ROHNERT PARK-COTATI, 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. Rohnert Park and Cotati voters will choose congressional and state Assembly representatives on Nov. 3, along with local officials in contests determined by city and district boundaries.
Scroll down for real-time Sonoma County election results.
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. [Find your county's registration stats here on page 17 of the Secretary of State's report].
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.
Early election returns Tuesday showed leads for Mike Thompson, Jackie Elward and Joanna Paun, while Linda Tams held an 18-vote edge in Rohnert Park's District 2 council race.
The county reported 91,207 ballots counted, representing 28.39% of registered voters, with none of its 32 vote centers reporting yet as of 8:12 p.m. Results remain preliminary.
U.S. House, District 4 — Democratic incumbent Mike Thompson led fellow Democrat Eric Jones among Sonoma County voters, 55.88% to 44.12%. The congressional district covers both Rohnert Park and Cotati. These totals cover only the Sonoma County portion of the district.
California Assembly, District 12 — Rohnert Park Councilmember Jackie Elward led Marin County Supervisor Eric Lucan among Sonoma County voters, 61.19% to 38.81%.
Both are Democrats competing for the open seat held by Damon Connolly. These totals cover only the Sonoma County portion of the Assembly district.
County Supervisor, District 2 — Cotati and part of Rohnert Park: Joanna Paun led Sylvia Lemus, 9,646 votes to 5,938, or 61.90% to 38.10%, in the race to succeed David Rabbitt.
Rohnert Park City Council, District 2 — Linda Tams led with 459 votes, or 38.19%, followed by Paul Carey with 441 votes, or 36.69%. Michael DeSimone had 302 votes, or 25.12%.
Rohnert Park City Council, District 5 — Incumbent Susan Hollingsworth Adams led with 575 votes, or 52.75%. Mauricio Barreto had 383 votes, or 35.14%, and Arlene G. Linder had 132 votes, or 12.11%.
Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School Board, Trustee Area 1 — Angela Marie Scardina led with 810 votes, or 53.18%. Incumbent Leff Brown had 560 votes, or 36.77%, and Nathan Toister had 153 votes, or 10.05%. Voting was limited to residents of Trustee Area 1.
Sonoma County Board of Education, Trustee Area 2 — Jonathan Lenz led Caitlin Quinn, 7,339 votes to 6,820, or 51.83% to 48.17%. Only residents of the trustee area voted in the contest.
Cotati had no City Council contest on the ballot: The city canceled its municipal election after only Kimberlyn Moffet and Ryan Long qualified for the two available seats.
Early returns showed support above the required approval thresholds for county parks and community college funding, as well as Rohnert Park's city sales tax measure.
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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