Another Beautiful California Day – Democrats Roll to Victory In the Golden State

scran-postcard-sunny-california

The weather is generally so nice in California that one local wag made a habit of abbreviating his sentiments every morning as he took in the pleasant coolness at daybreak. “A.B.C.D.,” Glen Wilcox, my mother’s husband, would say — shorthand for, “Another Beautiful California Day.”

While the rest of the country reels from the results of an election bought and paid for by right-wing billionaires who spent hundreds of millions of dollars running ads in red states that shifted attention away from the Republicans’ dismal approval ratings and record of obstruction and ran instead against Pres. Obama — here in California, waking on Nov. 5 is just another beautiful day for Democrats.

Upon winning an unprecedented fourth term, Gov. Jerry Brown told reporters, “The world looks pretty troubled out there. The country is facing a lot of uncertainty. But here in California, where they called us a failed state, we’re now showing the way.”

All the Democrats running for statewide offices won, including [six] who bested Republican challengers by double digits: Gov. Brown won by 17 percentage points; Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom won a second term by beating California Republican Chairman Ron Nehring by 12 points; Attorney General Kamala Harris won by 13 points; Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones won by 12 points; and Treasurer John Chiang won by 15 points.

Closer races were won by Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who fended off a well-funded Republican who was endorsed by the Los Angeles Times, among others; and Controller Betty Yee, who was opposed by the popular mayor of Fresno, Ashley Swearengin, who was also endorsed by the Times. Two non-affiliated candidates for Superintendent of Public Instruction battled out a close race, with Tom Torkalson wining by 4 points.

All the results aren’t in yet from the races for the Legislature but Democrats have retained strong majorities in both houses: 24 Dems and 13 Republicans in the Senate, with two races yet to be called; and 45 Dems and 26 Republicans in the Assembly, with nine races not yet called.

In fact, the only cloud on the horizon here in California is that the Democrats may not have veto-proof majorities in the Legislature, which will give them the ability to stall and obstruct the progress the state has made.

Connect:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.