California Election Results 2016: Harris Holds Wide Lead, Marijuana Measure Coasts

UPDATED AT 11:51 P.M: With 58.5 percent of the vote in:

Attorney General Kamala Harris is leading Rep. Loretta Sanchez 64 percent to 36 percent in the race to replace Barbara Boxer in the United States Senate, according to the California Secretary of State.

Proposition 64 is passing with 56 percent for and 44 percent of the vote against the legalization of marijuana, according to the California Secretary of State.

Californians are rejecting a measure to repeal the death penalty by a vote of 54.5 percent to 45.5 percent, according to the Secretary of State. Conversely, voters favor reforming the death penalty by 51 percent to 49 percent.

ORIGINAL POST: LOS ANGELES, CA -- The divisive tenor of the most polarizing presidential race in decades didn't hurt voter turnout in California where 17 statewide ballot initiatives are helping to get out the vote.

While Californians overwhelmingly supported Hillary Clinton only to see her lose to Donald Trump in a stunning defeat, they also turned in a series of nail-biting congressional races, a blow-out senate race and a slew of ballot measures that will have dramtaic impacts on life in the Golden State.

Across the state, early voting set records leading into Election Day. By 9 a.m. Tuesday, 9 percent of registered voters had already cast their ballots in Los Angeles, the state’s most populous county. Fanned out across the state, Patch reporters saw polling places buzzing with fast-moving lines and wait times averaging between 5 and 15 minutes.

Many voters said they were excited to be making history, casting a ballot for the nation’s first female nominee, Hillary Clinton. As many others said they headed to the polls with trepidation, casting their ballot for the “lesser of two evils” to put an end to this grueling election season.

Wendy Nield, a 46-year-old Business Owner from West Hollywood, said she headed to the polls with a sense of optimism.

"It is inspiring to be a woman voting for Hillary Clinton," Nield said. "For me, it is the idea that we were told as girls growing up that we could be whatever we wanted to be, but that wasn't necessarily true until now. Now it feels possible."

Others, However, didn’t see anything to celebrate about this election year.

"The election to me is very torn," said Riverside County voter Alan Brittain, 55. "I'm not really in favor of Trump, but I like Pence."

"I'm worried about Hillary Clinton, she falls along with the political establishment," he added. "And I'm just afraid that the rights I have right now will slowly dwindle away."

RELATED: How to Get Notified Instantly From Patch With Presidential Election Results

Waiting to Make History

Going into election day, Clinton’s favorability ratings were in the negative - as they have been the entire election season.

But across California, voters -- especially women -- told Patch they were proud to vote for the nation’s first female presidential nominee.

"It's an incredibly important moment for me as a woman, and it's very emotional as well. As women, we have waited a long time to see someone in the White House who looks like us, has experienced the world as we have and cares about the things we do,” said Dublin resident Michelle McDonald. “And the impact of that should not be underestimated. Our daughters deserve to have this barrier taken down and I'm incredibly proud that we are on the verge of making that happen. It wasn't easy. It won't be easy going forward. But it's history, and today I'm beyond thrilled."

Kara Connell, of Garden Grove, cast her ballot for Clinton and enthusiastically encouraged her friends to get out and vote too.

Far from discouraging her, the negativity of the presidential race motivated her to cast her ballot.

“I would say it encouraged me to vote, and I think a lot of people feel the same way,” she said. “I brought in a mail-in ballot and, for the first time, voted for a female president. So this is a really cool day.”

The Unwinnable Election

For other voters across California, this presidential election was unwinnable.

Voter after voter told Patch, the election was demoralizing. They said they voted for the lesser of two evils. Many said the tenor of this campaign damage the country home and abroad.

“It brought out the worst in people -- on both sides. I feel that no matter who wins, we didn’t win as a country," said Lenore Aldridge, 36, an investigator for San Diego County. "There’s gonna be a lot of divide afterwards. I won’t say who I voted for, but no matter who wins, it won’t be a great thing.”

Shon Hayes, a 42-year-old bus driver from, Mount Hope, San Diego agreed.

“I think it divided us. It made more matter worse,” said Hayes. Time for the healing part? It probably is going to take time. Probably one to two years, regardless of who wins.”

“It’s been interesting like a boxing match,” said Treigh Mulvaney, 47, of Carmel Valley.

