2024 election results: Trump wins second term in historic comeback
LAT's JENNY JARVIE: "Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, fulfilling his promise to shatter America’s political status quo after he refused to accept his loss to President Biden four years ago and inspired a mob of supporters to violently storm the U.S. Capitol.
The former president’s decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris — after an extraordinary campaign in which he was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts — was confirmed shortly after 5:30 a . m . (EDT) when he secured more than 270 electoral votes after picking up the key battleground states of Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin."
Return of the Resistance State: What another Trump presidency will mean for California
ALEXEI KOSEFF, CalMatters: "Former President Donald Trump won a second term after four years out of the White House, likely thrusting California back into leading the resistance against him. The Associated Press made its call at 3 a.m., declaring that the Republican defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who would have become the first woman president and the most powerful Californian in four decades.
Instead, Californians now face a repeat of Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021 — another four years of governance consumed by combative showdowns between the state’s Democratic leadership and Washington, D.C., possibly distracting from or even setting back progress on addressing California’s own problems."
Election 2024: Five takeaways from Election Night
BANG*Mercury News's PAUL ROGERS: "Nearly four years ago, on Jan. 6, 2021, a violent mob attacked the U.S. Capitol. Rioters marched from a rally led by Donald Trump in which he claimed his loss in the election to Joe Biden was fraudulent, to ransack the hallowed building. They injured 140 police officers and threatened to kill Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Days later, the House of Representatives impeached Trump. He was declared politically dead, including by members of his own party.
“The mob was fed lies,” said Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell at the time. “They were provoked by the president and other powerful people.”"
Trump, Senate GOP victories send markets soaring
The Hill's TAYLOR GIORNO: "Stocks roared out of the gate Wednesday morning following news that former President Trump has secured a second term in the White House and Republicans won a majority in the Senate.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,341 points, or about 3.1 percent, as the market opened, reaching a record high. It was the first time it has jumped more than 1,000 points in a single day since November 2022."
With Donald Trump as president, Gavin Newsom poised to become ‘leader of the resistance’
The Chronicle's SOPHIA BOLLAG: "Even as Donald Trump’s victory represents a devastating loss for Democrats, it carries a political silver lining for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is now positioned to become the leader of the Democratic resistance.
Newsom has warned about the potential danger of a Trump presidency and has harshly criticized the former president. In recent weeks, he has framed the election in stark terms, especially for California, a bastion of liberal values and home to the nation’s largest population of immigrants."
Adam Schiff easily wins U.S. Senate seat in deep-blue California
YUE STELLA YU, CalMatters: "U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, a Burbank Democrat, cruised to victory in California’s U.S. Senate race against Steve Garvey, a former L.A. Dodgers star seeking to become the first Republican elected statewide in 18 years.
Schiff won a six-year term to replace Sen. Laphonza Butler, who decided not to run herself after she was appointed following the death of Dianne Feinstein, who held the seat for more than 30 years. Schiff also defeated Garvey in a separate but simultaneous race to fill the remainder of Feinstein’s term, which expires in early January. That gives him a head start in seniority over other newly-elected U.S. senators."
Race too close to call for Calvert and Rollins in California’s 41st Congressional District
LAT's HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS: "The highly competitive U.S. House race in Riverside County between Republican Rep. Ken Calvert, the longest-serving GOP member of California’s congressional delegation, and Democrat Will Rollins, a former federal prosecutor, was too close to call on election night.
The race between Calvert and Rollins to represent California’s 41st Congressional District, which stretches from the sprawling city of Corona to the resorts and golf courses of the Coachella Valley, had been considered a toss-up. It was one of several California races seen as influential in determining which party will control the U.S. House of Representatives next year."
California’s 47th Congressional District is too close to call for Min or Baugh
LAT's HANNAH FRY: "The race between Republican Scott Baugh and Democratic state Sen. Dave Min for the fiercely fought open House seat in coastal Orange County remained too close to call Tuesday night as votes continue to be counted.
California’s 47th Congressional District is currently held by Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, who will be leaving Congress in January. Her decision not to seek reelection and to instead run for the U.S. Senate, a bid that fell short in the March primary, kicked off a passionate competition to replace her. Porter narrowly beat back a challenge by Baugh in 2022."
Levin and Gunderson in tight race for California’s 49th Congressional District
LAT's ANDREA CASTILLO: "The race between Democratic Rep. Mike Levin and his Republican challenger Matt Gunderson for California’s 49th Congressional District in San Diego and Orange counties remained too close to call Tuesday as votes continue to be counted.
