing her on the cheek.
Next to her, supporter Gilbert Andrew Garcia mused, “When was the last time Southern California had a senator?†(It was John Seymour, who was appointed by Gov. Pete Wilson in 1991 to the seat Wilson had left empty by becoming governor.)
“It’s been a long time,†said Jayne Munoz, a friend and longtime supporter of Sanchez.
The two of them refreshed election returns on their phones, which showed Kamala Harris ahead at 40% and Sanchez holding at about 16% with 13% of precincts reporting.
Republican Duf Sundheim had about 10% of the vote.
“That’s worrying,†Munoz said. “I expected him to have nothing.â€
Munoz said she made sure to wear a Sanchez sticker to her yoga class this morning. Asked whether she lined up any Sanchez voters, she said, “I know I did. One woman said, ‘You earned my vote.’â€
“We’re going to make it, we’re going to make it,†Garcia said.
Kamala Harris finishes first in U.S. Senate primary
California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris was declared the top vote-getter Tuesday night in the state’s open race for the U.S. Senate, as a bevy of primary candidates competed for the other spot on the fall ballot.
With 13% of precincts reporting, the Associated Press called the race for Harris, 51, who was long seen as the front-runner in a crowded field of 34 candidates.
The most prominent challenger, Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Orange, is a Democrat like Harris. Should they finish in the top two spots once all the votes are counted, it would mark the first time in a statewide election in which a Republican failed to make the November ballot.
Sanchez was second in early returns, followed by a trio of Republicans: former state GOP chairman Duf Sundheim, attorney Phil Wyman, and former GOP chairman Tom Del Beccaro.
Sanchez arrives in Anaheim: ‘We’re getting ready for round two!’
U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez arrived at her election night party at Anaheim Brewery shortly after 8:30 p.m., taking the stage as her supporters shouted, “Loretta! Loretta! Loretta!â€
“It might be a little while before we have results,†she said after thanking supporters.
“It’s been an exciting campaign, and we’re getting ready for round two!â€
Labor leader on California Senate race: ‘Two Democrats, two friends’
Democratic Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, who has endorsed state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris’ senate bid, expects a face-off between Harris and Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange) in the November election.
Jones said it will be extremely difficult for rival Sanchez to make up ground on Harris among Democrats, especially since the California Democratic Party and Gov. Jerry Brown have both endorsed Harris.
Jones also dismissed speculation that Sanchez will be able to court Republicans and moderates if she makes it past the primary election. Moderate Republicans and independents who are turned off by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump might skip the election all together, Jones said.
Combine that with Harris’ support among labor unions and Silicon Valley technology companies and it’s hard to see any cracks in her campaign, he said.
“What are the vulnerabilities?†said Jones, who was attending Harris’ election night party in San Francisco Tuesday. “I think Kamala wins.â€
Nick Celona, an assistant vice president of the Seafarers International Union, said he’s known Harris for more than two decades and considers her the strongest and most qualified candidate in the Senate race. The union recently held a fundraiser for the attorney general’s Senate campaign.
Celona said Sanchez has been a friend to both his union and labor in general, but in the tough business of politics you have to pick a side.
“We love her, too,†Celona said of Sanchez. “Two Democrats, two friends. You know, it’s tough.â€
Still, the California Federation of Labor endorsed Harris in the Senate race, an strong indication of her overall strength among labor groups, he said.
Harris and Sanchez have early leads in California Senate primary
Hillary Clinton likely to be far ahead in early returns and here’s why
Tough time at the polls today for many California voters
California voters faced a tough time at the polls Tuesday, with many voters saying they have encountered broken machines, polling sites that opened late and incomplete voter rolls, particularly in Los Angeles County.
The result? Instead of a quick in-and-out vote, many California voters were handed the dreaded pink provisional ballot — which takes longer to fill out, longer for election officials to verify and which tends to leave voters wondering whether their votes will be counted.
This year’s presidential primary race has already been one of the most bitter in recent memory. Before Tuesday’s vote, Bernie Sanders’ supporters accused the media of depressing Democratic turnout by calling the nomination for Hillary Clinton before polls opened in California.
Those feelings haven’t gotten any less raw Tuesday as hundreds of Californians complained of voting problems to the national nonpartisan voter hotline run by the Lawyers’ Committee For Civil Rights Under Law.
Loretta Sanchez election party underway in Anaheim
Supporters of Loretta Sanchez munched on tacos and sipped on beers at Anaheim Brewery in the popular Packing District area of the city as they awaited the Senate candidate’s arrival.
A big-screen television set up in one corner was tuned to Hillary Clinton’s remarks, but the volume remained low and the crowd mostly remained low-key as she spoke.