“I think it’s unfortunate that it’s made other countries -- I have friends in Canada and Europe and we’re kind of becoming a laughing stock because of how atrocious it’s been. But I think this election has been who you hate the least. I voted for Hillary. I think that she’s more stable of the two. I think if Donald won, he’d probably put good people in place but I just don’t respect him as a person. So for me, a lot of it came down to temperament."

Justin Nguyen, a 22-year-old recent college graduate from Tierrasanta, San Diego, said he voted for Clinton, “just because I think that Trump isn’t very good, so I’m going with the lesser of two evils.”

The campaign, marked by Clinton characterizing her opponent as mentally unstable and Trump calling Clinton a criminal, brought out the worst in people, said Nguyen.

“I think that, for one thing, it polarized the country a lot. We have two different groups that are really against each other. Most people are voting for one person just because they hate the other person,” he added. “I think it’s spreading a lot of hate both ways.”

Ruben Bustamante, a 66-year-old retiree from Orange County, said he voted for Trump, but he doesn’t feel great about it.

“I voted for Trump because I don’t think we had a very good choice. It was a reluctant thing,” he said. “But i voted. So, at least, I have a voice.”

THE TRUMP EFFECT

For nearly three decades, California’s 55 electoral votes have been a forgone conclusion for the Democratic presidential candidate.

Clinton hasn’t had to campaign in California. Rather, the Golden State is where she fundraises, turning to wealthy donors in the Silicon Valley and the entertainment industry.

Polling gurus at FiveThirtyEight gave Clinton a greater than 99.9 percent chance of victory in the Golden State.

But while the state’s coastal and urban centers delivered decades of victories to the Democrats, a wide swath of suburban counties voted reliably Republican. Increasing diversity and demographic shifts, however, have slowly eroded the Republican hold on those counties with experts predicting that Trump would speed up that shift by repelling the college-educated white voters who were once the bedrock of conservative support.

Chapman University’s Political Science Professor Fred Smoller predicted in June that Orange County, California’s most reliably conservative county, will go for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump.

“I predict that for the first time since 1936, Orange County will support the Democrat - Hillary Clinton,” he said.

Conservative business leaders who hold sway in Orange County politics aren’t comfortable with Trump or his effect on trade, said Smoller. With more than half the county's precincts reporting early Wednesday morning, Orange County, indeed seemed to be leaning blue with Clinton holding a narrow lead in California's most conservative county.

The question for many is whether such a shift would signal the demise of the Republican stronghold in suburbia, or is it merely the so-called Trump effect, in which unusual numbers of women and college educated whites were repelled by Trump in California?

For clues, poll watchers looked to down-ballot races such as California’s 49th Congressional election, which Ballotpedia declared one of 23 battleground districts nationwide in Democrats’ longshot battle for control of Congress.

Darrell Issa (R-Vista) has held the seat since 2000. The district includes northwestern San Diego County and southern Orange County, which was once ground zero for the birther movement. Before this wild election year, the district was consistently out of reach for Democrats. Issa antagonized President Barack Obama from his perch on a Congressional oversight committee, spearheaded the Benghazi hearings and embraced Trump.

But Obama is looking for payback, even mocking Issa at a La Jolla fundraiser.

“This is now a guy who, because poll numbers are bad, has sent out brochures with my picture on them touting his cooperation on issues with me,” Obama said. “That is the definition of chutzpah.” He also called the move "shameless."

Going into Tuesday, Polls showed Issa in the tightest race of his career, and Trump could be hurting.

"As it turns out, it's possible to be the wealthiest member of Congress and still run a very poor campaign. Issa, the former House Oversight chair, has cruised to reelection over a decade, but recently he's been a high-profile Trump booster in a rapidly changing, well-educated district where Trump is toxic," wrote nonpartisan analysts at The Cook Political Report.

But, much like Trump, Issa appeared to be defying the experts to hold onto his seat, according to early returns. With just under half the precints counted Wednesday morning, he led with 52 percent to Applegate's 48 percent.

HARRIS VS. SANCHEZ

When all the votes are tallied, California Attorney General Kamala Harris is expected to make history as California's first female African American senator.