The 49th District was one of six tight congressional races in California that could help determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives. Last month, the Cook Political Report moved the district race from “likely Democratic” to “leaning Democratic,” a sign of the concerted effort by Republicans to flip blue seats."
Steel and Tran locked in tight race for California’s 45th Congressional District
LAT's ANGIE ORELLANA HERNANDEZ: "The competitive race between Republican Rep. Michelle Steel and Democratic challenger Derek Tran for an Orange County swing district was too close to call Tuesday night, as votes continue to be counted.
Steel, 69, and Tran, 44, went head-to-head in one of the nation’s tightest contests for the U.S. House of Representatives. It was one of several House races in California with the potential to shape which party will control Congress next year."
Kevin McCarty leading over Flojaune Cofer in early results for Sacramento mayoral election
THERSA CLIFT, EMMA HALL and MATHEW MIRANDA, SacBee: "In the race for Sacramento’s next mayor, Assemblyman Kevin McCarty has a lead over Flojaune Cofer in early returns Tuesday. McCarty held roughly 55.5% of the vote while Cofer had 44.5% as of results released in the last batch before Friday.
The next update is expected from Sacramento County election officials at midnight, followed by additional results Friday and next week. A winner may not be declared for several weeks."
The Chronicle's STAFF: "San Francisco’s next mayor will be responsible for finding solutions to some of the biggest challenges the city has faced in recent history: the repercussions of a still-quiet downtown and a homelessness and drug crisis that has frustrated and angered residents. Mayor London Breed was trailing nonprofit founder Daniel Lurie in early returns.
The San Francisco Department of Elections is currently reporting 234,453 votes out of a possible 522,265 registered voters (equivalent to a 44.9% turnout)."
The Chronicle's SARAH RAVANI, MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "The recall of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao was ahead in early returns on Tuesday, with 64% of voters backing her removal from office. Nearly 36% of voters opposed the recall.
If the vote trend continues, Thao would be the first Oakland mayor ever to be recalled. The last attempt, in 1917 against Mayor John Davie, was unsuccessful."
California voters pass Proposition 36, taking tougher stance on retail theft, crime
STEPHEN HOBBS, SacBee: "Californians easily passed Proposition 36 Tuesday night, with more than two-thirds voting to strengthen penalties for retail and drug crimes that were downgraded a decade ago.
Supporters said tougher consequences were needed to reduce homelessness, drug use and thefts across the state. Opponents argued the measure will again move California’s criminal justice pendulum, in this case backward, to a time when stricter sentences led to prisons overflowing with incarcerated people."
Californians vote against rent control as Prop. 33 fails
FELICIA MELLO, CalMatters: "Californians today rejected a rent control ballot measure that inspired more than $150 million in campaign spending and laid bare competing visions of how to respond to the state’s housing crisis.
Proposition 33, with 59.7% of voters against it at the time the was called by the AP, would have given cities more freedom to limit how much landlords can raise rent. It would have repealed a state law known as the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act that bars local governments from regulating rent on single-family homes, apartments built since 1995, and units where there’s a new tenant."
Progressive criminal justice reform was all the rage. The election shows the backlash continues
The Chronicle's MEGAN CASSIDY, SOPHIA BOLLAG: "Just a few years ago, the criminal justice reform movement was ascendant in the Bay Area and across California.
Crime was falling, reliance on incarceration was losing support and anger over the police murder of George Floyd propelled momentum from years of Black Lives Matter protests."
‘Proud and patriotic’: Poll workers respond to ‘unprecedented’ student voter turnout
Daily Californian's EMILY HAMILL: "On Election Day, Berkeley voting centers saw long lines that poured out of the doors and around the blocks of both the YWCA Berkeley/Oakland building and Eshleman Hall.
Despite the high student voter turnout, there are only seven poll workers working at each of these voting centers, both of which are either on or extremely close to campus."
Invasive mussels could harm California Delta ecosystem and add to water costs
LAT's IAN JAMES: "The recent discovery of a new type of invasive mussel in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is raising concerns that the non-native species could cause major ecological harm and inflict costly complications for the infrastructure California relies on to deliver water across the state.
State workers discovered golden mussels attached to equipment and buoys in the Port of Stockton last month while carrying out routine water quality tests. The mussels were also recently found in O’Neill Forebay, part of the state’s water delivery system south of the Delta near Santa Nella."