A short while later, glasses clinked and cheers of “Loretta! Loretta! Loretta!†broke out, but didn’t last long.
Volunteers and campaign staff exchanged hugs and warm greetings as they waited.
Sometimes voters just forget who they voted for
Who did David Lai vote for?
Beats him.
Lai, a 59-year-old from Orcutt in Santa Barbara County, really couldn’t recall who he cast a ballot for in the hot nine-candidate race to fill a seat vacated by the retirement of Democratic Rep. Lois Capps.
“Matt something?†he said during a work break near downtown San Luis Obispo.
Perhaps it was Matt Kokkonen, a financial advisor and perennial candidate for elected office? He is the only Matt in the race.
“No, wasn’t him,†Lai said.
After a couple seconds of thought, Lai said he couldn’t remember.
It was some Republican.
His co-worker, Kyle Cuzick, 25, of Nipomo, said he didn’t even vote in the congressional race.
Another voter, who declined to share her name out of embarrassment, also forgot who she voted for even though she was just walking out of her polling place in San Luis Obispo.
When a reporter ran through the names of all the candidates, she remembered.
“The female,†she said, “the Democrat.â€
It was Helene Schneider, the Democratic mayor of Santa Barbara, she acknowledged before asking to remain anonymous. She works as a teacher.
Another male voter who didn’t want to share his name was in the same boat. He couldn’t remember until a reporter mentioned the ballot designations of the Democrats. He had voted for William Ostrander, a farmer.
“I’m not the most educated voter,†he said sheepishly.
Other voters remembered the near past just fine.
James Thurman, a 63-year-old musician, voted for Democratic Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal.
So did Greg Gillett, a 38-year-old attorney from San Luis Obispo, who was struggling to chose among Carbajal, Schneider and Republican Justin Fareed.
This voter thought he was ‘independent,’ only to discover he’s still an American Independent
In the weeks leading up to the primary, we wrote about thousands of voters who appeared to be mistakenly registered for the American Independent Party, a little-known third party with an ultra-conservative platform.
Since then, tens of thousands of AIP voters have left the party.
Ben Patao was not one of them, apparently.
Patao, 45, says he first discovered in the 2012 primary that he had inadvertently registered for the party instead of as a no party preference voter.
He immediately changed it, he said, and was confirmed as a non-partisan that November.
But when he went into his polling place in Los Angeles Tuesday morning, he says, poll workers told him he was still registered with the party.
“I have no idea why they didn’t change it,†Patao said. He wrote in Clinton’s name instead, hoping for the best.
Why some district results won’t be available tonight
The Associated Press has already announced a primary election win for more than 60 California candidates ahead of the state’s polls closing at 8 p.m.
Open primary races with two candidates or fewer are considered uncontested by the AP, and their results will not be tabulated and released tonight.
We’ll be focusing on some of the more contested races tonight and will be covering the uncontested results as they come.
U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough) has no opponent. The other already declared congressional races all have two candidates.
Five state Senate seat results have already been called, including the 33rd District in Long Beach, where Sen. Ricardo Lara is uncontested.
Forty-six Assembly races are already called, including 14 that won’t be contested in November.
Voter voices from Little Tokyo: Splits between Clinton and Sanders
A polling place in the heart of downtown Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo was busy all morning, with a steady stream of voters still waiting in line at 10:30 a.m.
Poll workers spoke multiple languages and assisted voters who had trouble figuring out which ballot to choose.
Asked about her vote by a reporter, Woo Inok opened her ballot, printed in Korean. She pointed to No. 13 and tapped her finger twice: “Clinton. Clinton,†she said.
A friend acted as an interpreter and said Inok chose the former secretary of State because she has “many experiences in politics.†She said her friend does not like Donald Trump because “he lies.â€
Kelsey Iino, 36, changed her voter registration to Democratic to be able to vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders today. “I like his liberal ideas,†she said. “He encompasses all of America. I’m hopeful.â€
She was not dissuaded by the mathematical certainty that Clinton had enough delegates to defeat Sanders in the primary.
If Clinton is the nominee, Iino said she will likely vote for a third-party candidate. In 2000, she voted for Ralph Nader.
“We’ll see what happens,†she said, adding that she won’t be casting a vote for Trump.
“The racism he’s inspired disgusts me,†she said. “He brings out one-sided, ignorant people.â€
Noba Jones said she got to know the Clintons through a Chicago jazz connection many years ago.
“I came out to support them. One comes with another,†she said.
“Experience is so important,†said Jones, a 67-year-old retiree. “For the country, Hillary is better. Nobody is going to do everything you like. For me, I like that she has a relationship to big business.â€
California voters showed up today despite the spoiler, and with an agenda
Californians woke up to yet another election day slap in the face on Tuesday: Hours before voters were to cast ballots that Bernie Sanders promised would upend the race, the media declared that the race was actually over.
