2010 CA Statewide Election Results Summary

Here are the results from the 2010 Statewide General Election in California.

Proposition         MadProfessah    California
19 (Marijuana)      YES             NO  45-55
20 (Redistricting)  NO              YES 64-36
21 (State Parks)    YES             NO  41-59 
22 (Local Funds)    NO              YES 63-37 
23 (Suspends AB-32) NO              NO  41-59  

24 (Ends Tax Cuts)   YES             NO  40-60 

25 (Majority Vote)   YES             YES 54-46

26 (2/3 Fee Vote)   NO              YES 55-45   

27 (Undoes Prop 11) YES             NO  40-60

Statewide Races        MadProfessah California
Governor               Brown        Brown    

U.S. Senator           Boxer*       Boxer*   
Lieutenant Governor    Newsom       Newsom   
Attorney General       Harris       Cooley 
Secretary of State     Bowen*       Bowen*  
Treasurer              Lockyer*     Lockyer* 

Controller             Chiang*      Chiang*  
Insurance Commissioner Jones        Jones       
Supt. of Public Inst.  Torlakson    Torlakson

I'm very happy about Boxer and Brown winning but verklempt that the Democrats were not able to shut out Republican Steve Cooley from a statewide constitutional office.

UPDATE 11/03/2010 07:01am:
The attorney general race may not be over, folks! With 96.2% of precincts counted the totals are:

Peter Allen         GRN 180,931      2.6%
Steve Cooley        REP 3,182,605    45.5%
Robert J. Evans     PF 113,512       1.6%
Timothy J. Hannan   LIB 175,223      2.5%
Kamala D. Harris    DEM 3,222,987    46.1%
Diane Beall Templin AI 120,550       1.7%

If Haris holds on, it means Prop 8 will definitely not be appealed by the state of California, and she will be the first African-American person elected statewide in over 32 years! Go, girl!

CA-GOV: Whitman Endorses Brown For Governor!

WATCH: Jerry Brown's campaign started airing this ad today, one week before the election. An amazing "own goal" by Meg Whitman where she clearly endorses the job Jerry Brown did as Governor.



I think that basically seals the deal for Governor Brown!

CA-GOV: Whitman Reaches $160M; Now Losing By Double Digits

Phew! The California gubernatorial election between Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown appears to be all over but the screaming. Early voting has been going on for nearly two weeks, and in that time period the Democratic candidate has just continued to increase his lead, with the latest from the Los Angeles Times/USC poll showing a 52%-39% lead among likely voters with a margin of error of ±3.2 percentage points.

The led has been gaining despite the vast, "obscene" amounts of money billionaire Whitman has been pouring into her campaign to buy the governorship of California.

Even the Wall Street Journal is noticing:

Jerry Brown's widening lead in California's gubernatorial race might not be so surprising under other circumstances. The Democratic candidate has a respectable political pedigree and the backing of labor and other liberal groups.

But Mr. Brown, a former California governor and the state's current attorney general, is pulling away from an opponent who has outspent him by more than $130 million, much of it her own money.

Last week, Republican Meg Whitman chipped in another $20 million to her gubernatorial campaign, bringing her total investment to $142 million. This week, though, she slipped further behind Mr. Brown, who held a 44%-to-36% advantage among likely voters in an Oct. 20 survey by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California.

The failure of Ms. Whitman's funding advantage to produce even a slight lead has stumped many political experts.

In Whitman's latest ad, she seems to acknowledge California voters don't like Meg very much. The Journal points out that she has outspent her opponent by over $130 million, a total of $163 million, with $142 million donated by herself, to herself.

CA-GOV: Whitman Hit Hard On Maid Controversy in Spanish Ad

The translation via Huffington Post:

Meg Whitman says she's a different kind of Republican...

But Pete Wilson is in charge of her campaign.

Whitman attacks undocumented workers to win votes, but an undocumented woman worked in her home for nine years.

She says she'll create jobs - but wants to eliminate forty-thousand state jobs, including teachers and nurses.

