HEALDSBURG, CA — The polls are closed in Sonoma County, and voters will soon know if Mike McGuire or James Gallagher will fill the U.S. House District 1 seat, if billionaires will get their own California tax, and whether a blue wave will flood Congress, possibly sinking the final two years of President Donald Trump's lame-duck presidency.
Millions of voters and election officials wait not only for the results but also for the president's reaction. Trump's Justice Department spent the final two weeks of the campaign season issuing subpoenas to California election officials and suing to block 20,000 Golden State ballots from being counted amid allegations of illegal voting. The Justice Department issued subpoenas for multiple California election officials to appear in court the day after the election.
Amid that contentious backdrop, Californians cast their ballots for a new governor, widely expected to be Democrat Xavier Becerra, who went into the election with a wide lead in the polls over Republican Steve Hilton.
The outcome of dozens of down-ballot primary races also hangs in the balance in Sonoma County. Voters are waiting to find out who came out ahead in Healdsburg's first city council district election. District 2 residents will soon know if they will be represented by Scott Pratt or Matthew Lopez.
Melanie Bagby and Tom Schwedhelm are competing for the District 4 Sonoma County supervisor seat.
Scroll down for real-time Sonoma County election results.
Click here to track your ballot and make sure it is counted.
As of September, the California Secretary of State reported that 23,164,977 Californians were registered to vote, which accounts for more than 85 percent of the state's eligible voting population.
Not surprisingly, there are far more registered Democrats than Republicans in the state, with 45 percent for the former and 25 percent for the latter.
In Sonoma County, the rate of voter registration is high. As of September, it topped 89 percent — with 55 percent of voters registered as Democrats, 18 percent as Republicans.
Based on early voting, California is poised to see 60 percent of registered voters head to the polls, a record for a gubernatorial race, Paul Mitchell, of political data analysis firm Political Data told The San Francisco Chronicle.
While the governor's race was expected to be called early Tuesday, it's California's congressional races and ballot measures poised to offer the biggest upsets and surprises. Hanging in the balance is control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Mitchell predicted that five key redrawn congressional districts appear poised to deliver Democratic victories driven, in part, by high turnout among Latino voters.
"I think the blue wave is on track," Mitchell told The Chronicle. "It seems to be on track that we're going to have a really strong turnout."
So far, voter turnout has been higher in competitive races such as the Central Valley's District 22 and the 48th Congressional District in San Diego — two districts Democrats hope to flip after their mid-decade gerrymander.
As of Oct. 29, Democratic voters represented 51 percent of ballots returned statewide compared to just 28 percent among Republican voters, according to the Political Data tracker.
Unofficial results as of 8:12 p.m. Nov. 3. Vote counting continues.
County supervisor, District 4 — Healdsburg: In the race to replace Supervisor James Gore in the district that includes Healdsburg, Melanie Bagby led with 53.01 percent (8,613 votes), followed by Tom Schwedhelm with 46.99 percent (7,634 votes).
Healdsburg City Council — Districts 2 and 4: In the city's first district election for city council, Mathew Lopez led District 2 with 55.78 percent (280 votes), followed by Scott Pratt with 33.67 percent (169 votes) and Alex Wood with 10.56 percent (53 votes).
Chris Herrod, running unopposed in District 4, has received 100 percent (349 votes).
U.S. House, District 1 — Healdsburg: Democrat Mike McGuire is leading among Sonoma County voters with 77.48 percent (39,213 votes), followed by Republican James Gallagher with 22.52 percent (11,395 votes), in the newly drawn district that includes all of Healdsburg. These totals cover only the Sonoma County portion of the congressional district.
Measure H — The measure received 76.75 percent yes (67,037 votes) and 23.25 percent no (20,302 votes), exceeding the two-thirds approval threshold in the early count. It would continue the existing one-eighth-cent parks sales tax until voters end it, supporting parks, trails, habitat, water protection and wildfire prevention.
Measure AB — Sonoma County Junior College District voters in all five communities: The measure has received 64.99 percent yes (55,856 votes) and 35.01 percent no (30,095 votes), exceeding the 55 percent approval threshold in the early count. It would authorize $830 million in bonds for Santa Rosa Junior College facilities, repairs and career-training spaces.
California voters headed to the polls Tuesday, facing high gas and grocery prices, the effects of climate change on wildfires and rising seas amid a shortage in insurance coverage and the ever-present housing affordability crisis.
The governor's race was somewhat anticlimactic following a chaotic primary with a crowded field of candidates roiled when the frontrunner was forced to step down amid sexual assault allegations. Since then, Becerra maintained a steady lead over Hilton in the polls.
In the final days of the election, a new SurveyUSA poll showed Becerra with a 22-point lead.
Click here for real-time results in the California Governor's races.
All 52 of California's Congressional seats were on the ballot.
Congressional races across California were under intense scrutiny following voter approval of Proposition 50, a partisan redistricting measure expected to reshape the state's political map. Thanks to the redistricting, only a handful of districts were truly competitive. Democrats hoped to flip as many as five Republican House seats in a bid to overturn the GOP's slim House majority.
Democrats think they can flip as many as five seats, with four seeming very much in reach, according to the polls. Both parties are spending like control of the House is on the line.
Click here for real-time results in California's Congressional races.
There were 14 statewide propositions on the ballot this week. Arguably, the most hot-button ballot initiatives involve taxation. Proposition 40 is the highly discussed billionaire tax, while Propositions 41 and 42 aim to counter the measure. Proposition 3 also addresses taxes on the state's highest earners.
Click here for real-time results for all of California's ballot measures.
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