Yet, voters showed up at the polls, no small number of them motivated by a desire to cast a ballot in protest of the Hillary Clinton, who just clinched the nomination.
Uneasiness with Clinton seemed to rule the morning, reminding her campaign that even on this celebratory day, the party that Clinton has been chosen to lead remains deeply fractured amid concerns about her trustworthiness, her ties to Wall Street and, of course, her email server.
Election night on San Francisco Bay
Voters voice frustration at the ballot box
Turtles for Democracy
It might be election day, but 10,000 pounds of hay won’t move itself
William Ostrander, seeking to replace retiring Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) in Congress, brought new meaning to the term grass-roots candidate on election day.
The 56-year-old hay farmer, who is running on a populist platform emphasizing campaign finance reform and increasing taxes on Wall Street, spent the morning hauling roughly 10,000 pounds of hay 60 miles from his farm in San Luis Obispo to a sheep ranch in Lompoc.
Ostrander is a bit of a journeyman. He had a career as an actor, a conservation activist in Africa and a developer, and he now runs a regenerative farm in San Luis Obispo (his candidacy caught the eye of food activist and author Michael Pollan).
He does things his own way, so it was fitting he spent the morning wrestling 1,000-pound hay bales instead of glad-handing near a polling place or trawling a college campus for votes.
Ostrander is fully embracing the candidacy of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and hopes to ride his wave of new voters to a good showing. Though he isn’t as well known as the two other Democrats in the race, Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal and Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider, he has impressed political pundits around the district.
Though he seemed like a long shot at first, anything could happen once returns come in. He has about 70 unpaid volunteers, his PSA-style YouTube campaign ads have thousands of views, and his ballot designation as a farmer could boost him in rural parts of the swing district.
“I think we will have a very strong showing,†Ostrander said.
He also boasts another odd advantage: the state Republican Party put out a series of opposition mailers that feature an image of Sanders standing with Ostrander.
“Just like Bernie Sanders, Bill Ostrander wants to overturn Citizens United, eliminating free speech for corporations,†reads the mailer, at least one of which was sent to a registered Democrat.
Ostrander embraces the mailer and has handed it out at events even though, he says, it was probably sent out to peel Democratic voters away from Carbajal and Schneider.
“Of course that is the purpose of the card,†he said.
Ostrander said he doesn’t believe having three Democrats on the ballot would lead to the two Republican candidates escaping the top two primary.
After unloading his hay he and volunteer Erich Spencer, a friend of Ostrander’s from when the two were actors in Los Angeles, went off in Ostrander’s white pick up truck.
Sacramento voters get creative at the ballot box
A rematch in the 17th Congressional District
U.S. Rep. Michael Honda (D-San Jose) and former Obama administration official Ro Khanna were tied Tuesday night in the 17th Congressional District primary race with 23 percent of votes counted.
The rematch— Honda defeated Khanna two years ago by 3.6 percentage points— is one of the first intraparty races expected on the November ballot. The 2014 contest was expensive and bitter.
Political observers are keeping an eye on how the race might have been affected by an ethics complaint against Honda that is still being investigated by the House Ethics Committee.
The House Office of Congressional Ethics determined late last year there is “substantial reason to believe†that Honda and his congressional staff used taxpayer resources to benefit his campaign. The separate House Ethics Committee also is investigating the allegations.
Things get very L.A. for Bernie Sanders on last-minute primary swing
And people cried.
In restaurants and lifeguard stations, California voters make their choices
See more photos in this gallery.
Three generations: Two for Clinton and one for Sanders
Retired grocery store checker Toni Cobbs said she brought her daughter and mother to their neighborhood polling place, Oakland Fire Station 20, on Tuesday afternoon so the voices of three generations would be heard.
Cobbs and her mother voted for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination in Tuesday’s primary, while her daughter went with rival Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
“I wanted to feel the Bern,†Cobbs said of Sanders. “I just wish he had more going on for him.â€
All three generations of women did agree, however, that presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump would be a disaster in the White House.
“We need anybody but Trump,†Cobbs said.
Poll workers inside the fire station said only a few people had trouble deciphering their ballots, with the most confusion stemming for the U.S. Senate race, which has 34 candidates.
It got a bit noisy inside when 911 calls came in and the the fire engines blasted their sirens and raced out of the firehouse.
Retirees Dixie Roberson and her neighbor Theresa Priester also voted Tuesday afternoon. Both voted for Clinton, saying it was about time a woman became president.
“We women run our houses,†said Roberson, 82, who formerly worked for a dental manufacturer and taught pre-school. “If you want something done right, get a woman.â€
Priester said she did have a little trouble with her Senate ballot and mistakenly voted for two candidates, which would have disqualified her vote. But she was able to get a replacement ballot to make sure her vote counted.
