California election winners and losers: Gavin Newsom in a cakewalk; gambling measures tanked
Election Night is history and the returns we seek may still be days or even weeks away. Regional races for Congressional seats to the state Assembly and Sacramento County Supervisor are all very much in play.
But ballot tallies still show plenty of winners and losers in the days after Election Day. Here’s a sample.
WINNER
Gov. Gavin Newsom, coasting to an election win over Republican state Sen. Brian Dahle for a second term as California’s chief executive. The race was called within minutes after the polls closed Tuesday night, with Newsom leading Dahle of Lassen County with 58% of the vote. For the 55-year-old Newsom, it’s his third statewide win since taking the governorship in 2018; after crushing a $200 million recall effort to unseat him in 2021.
WINNER
Reproductive rights.
Californians in large numbers enshrined abortion and contraceptive rights in the state Constitution, overwhelmingly passing Proposition 1 with 65% of the vote months after the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion.
Newsom championed the ballot initiative — another resounding victory on a big night for the governor — and pointed to a progressive California.
“We have governors that won their reelection tonight in other states that are banning books, that are banning speech, that are banning abortion,” Newsom said Tuesday night. “And here we are in California moving in a completely different direction. That’s a deep point of pride.”
LOSERS
Gaming initiatives.
California Indian tribes, online sportsbooks and Golden State cardrooms poured nearly a half-billion dollars into two of the most expensive ballot initiatives in state history only to have California voters overwhelmingly reject both measures. Proposition 26 would have allowed in-person sports betting at tribal casinos. Prop 27, backed by online gaming companies FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM, would have opened California to online sports betting. The campaigns surrounding the measures had reported a staggering $462.2 million as of late October, according to Ballotopedia.
But California voters had had enough of the seemingly endless stream of commercials and mailers the millions bought and the competing measures’ murky messages. Fed-up voters delivered blowout defeats to both Proposition 26 and Prop 27. A full 70% of voters rejected Prop 26. Prop 27, the online sports betting initiative, fared worse than the Raiders on a road game, losing with 83% of the vote.
WINNERS
Political consultants.
The state’s Indian tribes and the online sportsbooks placed historically large max bets on the assured mutual destruction that was Props. 26 and 27. November’s election showed there were plenty more millions to go around. Opponents of Proposition 29, the latest attempt to mandate increased staffing at dialysis clinics, reported $89.3 million to see the measure to defeat. Another $50 million poured into the fight over Proposition 30, the ballot measure that would increase taxes on the richest Californians to fund programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The checkbooks came out for local races, too, including the too-close-to-call state Senate battle between Sacramento city councilwoman Angelique Ashby and former state insurance commissioner Dave Jones. The two candidates together raised nearly $2.5 million in the fight for the Sacramento-area seat. The dollars pile higher in the race for Assembly District 7, between Democratic incumbent Ken Cooley and Josh Hoover. Cooley raised more than $3.6 million in his fight with the Republican Hoover, who raised just under $1 million in his bid to take the seat.
WINNER
Kerri Howell.
The Folsom mayor was narrowly leading in her race to keep her seat just days after she was nearly removed from the ballot after the city petitioned to have her disqualified for potentially violating state election law. Howell allowed city councilman Mike Koslowski to gather signatures for her campaign, she told The Bee in October.
“Let the voters decide,” Howell said.
Folsom voters will decide the fate of this comeback story. Stay tuned to see how it ends.
WINNERS
Bond and tax measures.
Across Sacramento County from Twin Rivers Unified School District to Carmichael to Elk Grove and Galt, voters appeared to put aside inflation concerns to commit to spending more money to fund schools, affordable housing, public safety and parks. Except …
LOSER
Measure A.
The proposed Sacramento County half-cent sales tax increase trailing in early returns would help fund the Capital Southeast Connector, the expressway being built to link Highway 50 to Interstate 5, along with expanded light rail and new bridges. Supporters say the tax would raise an estimated $8.5 billion over the next 40 years to meet the needs of a growing population and worsening commutes.
But opponents say the measure is a cash grab for developers and the building trades poised to benefit from the projects the revenue would fund; would encourage sprawl and pour yet more cars onto Sacramento-area roads.
WINNERS
Election night nail-biters.
Angelique Ashby and Dave Jones for state Senate. Kevin Kiley and Kermit Jones for Congress. Pat Hume and Jaclyn Moreno to represent south Sacramento County on the Board of Supervisors. Folsom’s Howell and newcomer Anna Rohrbough. Porsche Middleton and Natalee Price in Citrus Heights; tight races for school board seats in Natomas and Sacramento Unified. Races are close all over the election map.
WINNERS
El Dorado County elections officials and voters.
A major storm dumps feet of desperately needed snow at exactly the wrong time on a wintry Election Day just as residents march to the polls to cast their ballots.
No problem, says El Dorado County voters, who tramped through the snow in greater than anticipated numbers; and elections officials who appeared to pull off the big day with nary a hitch.
This story was originally published November 11, 2022 at 5:30 AM with the headline "California election winners and losers: Gavin Newsom in a cakewalk; gambling measures tanked."
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