Latest results for Legislature, props + First Gen Z lawmaker + Trump bails on climate accord
Good morning, let’s get into the news!
WHAT WE KNOW
The Associated Press called more contested races on Wednesday. Proposition 16, the proposal to reinstate affirmative action policies, failed. So did Proposition 25, the referendum on the 2018 California law that aimed to end the money bail system.
A couple close congressional races also are settled. Democratic Rep. Josh Harder won the 10th Congressional District around Modesto, and Republican Rep. Devin Nunes was declared the victor in the 22nd Congressional District around Fresno and Tulare.
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW
The following ballot measures have not been called:
- Proposition 15, the split roll property tax measure that would require commercial property worth more than $3 million to be assessed at market value.
- Proposition 14, the measure to to issue $5.5 billion in bonds for stem cell research.
- Proposition 18, the proposal to allow 17-year-olds to vote in primary election if they’ll be 18 by the general election.
- Proposition 19, the proposal to give Californians over age 55 a property tax break if they buy a new home.
Those legislative races have been called Wednesday:
- In Senate District 11, incumbent Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, won, as votes showed him leading with 59.1% of the vote, while challenger Jackie Fielder, also a Democrat, has 40.9%.
These legislative races remain tight as of Wednesday afternoon:
- In Assembly District 36, incumbent Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, has 54.9% of the vote, while Democrat Steve Fox has 45.1%.
- In Assembly District 42, incumbent independent Chad Mayes of Yucca Valley has 58.2% of the vote, while Republican Andrew Kotyuk has 41.8%.
- In Assembly District 55, incumbent Republican Phillip Chen holds 54.6% of the vote, while Democrat Andrew E. Rodriguez has 45.4%.
- In Assembly District 59, incumbent Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, has 58.7% of the vote, while fellow Democrat Efren Martinez has 41.3%.
- In Assembly District 68, incumbent Assemblyman Steven Choi, R-Irvine, has 52.2% of the vote, while Democrat Melissa Fox has 47.8%.
- In Senate District 21, incumbent Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, is up 50.1%, while Democratic challenger Kipp Mueller has 49.9% of the vote so far.
- In Senate District 23 in San Bernardino County, Democrat Abigail Medina has 50% of the vote, as Republican Rosilicie Ochoa-Bogh. They’re competing for an open seat held by Sen. Mike Morrell, R-Rancho Cucamonga.
- In Senate District 29, Democratic challenger Josh Newman has 51.6% of the vote, while incumbent Sen. Ling Ling Chang, R-Diamond Bar, has 48.4%.
- In Senate District 37, Democratic challenger Dave Min has 51.9% of the vote, while incumbent Sen. John Moorlach, R-Costa Mesa, has 48.1%.
CALIFORNIA’S FIRST GEN Z LAWMAKER
Alex Lee, 25, D-Santa Clara, won a seat in the state Assembly, and in doing so has made history.
Lee is the first Generation Z member of the Legislature, the youngest Asian American and the first openly bisexual.
“I’m deeply grateful to the diverse communities of Assembly District 25,” Lee said in a statement. “The significance of our victory is part of a bigger, progressive movement ready to fight for a better future for all of us.”
Lee’s campaign was the recipient of several high profile endorsements, including former Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders and Andrew Yang.
Lee, a graduate of Milpitas High School and an alum of UC Davis, previously worked for Sen. Henry Stern and Assemblyman Evan Low.
TRUMP PULLS THE PLUG ON PARIS CLIMATE ACCORD
While all eyes are on the electoral college today, President Donald Trump’s efforts to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord were finalized.
Trump has long been critical of the Paris Accord, which is an agreement between members of the United Nations to combat climate change. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo filed the paperwork in November 2019, and per United Nations rules, the withdrawal was finalized exactly one year later, on Nov. 4, the day after the election. Former Vice President Joe Biden has been critical of Trump’s withdrawal and has vowed to reenter the agreement on his first day in office, should he win the presidency.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has spent the last four years fighting almost all of the Trump administration’s attempts to curb environmental regulations. On Wednesday, Becerra said Trump’s decision to withdraw from the accord was the “spark that ignited his administration’s destructive, anti-science agenda.”
“For four years, we’ve fought tooth and nail against the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle critical protections and reverse hard-fought progress,” he said in a statement. “There’s no time to waste. Unprecedented wildfires, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes are battering our communities. At this critical juncture in history, we need leaders who step up and propose solutions. The future of our children on this planet depends on it.”
Climate change came to the forefront this summer as historic wildfires ravaged the state. While Gov. Gavin Newsom says the president has been supportive, sending aid and resources to combat the fire when needed, Trump has refused to acknowledge a link between the wildfires and climate change. At a September meeting with Newsom and California officials, Trump insisted the state needed to clean up its forest floors, and when confronted about increasing temperatures due to climate change, the president said “It’ll start getting cooler, just you watch.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“ICYMI, California actually had an election that was truly Nguyen-Nguyen:
#AD72 (Orange County) results:
Janet Nguyen (R) 53.6%
Deidre Nguyen (D) 46.4%”
- That groaner was brought to you courtesy of KCBS’ Doug Sovern, via Twitter.
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