Priester didn’t want to share which Senate candidate got her vote. She said she was hungry and in a hurry to fix dinner.
All about Bernie Sanders’ last-minute Hollywood stop: ‘Keep fightin’, Bern!’
Where did you vote today? Show us
An old bank vault in downtown Los Angeles and a public pool in Echo Park were two of the many places Californians voted.
What did your polling place look like? Tweet your photos to @latimes.
Bernie Sanders spends some time in Hollywood on primary day
Lawmakers watching returns from Washington
Several congressmen will be watching election results from Washington tonight, having rushed away from campaigning for a few routine votes at the Capitol.
After a weeklong break for Memorial Day, House leaders scheduled votes for Tuesday afternoon on several bills expected to pass. The bills included slightly adjusting or clarifying the boundaries of several parcels of federally managed land or expressing support for Germany to take care of the health needs of elderly Holocaust survivors.
Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) is likely to watch from his Washington office, his staff said. Reps. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove) and Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) and several other House members planned to be in Washington for the vote.
Rep. Michael M. Honda (D-San Jose) visited a few polling locations in the 17th Congressional District before flying to Washington to vote. He’s in a tough rematch against former Obama administration official Ro Khanna, but both are expected to make the November ballot.
Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) stayed in California, knocking on doors in the 31st Congressional District. He plans to fly to Washington after attending a watch party with supporters.
Voters in Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, New Jersey and South Dakota were also headed to the polls today.
Snapshot turnout estimates suggest increase from 2012 in L.A. and Orange counties
Celebrities vote just like us: Primary election edition
People like to post photos of themselves pointing out that they voted, including celebrities on California’s big primary day.
Sanders back in Southern California after Bay Area trip
Voter voices: Torn between two Democrats
Few signs of a presidential campaign at UCLA
As students darted between classrooms at UCLA on Tuesday en route to final exams, largely absent on the sprawling campus was any indication a presidential primary was taking place.
“This election has turned me off to politics,†said Erika Galer, seated with her Siberian husky, Shifty, under a pine tree near Bruin Plaza.
Galer, who is a decline-to-state voter, leans more to the left.
She voted for President Obama in past election cycles, but is not content with Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
“I just want to listen to her more, she really needs to sell me,†said Galer, in her first year of a bioscience PhD program.
In several interviews here, students expressed strong support for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, despite Clinton having secured enough delegates to become the Democratic nominee.
“Third party could be my best option, yet again,†said Angelica Gutierrez, 24, who is studying for her Master’s in Education. “I’m not voting for Hillary or [Donald] Trump.
In 2012, Gutierrez voted for Jill Stein, the Green Party nominee, because she did not like that deportations were on the rise under the Obama administration.
Andrew Winn, 38, an undergrad studying sociology, is supporting Sanders, but is mostly concerned about Trump.
“What ever happens in this primary, I’ll vote for the Democrat,†he said. “[Trump] is dangerous.’
Voter turnout may take days to determine
For those unfamiliar with California elections, polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday and Los Angeles County then trucks (and sometimes choppers) all ballots to a central location before counting. Election day ballots typically don’t even arrive until approximately 11 p.m. Pacific time. Until then, returns are early and preliminary. (But you can follow them here.)
This year, ballots postmarked by Tuesday will be counted beginning on Wednesday. So even when 100% of precincts are reported, 20% or so of the ballots will be left to count. It may take several days before we have an accurate assesment of voter turnout.
Our data team built this chart showing how California voters have turned out in the past.
Los Angeles elections chief fields pleas for voter help through Twitter
For voters in Los Angeles County, one way to resolve their election day problems is to send a tweet to the guy in charge.
Dean Logan, the county’s registrar-county clerk, personally jumped in to help sort out Tuesday voting problems sent to him on Twitter.
Actor Jonathan Daniel Brown began tweeting this morning that he was not listed on the official roll at his Los Angeles polling place and that he’d been advised to cast a provisional ballot.
Provisional ballots are reserved for voters who have a problem on election day. The ballot is counted if a voter’s signature and eligibility is verified.
Brown, however, tweeted that he didn’t trust provisional ballots. And so Logan, overseeing the nation’s largest elections operation, answered back.
Logan then made contact with the polling place volunteers and assured them that Brown was registered to vote.
By early afternoon, Brown had returned to his polling place and was given a ballot.
“Often it starts with an expression of frustration,†said Logan in an email about Tuesday’s tweeted help. “But our goal is to try and resolve issues as quickly and constructively as possible — and to be transparent about it.â€
Democratic rivals for Senate seat Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez cast votes and begin wait for tonight’s results
Now, the waiting begins.