Harris took an early Tuesday night that continued to grow Wednedsay morning with 54 percent of the votes in, she held a commanding lead with 64 percent of the vote to Rep. Loretta Sanchez's 36 percent.

The battle is one of the most high-profile contests to pit Democrat against Democrat under the state's election law calling for runoffs between the top two primary election vote-getters from any party. It is also the first time California voters have had a chance to pick a new senator since 1992, when Boxer and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, were first voted into office.

Harris has also far outpaced Sanchez in spending, paying out more than $12 million of the $13.5 million her campaign had raised as of the most recent federal filings. Sanchez spent about a quarter of that, $3.1 million, to sway voters.

The contest has been a colorful one, with Sanchez grabbing attention for "dabbing" at the end of the candidates' only debate, held at Cal State Los Angeles Oct. 5. The hip-hop move is more often seen on the dance floor or in the end zone of a football field and seemed to draw more criticism than cheers. Harris picked up endorsements from Boxer and Feinstein the following morning.

The attorney general is also backed in her bid by more than a dozen other members of Congress as well as President Barack Obama and Gov. Jerry Brown.

Sanchez has the support of at least 22 of her California colleagues in the House and a dozen members of the state Legislature.

HIGH STAKES BALLOT MEASURE

California won’t be the first state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, but it’s likely to become the largest, and that is why all eyes are on Proposition 64.

Proposition 64 appears to be coasting to victory. With a little more than half the votes counted Wednesday morning, Proposition 64 was passing with 56 percent of the vote.

Its passage is expected to pave the way for a marijuana industry the likes of which this nation has never seen. Within just a few years, the legalization of marijuana in California is expected to bring in $1 billion in annual tax revenue alone.

Proponents tout that the extra tax revenue and reduced criminal justice costs will fill state coffers and reign in the failed war on Drugs.

Opponents -- including Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. -- argue that legalizing marijuana will lead to a sharp increase in highway fatalities and impaired driving, noting there is no current standard for determining if a driver is "impaired" by marijuana. They also argue the measure would permit marijuana farms near schools and public parks and will lead to a proliferation of "pot shops," particularly in inner-city communities.

THE DEATH PENALTY SURVIVES

Executions have been on hold in California for a decade. With dueling Propositions 62 and 66, voters were asked to either put an end to the death penalty or speed up executions.

The polls shifted with respect to the death penalty, and there is some evidence that voters are confused by two dueling measures on the same issue.

With more than half the ballots counted, Proposition 62, the measure to repeal the death penalty, appeared headed toward defeat early Wednesday morning, going down 54 percent to 46 percent. Conversely, Proposition 66, the "mend don't end" death penalty measure was holding on o a narrow victory with 51 percent of the vote.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES

With the potential to become one of the the most expensive ballot measure campaigns in California history, Proposition 61 is being watched by activists and legislators around the country because it takes on big pharmaceutical companies directly in an effort to curb drug company price gouging.

Few on either side of the debate would argue that it doesn’t hurt consumers when pharmaceutical companies drive up the price of life-saving drugs. But California voters went into the election evenly split on whether Proposition 61 prescribes the cure. According to The Field Poll, voters were evenly split at 47 percent for and against the measure, which would prohibit the state from paying more than the lowest price paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for prescription drugs.

Proponents argued it could keep the cost of life-saving medicine down while also saving taxpayers millions. But it’s a gambit that could backfire if drug companies respond by simply raising the price that veterans pay for medicine, critics said. It was championed by progressives such as Bernie Sanders and opposed by the Republican Party.

With more than half the votes tallied early Wednesday, the measure appeared headed toward failure with only 46 percent of the vote compared to 54 percent against it.

BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR BULLETS

Already home to the nation’s strictest gun laws, California seems likely to carry it a step further with the passage of Proposition 63, which will require background checks for the purchase of ammunition. It will also ban large-capacity magazines and make it a felony to steal a gun.

The measure coasted to victory by a margin of 63 percent to 37 percent of the vote with more than half the ballots counted early Wednesday morning.

City News Service and Patch Staffers Ashley Ludwig, Alexander Nguyen, Mark Nero, Autumn Johnson, Renee Schiavone and Bea Karnes contributed to this report. Photos by Renee Schiavone, Amy Spurgeon-Hoffman, Alexander Nguyen and Bea Karnes