- Californians voted for some GOP-backed propositions and towards some liberal ones.
- They voted in favor of elevated prison penalties and appeared poised to reject a minimal wage hike.
- Different blue states confirmed vital rightward motion on Election Day.
Even the bluest states within the US weren’t immune from a big move to the right on Election Day
That was evident in California, probably the most populous US state, which has voted Democratic in each presidential election since 1988. Effectively-known for its liberal politics, California has typically drawn the ire of Republican politicians and a few pro-business billionaires reminiscent of Elon Musk. Musk moved Tesla to Texas in 2021 and mentioned this 12 months he would additionally transfer X and SpaceX out of California, citing legal guidelines that he mentioned assault “households and firms.”
“Paradise Misplaced” is how Donald Trump, now president-elect, referred to California throughout a marketing campaign cease within the Coachella Valley final month, including: “Whether or not you are a Democrat, Republican or impartial, this election is your likelihood to ship a message to the world, the individuals of California should not going to take it any longer.”
Whereas Vice President Kamala Harris simply gained California over Trump, a more in-depth take a look at the numbers and votes on the state and native stage tells a extra nuanced story than the progressive repute the Golden State has earned.
California voted for elevated prison penalties and towards lease management
California overwhelmingly voted to extend penalties for sure drug and theft crimes regardless of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s opposition to the measure, which he known as a step again towards “mass incarceration.” Round 70% voted in favor of the proposition as of Friday.
Voters additionally rejected a proposition giving native governments extra energy to enact lease management, with 61% voting towards it. Landlords, realtors, and a few pro-housing teams opposed the measure, however the California Democratic Get together, tenant teams, and a few unions supported it.
Although the races had not been known as as of Friday, voters in California appeared poised to reject two propositions supported by liberal teams: elevating the state’s minimum wage and outlawing pressured labor in prisons.
California voters did, nonetheless, vote to enshrine a state constitutional proper to marry no matter intercourse or race and to subject bonds for pure useful resource conservation.
Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Occasions/Getty Pictures
Native races additionally steered a transfer to the center
Incumbent San Francisco Mayor London Breed misplaced reelection to Daniel Lurie, a reasonable Democrat and political outsider. Lurie, inheritor to Levi Strauss, spent greater than $8 million of his personal cash on his marketing campaign.
Although Lurie is a Democrat, he acquired the help of some Republican teams in San Francisco who’ve criticized Breed’s dealing with of crime, drug use, and homelessness within the metropolis. The San Francisco Republican Get together had Lurie and candidate Mark Farrell as their high picks for mayor.
In Los Angeles County, voters rejected incumbent District Lawyer George Gascón, a prosecutor recognized for being among the many most progressive within the nation. Gascón was elected within the wake of the 2020 racial justice protests.
Los Angeles voters as a substitute elected former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, a former Republican who ran as an impartial and has promised to roll again Gascón’s insurance policies, which he mentioned made it troublesome to fight crime.
Different indicators California was turning extra crimson
Earlier than Election Day, there have been some indicators the state’s citizens had shifted to the correct. A survey by the Public Coverage Institute of California mentioned the variety of registered Democrats this 12 months was about the identical as 2020, whereas the share of registered Republicans elevated by a number of hundred thousand.
Although the share of Californians switching events from Democrat to Republican was small, the PPIC discovered it was commonest amongst Black, Latino, and youthful voters — all groups Trump picked up support with somewhere else as nicely.
California remains to be tallying its votes, so precisely how a lot the presidential vote modified from 2020 to 2024 is unclear. As of Friday, with round 63% of the vote counted, it appeared some inland counties have been poised to flip from blue to crimson.
Different blue states with a better share of their vote counted as of Friday additionally confirmed a constant pattern to the correct.
Harris simply gained Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Maryland — however by considerably smaller margins than President Joe Biden gained them by in 2020.