California’s top two Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate cast their ballots in Tuesday’s primary election in the morning, and will have to bide their time until polls close at 8 p.m. and results start trickling in.
Harris, the state attorney general, will hop on a plane to Sacramento, where whe will drop by California Democratic Party headquarters to thank volunteers who have been calling voters on her behalf. Harris won the party’s official endorsement earlier this year.
Harris then heads to San Francisco, where she served as district attorney before being elected attorney general in 2010, to hobnob with afternoon BART commuters.
Sanchez has no scheduled public events during the day.
Times reporters will be reporting live from both candidates’ headquarters when the polls close. Harris will be in San Francisco and Sanchez in Anaheim.
Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange) voted for herself in the U.S. Senate primary during today’s California primary election.
Loretta Sanchez casts her vote
Voter voice: Long-shot Bernie Sanders makes California feel important
Voter voices: Sanders supporters say not so fast on anointing Clinton as the presumptive nominee
Bernie Sanders supporters in Northeast Los Angeles turned out to cast their ballots for Tuesday morning, even though hours earlier Hillary Clinton had been declared the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.
Monica Waggoner, a 42-year-old who works for a nonprofit organization and serves on the Atwater Village Neighborhood Council, seemed resigned to the fact the results had been declared before Californians had a chance to vote.
“I have always lived in California. That’s the story of my life,†she said. “Our primary votes have just always been symbolic, and I think that’s unfair.â€
Ken Wilson, 50, said he’s angry about the call by the Associated Press and other media outlets Monday night. “There’s six states left to choose, and we the people are speaking,†Wilson said. He said he believes Sanders could — and will — still win those six states and claim the Democratic nomination.
Or, he added, “I really hope [Clinton] gets arrested before the convention. That’ll clear the path for Bernie.â€
Wilson said he voted for Sanders because “he’s the only one without scandal. It’s like night and day†between the two, he said.
Umberto Camacho, a retired architect who voted for Clinton, say that while it can be frustrating for Californians to feel left out of the primary process, “Even if they didn’t call it, it’s already a given. Math is math.â€
Scenes from the primary: Compton
Voter voices: ‘I just couldn’t vote for Hillary. ... It’s her husband I have a problem with’
Retired waitress Patty Tucker walked out of the Masonic Center here with a conflicted look on her face.
The lifelong Democrat had just voted for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination, but wasn’t too jazzed about it.
“I don’t have Bernie fever or anything like that,†said Tucker, 73. “I just couldn’t vote for Hillary. I like her. She’s OK. It’s her husband I have a problem with.â€
In California’s U.S. Senate race, Tucker said she voted for Democratic state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris. Tucker said she lived in the Bay Area decades ago and still is a junkie for San Francisco politics, which she said can be pretty wicked. If Harris can survive that, Tucker said, she must have the mettle to do well in Washington.
On Tuesday morning, a few dozen voters wandered in and out of the Masonic Center in this city of about 60,000 people just northwest of Sacramento.
Poll worker Lois Gillham described that as “pretty busy.†She said voting was going smoothly and that about half of the people who came in were dropping off vote-by-mail ballots.
Elia Puccio, a 46-year-old independent voter, also checked the box for Sanders.
“I’m sorry, but I just don’t trust Hillary,†said Puccio, who manages a local brew pub in town. “It has nothing to do with her being a woman. I just don’t trust her.â€
So much so, Puccio said, that in November he’ll probably vote for presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump.
“I believe the nation needs a change,†Puccio said.
Voter voices: ‘I wouldn’t vote for [Trump] for dogcatcher’
Joseph Fabio spent 20 minutes Tuesday morning arguing with workers at his polling site at Glenfeliz Elementary School in Atwater Village. A registered Republican, he requested a Democratic ballot so he could vote for Hillary Clinton.
“They said it on the news this morning!†he said loudly in the school gymnasium, as poll workers shook their heads. (In California, the Democratic Party only allows Democrats and nonpartisans, or voters with no party preference, to vote in the presidential primary.)
“They just kept telling me no, no, no,†Fabio said. He demanded they call election officials to check, and they did. The person on the phone confirmed: He could not vote for Clinton.
“I hate Trump so much that it was worth the fight, you know what I mean?†Fabio said outside. “I wouldn’t vote for that man for dogcatcher.â€
Fabio says he hasn’t missed an election since he was 18, and even voted for the position of dogcatcher once, when he was living in Wisconsin. He wanted to vote for Clinton because he thought it would be a “huge slap in the face†to Trump.
“It turned my stomach just to see his name when I had to vote for [Ohio Gov. John] Kasich instead,†Fabio said. (Kasich suspended his presidential campaign last month.)
