🥑 CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR

🥑 PROPOSITION 39

🌴 L.A. MAYOR

🌴 L.A. COUNTY SHERIFF

🗳️ THE BIG PICTURE

First off, Democrats won big on the national stage last night. They took control of the House and Senate, flipping several seats in red areas. At least five candidates in the Democratic Socialists of America were elected to the House.

Democrat Abdul El-Sayed won his U.S. Senate race to represent Michigan. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico won election to the U.S. Senate, cutting off a three-decade streak of Republicans. The state also has its first Latina governor, Democrat Gina Hinojosa, who ousted Gov. Greg Abbott. Meanwhile in the swing state of Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms flipped the state’s top job and is now the U.S.’s first Black woman governor. Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who received backlash over a campaign attack ad, lost his bid for Ohio governor.

In light of the leadership changes, Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, a ranking member on the House Oversight committee, issued a short but stark statement: “Lawyer up.” The election results are considered a blow to President Donald Trump, who offered to pay people $5,000 if Republicans won.

Trump told the New York Times last night that he’ll accept the midterm results and work with Democrats. Meanwhile, the Justice Department has subpoenaed California election officials over allegations that 20,000 ballots were delivered to noncitizens. Employees of the L.A. County Registrar’s office were ordered to appear in court today.

Now, let’s get into the local results. As a reminder, none of the numbers referenced below are final — even in the races that have been called. A called race usually means one of two things:

• A candidate has conceded.
• The Associated Press and NPR have determined there’s no possible way for a trailing candidate to catch up.

🥑 CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR

Xavier Becerra wins the governor’s race

• What happened: Shortly after polls closed, the Associated Press called the race for Democrat Xavier Becerra. In California, this race is often called early. Democrats outnumber Republicans statewide by almost double — and voters here haven’t elected a Republican to lead since 2006. He took the stage last night, telling voters: “Ladies and gentlemen, you have now entered the Becerra era.”
• Hilton concedes: His competitor, Republican Steve Hilton, told supporters it didn’t seem like the “best year” to run as a Republican. “It looks like we didn’t win this time… the change may be delayed, but change is coming,” he said.
• About Becerra: His election is historic: The 68-year-old son of Mexican immigrants will be the first Latino governor in over 150 years. A former U.S. health secretary, California attorney general and congress member, Becerra’s campaign played it safe by keeping promises vague, making few media appearances and leaning on blue voters’ desire to not have a Trump ally in office.
• What’s next: Becerra is expected to take office in January. Among his stances, Becerra says he’s open to revising the state’s climate goals to keep fuel affordable for middle-class residents and wants to declare a state of emergency to freeze utility and insurance rates.

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 🥑 CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION 39

Proposed voter ID law fails at the ballot

• What happened: Voters have rejected Proposition 39, the controversial GOP-backed voter ID initiative, according to the Associated Press. The measure would’ve required voters to present a government-issued ID every time they vote, or include the last four digits of their ID on their mail-in ballot.
• The pros and cons: Opponents argued voter ID wasn’t necessary because the state already verifies identity when a person registers and that it would disenfranchise voters who don’t have the means to get the proper documents. However, supporters argued that it would’ve increased voting security and reduced mistrust in the elections process.
• How we got here: While the California Democratic Party spent over $7 million to defeat it, the measure was backed by Republican megadonors. However, it wasn’t enough to get it over the edge. Recently polling indicated this measure was failing to get enough traction with California voters. The idea of voter ID has nationwide bipartisan support, according to a 2024 survey by the Pew Research Center , so don’t be surprised if we see something else come up in the future.

🌴 L.A. MAYOR

Still too close to call between Bass and Raman

• What happened: L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman pulled narrowly ahead of Mayor Karen Bass with 51.1% of the vote, but it’s still a tight race. Bass initially had a slim early lead when returns began, but as the count continued, Raman overtook her early Wednesday.
• What the candidates said last night: 
  • Bass addressed supporters at her election night party, saying she was still confident. “Four years ago you gave me the honor of a lifetime," she said. “This is the Los Angeles that I will never stop fighting for.” 
  • Meanwhile, Raman spoke at her party late last night: “There are still a lot of ballots to count, and we’re gonna let that count finish. I’m hopeful,” she said. “I’m hopeful. I’m very hopeful. But I’m also really superstitious, so we’re all just gonna be cool, OK?” 
• What’s at stake in this race: The candidates are vying for a role that will involve confronting the ongoing homelessness crisis, policing and the 2028 Olympic Games. Raman, who is running to the left of Bass, has been endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America. The race between the two Democrats is being closely watched across the country due to a growing number of electoral victories by candidates associated with the DSA, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

🌴 L.A. COUNTY SHERIFF

Do you get déjà vu? Luna defeats Villanueva … again

• What happened: Incumbent L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna has once again defeated former Sheriff Alex Villanueva, the man he ousted from the job in 2022. Villanueva has not conceded.
• Remind me what the sheriff is responsible for? The sheriff’s duties include:
  • Determining how to spend a budget of approximately $4 billion.
  • Operating the sprawling county jail system, which houses approximately 14,000 people. Nearly half suffer from some sort of mental illness.
  • In L.A. County, cities as diverse as Lancaster, Compton and Malibu contract with the Sheriff’s Department rather than employ their own police force.
  • The next sheriff will also help oversee security for the 2028 Olympic Games, which take place in and around Los Angeles.

