The California Secretary of State will certify California’s 2020 election results by December 11, 2020, 37 days after election day. In response to COVID-19, Governor Newsom signed an Executive Order, which was later codified by the Legislature, providing a much longer timeline for absentee ballots to be mailed and counted than is typical. Mail-in ballots must be received no later than 17 days after Election Day at which point county election officials will begin counting provisional ballots. All counties must submit final results to the Secretary of State by December 3, 2020. Some races have been called, but many are still too close to determine the final outcome. We will continue to update you as final results are available.
Here is a summary of what we know as of Thursday November 5th.
Proposition 15 – Property Tax to Fund Schools, Local Government
Proposition 15 is one of only 3 ballot initiatives that remains to be called. While the early results are favorable with 51.7% of voters against Prop 15, the amount of outstanding ballots can move the needle in either direction.
California Congressional Races of Note
U.S. House District 16 (Fresno County):
*Jim Costa-DEM
92,921 / 60.5%
Kevin Cookingham-REP
60,695 / 39.5%
Congressman Jim Costa will return to Congress after defeating challenger Kevin Cookingham. Congressman Costa has announced he is seeking the Chairmanship of the House Agriculture Committee after current Chair Colin Peterson was defeated in his election bid.
U.S. House District 20 (Monterey County):
*Jimmy Panetta-DEM
194,630 / 78.1%
Jeff Gorman-REP
54,489 / 21.9%
U.S. House District 21 (Kings County):
*TJ Cox-DEM
53,236 / 48.6%
David G. Valadao-REP
56,269 / 51.4%
Former Republican Congressman David Valadao has a slight lead of roughly 3,000 votes against incumbent TJ Cox. In 2018, Valadao had a consistent lead until the final provisional ballots were counted and he ended up losing by roughly 800 votes. We expect this race to tighten as the final ballots are counted as they did in 2018.
U.S. House District 22 (Tulare County):
Phil Arballo-DEM
109,596 / 46.5%
*Devin G. Nunes-REP
126,022 / 53.5%
U.S. House District 23 (Kern County):
Kim Mangone- DEM
69,687 / 42.3%
*Kevin McCarthy-REP
94,868 / 57.5%
U.S. House District 24 (San Luis Obispo/Santa Barbara):
*Salud Carbajal-DEM
169,061 / 61.9%
Andy Caldwell-REP
104,016 / 38.1%
U.S. House District 26 (Ventura County):
*Julia Brownley- DEM
167,111 / 62%
Ronda Baldwin-Kennedy- REP
102,538 / 38%
California Legislature
Democrats currently have a supermajority in the Senate and could potentially add another 4 seats to their count, leaving as few as 7 Republicans in the Senate. Democrats will also maintain their supermajority in the Assembly.
California Assembly Races of Note
Assembly District 35 (San Luis Obispo County):
Dawn Addis-DEM
79,805 / 48.0%
*Jordan Cunningham-REP
86,328 / 52.0%
Jordan Cunningham is widely seen as the strongest Republican incumbent in the Assembly. This race is closer than expected and the results will change dramatically as San Luis Obispo continues to report their vote totals. Two-thirds of Assembly District 35 is located in San Luis Obispo County.
California Senate Races of Note
Senate District 5 (Merced County):
Susan Eggman-DEM
124,703 / 58.4%
Jim Ridenour-REP
88,693 / 41.6%
As expected, Susan Eggman easily won the race to replace termed-out Senator Cathleen Galgiani who was a key ally for citrus pest and disease issues.
Senate District 17 (Monterey/Santa Cruz/Santa Clara/San Luis Obispo):
John Laird-DEM
263,316 / 68%
Vicki Nohrden-REP
123,707 / 32%
Former CA Natural Resources Agency Secretary John Laird easily defeated the Republican in this race to replace termed-out Senator Bill Monning.
Senate District 19 (Ventura/Santa Barbara):
- Monique Limon-DEM
222,684 / 65.6%
Gary J. Michaels-REP
116,904 / 34.4%
As expected, current Assembly Member Monique Limon will replace termed-out Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson.
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