Fabio says he plans to vote for Clinton in November.
Sanders voters in Echo Park say Clinton over Trump will be an easy call
Hillary Clinton may face a tough struggle to win over supporters of Bernie Sanders for the battle against Donald Trump in November, but she’s already making progress in Echo Park.
Sanders was a popular choice among voters in California’s Democratic presidential primary Tuesday at Echo Park’s Logan Street Elementary School polling station.
“He’s not going to be with the rich people,†said Victor Medina, 60, who drives a van for the disabled.
Medina mistrusts Clinton – “she’s hiding some kind of tapes,†he said – but won’t hesitate to vote for her over Trump. He sees the Republican business mogul as prejudiced against Latinos.
“For me, he’s a big clown,†Medina said.
Music publisher Laila Bengharsa, 29, views Sanders as the answer to “corporate greed,†and she doesn’t approve of Clinton taking campaign money from big business.
But Bengharsa, who was raised Muslim and is no longer religious, said she too will pick Clinton over Trump in the general election.
“There is just so much wrong with everything Donald Trump is saying,†Bengharsa said.
Design director Joan Horne, 33, felt “some slight female guilt†casting her ballot for Sanders when Clinton is the first woman to win a major party’s presidential nomination.
“I get a more genuine feeling from Bernie,†she said. But in a race against Trump in November, she added, “I would absolutely pick Hillary.â€
Newlyweds Kelly and Kyle Crown, both 25, are divided: She voted for Clinton; he voted for Sanders.
“She’s gone through a lot of stuff in her life, and I have a lot of respect for her,†said Kelly Crown, a healthcare business analyst.
Kyle Crown, a property manager, said he believed in Sanders because the Vermont senator “genuinely wants to help people.†But Clinton over Trump will be an easy call, he said.
“I think most Bernie supporters would be doing a disservice by letting Trump come anywhere close to winning,†he said.
Go where the voters are: The new Dunkin’ Donuts in town
The primary election was perhaps only the second-biggest thing happening in Santa Barbara on Tuesday.
It was hard to beat the opening of the first Dunkin’ Donuts outlet in the county. Helene Schneider, the city’s Democratic mayor and a candidate to replace Rep. Lois Capps in Congress, knew that.
She was outside the doughnut franchise Tuesday morning to cut the ribbon for store’s opening — and to press the flesh with doughnut-hungry voters.
As local optometrist Larry Bickford locked his bike up outside the door to get some doughnuts, he noticed Schneider.
“I voted for you,†he said. “We’ll get you in and we’ll get Bernie [Sanders] in and we will be all set.â€
Before ribbon-cutting, Schneider noted that the store had had a line out the door since early in the morning.
“If only voter turnout was that great,†she said.
Outside spending on minds of voters, candidates in Santa Barbara open congressional seat
The race to replace Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) has attracted national attention, nine candidates and $1.4 million in outside spending to influence the outcome of the contest.
As the polls opened Tuesday, that spending was on the minds of voters and candidates alike.
The American Action Network, a conservative 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, has spent $157,000 to oppose Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider, a Democrat in the race.
The group has tried to link Schneider to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders through mailers and phone banks.
Santa Barbara voter George Speake, a 45-year-old software engineer and registered Democrat, said he got a phone call recently tying Schneider to Sanders, calling them both “too liberal†for the district.
“They linked somebody I was on the fence about with somebody I was already interested in,†he said. “So it backfired.â€
He cast his vote for Schneider on Tuesday morning.
The Santa Barbara Independent, a weekly newspaper in the district, spoke with another registered Democrat who got a phone call from the nonprofit organization, this time asking whether it could count on her vote for Schneider.
Schneider, standing outside a newly opened Dunkin’ Donuts in Santa Barbara, said she was concerned about the outside spending in the race.
“I don’t know what their thought process is,†she said. “With our campaign, we are only in control of what we are in control of.â€
Most of the $1.4 million in independent expenditures in the race — $817,000 — has come from national Democratic groups, such as the House Majority PAC and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, to support Democratic Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal.
“It says how important this race is,†Carbajal said after he cast his ballot Tuesday morning with his wife, Gina.
He said he was “cautiously optimistic†he would make it out of the top-two primary. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, make it to the general election in November.
Before Carbajal voted, two of his neighbors, Rick and Diana Hamilton, cast their ballots for him. Rick Hamilton said some in the area had been talking about outside spending in support of Carbajal.
“The money has to come from somewhere, I guess,†he said. “He is a local guy. He is really effective.â€
Two voters who said they voted for Republican state Assemblyman K.H. “Katcho†Achadjian of San Luis Obispo didn’t want to share their names.
They, too, are Carbajal’s neighbors, after all.