🗳️ EVERYTHING ELSE

What else got called

• Props 1 and 37 pass: Voters approved two housing measures. Prop. 1 sits at 59.4% “yes” — that calls for borrowing $11.25 billion in state bonds to prop up affordable housing efforts. Meanwhile Prop. 37, which creates a homebuying assistance program, has 61% of the vote so far.
• Prop 44 failed: The measure to require community health clinics to spend 90% of revenue on patient care faced a resounding defeat at the ballot box with 81.9% “no.”
• Lieutenant governor: Democrat Fiona Ma had a decisive win (63.8% as of this morning) over Republican Gloria Romero, a former state senator (36.2%).
• Attorney general: Democratic incumbent Rob Bonta, who recently filed the state's 100th lawsuit against the second Trump administration, beat out Michael Gates, a Republican and Huntington Beach city attorney. As of the latest count, Bonta had 63.8% of the vote versus 36.2% for Gates.
• State treasurer: With two terms as lieutenant governor under her belt, Democrat Eleni Kounalakis (64.0%) beat Republican Jennifer Hawks (36.0%) for the role of California’s chief banker.
• Secretary of state: Democrat Shirley Weber, the incumbent, beat Republican Donald Wagner, a longtime Orange County supervisor, for the role of the state’s top election administrator. Weber had 64.7% of the vote over Wagner’s 35.3% as of this morning.

🗳️ EVERYTHING ELSE

Looking likely ...

• L.A. city attorney: Marissa Roy (66.1%), a deputy attorney general in state AG Rob Bonta’s office, has a commanding early lead over John McKinney (33.87%), a deputy district attorney in L.A. County. Roy is ahead by more than 200,000 votes as of this morning. She made a similarly strong showing in the June primary, earning among the most votes of any individual L.A. city candidate.
• L.A. County Measure E: More than 70% of L.A. County voters so far are saying “yes” on the measure to create an independent County Ethics Commission with the power to investigate misconduct by county officials, candidates, lobbyists and contractors. The measure also guarantees that at least 10% of the county's unrestricted general fund goes to community investment and alternatives to incarceration — restoring a former voter-approved measure that was accidentally undone by voters in 2024.

🗳️ EVERYTHING ELSE

👀 We're still watching … 👀

• Orange County supervisors: In District 4, Republican Tim Shaw (50.3%) has a slim lead over Democrat Connor Traut (49.7%). Meanwhile in District 5, incumbent Democrat Katrina Foley (51.6%) is holding onto her seat so far over Republican state assemblymember Diane Dixon (48.4%).
• LA City Council District 3: Timothy Gaspar (50.84%), an entrepreneur who grew up in the San Fernando Valley, is a hair ahead of Barri Worth Girvan, a Valley community advocate, (49.16%) in the race to replace incumbent Bob Blumenfield, who is terming out. This district encompasses the southwestern San Fernando Valley, including Woodland Hills, Winnetka and Reseda.
• L.A. City Council District 9: Jose Ugarte (53.98%) has a few thousand votes lead over challenger Estuardo Mazariegos (46.02%) as of this morning. Ugarte is a community outreach director and a former chief deputy to incumbent Curren Price, who is also terming out. Mazariegos is a community organization director backed by the L.A. chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. This South L.A. district includes Exposition Park and Vermont Square.
• Prop. 40: If passed, this is the measure that would make California the first in the nation to have a wealth tax on billionaires. But so far, voters are rejecting it with 55.6% saying “no.”
• Props. 41 and 42: The measures designed to counteract the billionaire’s tax are seeing mixed results. Prop. 41, which is at 52.4% “no,” would prohibit new tax revenue from being excluded from the state’s spending limit. On the other hand, Prop. 42 has 54.3% “yes” votes — that would block new and retroactive taxes on personal property aside from real estate. If either of these propositions pass with more votes than Prop. 40, they effectively kill Prop. 40.
• Insurance commissioner: The race to lead the nation’s largest property and casualty insurance market is too close to call. Democrats Ben Allen (48%), a current state senator backed by the California Democratic Party, is trailing behind Jane Kim (52%), an attorney supported by labor groups.

That's all to say … we'll be here for a little while! You can keep up with the results here:

• L.A. County
• Orange County

The next local ballot counts drop tonight starting around 4 p.m. L.A. County will drop another batch of results tomorrow morning around 9 a.m., so we'll be back in your inbox shortly after that to break down the results.

— Cato and Julia

Makenna Cramer contributed to this issue.