What happened in the California election while you were sleeping

Millions of Californians turned out in voting that ended Tuesday to conclude a wild primary season marked by unprecedented campaign spending, the cratering of a former congressmember and Democratic voters sitting on their ballots waiting for a frontrunner to emerge.

At different points, it appeared that two candidates from the same party could advance to the general election. But so far early returns show that Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra are in position to face one another in November — as long as their leads hold.

Liberal billionaire Tom Steyer is in third, but not out of the running yet.

• Steyer: “We’re going to wait until every ballot is counted. We’re going to give democracy time to work.”

Several Democrats conceded, including one-time frontrunner Katie Porter. 

• Porter: “Running a race like this isn’t easy, and coming up short is hard, but democracy is worth doing hard things for. Stay in the fight, stay in touch, and thank you for believing in me.” 

As for the other statewide offices, preliminary results show:

• Lieutenant governor: Democrat Fiona Ma and Republican Gloria Romero are leading
• Insurance commissioner: Democrats Jane Kim and Ben Allen are leading
• Superintendent of public instruction: Chino Valley Unified school board president Sonja Shaw and San Diego Unified school board member Richard Barrera are leading
• Treasurer: Democrat Eleni Kounalakis advances and could face Republican Jennifer Hawks

Democratic incumbents Attorney General Rob Bonta, Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Controller Malia Cohen also advanced to November. They will face GOP challengers Michael Gates, Don Wagner and Herb Morgan, respectively.

What’s it all mean? Check out these election takeaways from our Ben Christopher.

And, for more details, including who is leading in the race for California’s Board of Equalization — the nation’s only elected tax board — check out the election results here.

California’s Proposition 50 made the state’s congressional districts less competitive between the parties, but there will be plenty of drama in the months ahead as politicians adjust to the new maps.

That initiative gerrymandered congressional districts in favor of Democrats, and left the state with only two races that are expected to be competitive between the parties, writes CalMatters’ Maya C. Miller.

One is in the Central Valley, where GOP incumbent Rep. David Valadao will advance to November. But his two Democratic challengers — Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains and progressive political newcomer Randy Villegas — remain in the running for second.

The other hot race is in San Diego, where San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, a Republican, and San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, a Democrat, will advance to the general election.

Several other races have interesting plotlines, including ones in which Democrats face Democrats and Republicans face Republicans in November:

• District 7: In a district that includes parts of Sacramento, longtime incumbent Democratic Rep. Doris Matsui could face her first serious challenge in her 20-year congressional career from fellow Democrat Mai Vang, a Sacramento City Councilmember.
• District 11: In the race to succeed House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, state Sen. Scott Wiener could face San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, who Pelosi endorsed.
• District 6: In March, Rep. Kevin Kiley left the GOP to switch districts and run as an independent in the suburban Sacramento district. Kiley is leading the race, with GOP candidate Michael Stansfield and former state Sen. Richard Pan, a Democrat, following behind.
• District 40: California’s longest-serving congressional Republican, Rep. Ken Calvert, is poised to clash with fellow GOP Rep. Young Kim to represent the Inland Empire district that was reshaped after Prop. 50.
• District 1: In California’s rural north, former Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher and former Senate President Pro Tem Mike Mcguire will be on the November ballot.

Read more.

From CalMatters politics reporter Kate Wolffe:

The entire state Assembly and half of the state Senate is also up for election. 

A few hours after polls closed, dozens of races had been called, the top two finishers identified for the general election. Unsurprisingly, early results suggest that Democrats are likely to hold onto their majority. Other districts are likely to be close for a while.

In the purple Sierra foothills region of California’s 4th Senate District, incumbent Marie Alvarado-Gil, a Democrat-turned-Republican, trailed behind Republican farmer Alexandra Duarte and Tuolumne County Supervisor Jaron Brandon, a Democrat. 

Assembly Republican Leader Heath Flora lost support from key GOP groups in his district, including the Republican Party of Stanislaus County and longtime U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock. But Flora maintained a small lead in election returns over Democrat Matthew Adams, a teacher. Republican challenger Jim Shoemaker, a trucker, closely followed the two in returns. 

And in a bellwether race in San Diego, Republican Kristie Bruce-Lane had an edge over fellow GOP-er Ed Musgrove to run against Democrat Mara Elliot. The race for the Senate’s 40th District represented a rift between two factions of the Republican party, with establishment Republicans backing Musgrove and Republican firebrand Carl DeMaio supporting Bruce-Lane.

Read more from CalMatters’ Yue Stella Yu.

Following CalMatters’ License to Kill investigative series, eight of the 17 bills state lawmakers proposed this year that would strengthen DUI laws and crack down on reckless driving move forward through the Legislature. Some of the surviving bills have advanced further than similar measures previously introduced. Read more from CalMatters’ Andrew Donohue.