Kamala Harris casts her vote in California primary
Voter voices: ‘The primary has been over for some time’
At the Inglewood Community Church, nestled next to a smog check and auto repair center, several dozen voters came to cast ballots on Tuesday morning.
Akida Kissane-Long, 58, who is the principal at Florence Griffith Joyner Elementary, said that her vote for Hillary Clinton centered on the candidate she believed could beat presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump this fall.
“The primary has been over for some time,†Kissane-Long said. “Hillary is the nominee, now let’s beat Trump. ... I need to know that who we elect has the resume and experience to win in November.â€
Kissane-Long, who said she is a staunch liberal, said that for the party to unite, Bernie Sanders must exit the race. She suggested that Clinton might consider him as her running mate.
“Why not? He’s passionate and loved by the most progressives,†said Kissane-Long.
Kissane-Long said that for Clinton to win the support of some of Sanders’ younger, more liberal, backers she must become more passionate when talking about issues like education and criminal justice reform.
“People have to really believe her and she has trouble with that, because of the issues with her emails and whatnot,†Kissane-Long said. “In the end though, I think people will look at her experience in government and just really feel secure in voting for her.â€
Matthew Minor, 30, a human resources recruiter from Inglewood, said that Clinton is best fit to continue the legacy of President Obama. White House aides have said Obama could endorse Clinton as early as Wednesday.
“[Obama] beat her last time and now it’s her time,†Minor said. “For me it’s about comfort and confidence. I’m confident Hillary will be able to uphold the president’s legacy.â€
Minor was not deterred by polling in California that showed Clinton’s lead evaporating.
“Even if she doesn’t win here, it’s not a big deal. … She has the delegates and now all Democrats should support her.â€
But some like Adilene Gloria, 26, who does administrative work in Inglewood, do not agree.
“It’s a trust thing for me, I can trust that what Bernie says is genuine,†she said.
Noting Clinton’s reluctance to provide transcripts of speeches she’s given to Wall Street firms, Gloria added, “It’s hard to trust someone who won’t even release transcripts from speeches she gives.â€
Gloria said may consider writing in Sanders’ name in the general election if he’s not the nominee, but that she would also consider Clinton.
“There’s a long ways until the November election, but I need to feel some trust with her. … I’m not feeling that now,†she said.
Al Myers, 59, has voted in every election for past two decades but may consider sitting this one out.
“I will not vote for the lesser of two evils, I don’t care for Clinton or Trump,†said Myers, who voted for Sanders on Tuesday.
Myers said his disdain for Clinton goes back decades to when former President Bill Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act in 1994.
“They hurt black people,†Myers said of the Clintons’ support for the federal law.
Myers said he believed Clinton was just another politician.
“Sure, she’s backed off her support of that bill, but she’ll say anything to get elected. I’m not down with that — she’s just too political, another politician,†he said.
Long Beach voters weigh in on Democratic presidential primary
Thelonious Cotton, 56, said he cast his ballot for Hillary Clinton because of her experience and her gender.
“I like a lot about her, but one thing I like the most is that it’s time for a woman to run this country because the men, they don’t do right. So that’s why I voted for her,†said the newspaper delivery driver after voting in Long Beach’s Wrigley neighborhood.
He said it was critical for Democrats to unite.
“We’ve got to come together as one if we want to beat Trump.â€
Cotton dismissed concerns that some voters, including the supporters of rival Bernie Sanders, view Clinton as untrustworthy or scandal-prone.
“I don’t have any question about what she done did because people have done more crooked things than that,†he said.
He said Sanders made the race close in California by appealing to younger voters.
“It’s the youngsters,†he said. “The more older crowd will vote for Hillary, so I’m a Hillary supporter.â€
Arie Gonzalez, 36, was among those who cast a ballot for Sanders, citing the Vermont senator’s independence.
“I like that he’s not beholden to the establishment, that he has integrity, that his voting record has been for the last 40 years consistent with his stance on everything,†said the musician and bartender. “I think Clinton weighs out what’s popular and she goes that way every time. I think a lot of it has to do with money and establishment politics.â€
He railed at the Democratic National Committee, saying it treated Sanders unfairly from the start, and at the media for declaring Clinton the presumptive nominee Monday evening.
“It was really upsetting. It’s like, why vote?†Gonzalez said. “... California has no voice by the time it comes down to it. We’re a tenth of the population.â€
Despite his disdain for Clinton, he said he would vote for her in the fall.
“I would have to because Trump is a monster,†Gonzalez said.
He said one silver lining is that he believes Sanders pushed Clinton to the left on issues such as the minimum wage.
“He already influenced her. She had to do it. Where she was initially, I was surprised more Republicans didn’t vote for her because she basically was a Republican.â€
Maria Talavera, 40, said she voted for Hillary Clinton because of her long ties with the Democratic Party.
“I like a lot of her issues and also being a woman, it helps,†said the trucking company manager.
She said she was concerned when the polls tightened in California, and said she believes it may be because of the scandals that the Clintons tend to attract.
“I think it’s the trustworthiness, that’s the thing, with all the chaos with her emails and all that other stuff.â€
Talavera said she didn’t know how Clinton could reassure undecided voters who have concerns.
“It’s a hard one,†she said. “There’s a real big trust issue and I don’t know what she can really do.â€
California secretary of state does some polling-place education
Voter voices: ‘I didn’t think about staying home’
Hillary Clinton seemed to lock up enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination on Monday, but that wasn’t going to keep Steve Meyer from casting a ballot for her at a local elementary school on Tuesday.
“I didn’t think about staying home,†said Meyer, 66, a retired attorney. He and other Clinton supporters were hoping Clinton could solidify her victory here.
“It’s important for her to win California,†he said. “Otherwise, Bernie Sanders will drag things out all the way to the convention, all for the benefit of Donald Trump.â€
Some Sanders supporters weren’t willing to give up either, even if they’re eventually willing to vote for Clinton in the general election.
“If she already won, she already won, and I’ll vote for her as my candidate [in November],†said Azeo Plescia, 23, a bakery worker. “But if there’s a chance, I’ll vote for Bernie.â€
Even superheroes vote in California’s primary
Voter voices: Will Trump be the Democrats’ great uniter?
Laura Wise, a 49-year-old physician, is not very fond of Hillary Clinton.
“I don’t have a lot of faith in what she says,†Wise said Tuesday morning outside her polling place at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in North Berkeley. “She’s very much connected with the establishment, with corporate interests.â€
But even though Wise agrees more with Sen. Bernie Sanders, she cast her vote for Clinton. Her reasoning: It’s time to start thinking about the general election.
“I really think we should turn our attention to [Donald] Trump,†Wise said, adding Clinton was a “much, much, much safer choice†than the presumptive GOP nominee.
Trump may not have many supporters in this reliably liberal enclave, but he loomed large here on California primary day.
Katie Hollenbaugh, a Clinton supporter, said it was “a little nerve-wracking†that polls showed a tight contest in California, underscoring lingering divisions in the Democratic party.
But she predicted the party would coalesce around Clinton and the stark contrast between her and Trump would become clear.
Trump “is a good uniter†for the Democrats, said Hollenbaugh, a 38-year-old urban planner. “Once they get behind her, they’ll identify with her, get past their preconceived ideas about her.â€
Maani Hakim, a 65-year-old nurse, said she wasn’t convinced Clinton would be a much better choice than Trump.
“I’m scared to death of Trump but I don’t feel that safe with Hillary either,†said Hakim, a Sanders supporter who said she was concerned with Clinton’s more hawkish foreign policy.
Another Sanders supporter, Bridget Cuevas, a 26-year-old student, said that if she voted for Clinton in the fall, it wouldn’t be with the same enthusiasm she felt for Bernie.
“What’s the thing people always say? Hold your nose and vote?†Cuevas said. “It’s terrifying that Trump is actually on a ballot.â€
Congressional candidate shows off get-out-the-vote bling
5 million Californians are expected to vote by mail, a new record for a statewide primary
As the votes are tallied Tuesday night in California’s presidential primary, more of them are likely to have been cast from kitchen tables or couches than a polling place.
The nonpartisan Field Poll estimated that 5 million Californians would vote by mail in this statewide primary. That would set a new record, surpassing the 3.7 million ballots mailed in to elections officials in the 2008 presidential primary.
The all-time record was set in the November 2012 general election, with 6.7 million ballots cast by mail.
The trend has not gone unnoticed by campaign consultants. For more than a decade, they have watched election day in California turn into something more akin to an election week. One likely reason for the shift is the 2002 state law that allows voters to permanently change their status to what used to be called an “absentee voter.â€
The Field report finds that in 2004, just after the law went into effect, 16% of California voters were permanently registered to vote by mail. Now, it’s 53% of all voters -- about 9.2 million Californians in all.
Assemblywoman casts an early vote in San Diego
But first, don’t take a selfie
Friendly reminder to all you voters out there — ballot selfies are illegal in California.
As part of a movement to push voter engagement, some lawmakers attempted to change the law this year but they were unsuccessful.
So remember, it’s OK to post a voting selfie like this one we found from Hollywood:
But it’s not OK to do this:
Word from Los Angeles County
Looking for some reading material on primary day?
Get smart fast with this handy California primary primer that has all of our coverage of this election season organized by race.
If you want to know a little more detail about the U.S. Senate race, this guide is for you.
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