Whitman says one thing in Spanish --- and something different in English.

The real Meg Whitman has no shame.

She's a two-faced woman

Ouch!

CA-GOV: Brown Leads Whitman In Latest Polls

The latest polls in the California gubernatorial race have shown small leads for former Governor and current Attorney General Jerry Brown over his Republican challenger, billionaire Meg Whitman, although this recent surge is still not to overcome Whitman's former edge in most pollster averages of the race.

The recent poll change reflects the pretty horrible last few days that Whitman has had, well-documented by my friend Dante Atkins at DailyKos.com.

This race is probably the number one priority for MadProfessah. If Brown wins, he will definitely not participate in any Proposition 8, while Whitman has said she would defend the gay marriage ban in court.

CA-GOV: Meg's Bid Up To $119 Million (Most Ever)

Billionaire Meg Whitman, the Republican candidate for Governor, has now used $119 million of her vast wealth in her attempt to become the next Governor of California, the most any self-funded candidate for any office has ever spent.

After giving her campaign another $15 million Tuesday, the Republican former eBay Inc. chief executive has now spent $119 million in the Golden State race. (You can view her campaign-finance records here.) Bloomberg spent $110 million of his own money to win a third term as New York City’s mayor last year.

Whitman’s Democratic opponent, former California governor and current state attorney generalJerry Brown, has attacked the Republican’s lavishness. Brown spokesman Sterling Cliffordsaid Whitman is running a campaign that believes “money can make up for truth or fresh ideas.”

“She’s going to set the record for most money spent in a losing campaign,” Clifford said.

We'll see. Whitman currently leads her Democratic opponent, Jerry Brown, by an average of 46.5% to 44.1% according to TalkingPointsMemo.com.

CA-GOV, CA-SEN: SurveyUSA Shows Republican Leads

SurveyUSA, the automated polling outfit, has polled the California gubernatorial and senatorial races and found leads for Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina, respectively.

California: Fiorina and Boxer Still in Tight Fight; Whitman Narrowly Atop Brown; Some Traction for Those Opposed to Legal Weed: Incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer remains locked in a tight fight with Republican challenger Carly Fiorina, according to this latest SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for KABC-TV Los Angeles, KPIX-TV San Francisco, KGTV-TV San Diego, and KFSN-TV Fresno. 3 identical SurveyUSA tracking polls have shown the contest within the theoretical margin of sampling error, though, in all 3 cases, the Republican has been nominally ahead, confounding many observers and, for now, preserving the possibility of a take-away. Today, it's Fiorina 48%, Boxer 46%. There is movement, or perhaps statistical noise, among Hispanic voters.

In the contest for Governor of California, it's Republican Meg Whitman 47%, Democrat Jerry Brown 40% today. Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll 3 weeks ago, Whitman is up 3, Brown is down 3. But, compared to a SurveyUSA poll 7 weeks ago: no change. Among men, the race has been flat since polling began in July, with Whitman at 50% in each poll, and Brown at 35% to 37%. Among women, more volatility, with Brown 13 points atop Whitman 3 weeks ago, but tied with the former eBay CEO both 7 weeks ago and today.

Opposition to Proposition 19, which would legalize marijuana and allow for its regulation and taxation, has grown. Two previous SurveyUSA polls both showed the measure passing by 10 points; today: 47% vote Yes to legalize, 43% vote No. Women, older voters, minorities, and Central Valley voters have all moved toward "No." Support remains above 50% among men, younger voters, whites, Democrats, liberals and moderates, and in the Bay Area.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, remains nominally ahead in the contest for Lieutenant Governor, where incumbent Republican Republican Abel Maldonado may have lost a couple of points compared to 3 weeks ago. Today it's Newsom 44% to Maldonado 39%. There is movement among men.

If Republicans are leading in Democrat-dominated California, progressives are in for a really, really bad NOvember.

90th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage: Why Didn't Meg Vote?

CA-GOV: Race Gets Hotter

The race to be elected the next Governor of California gets hotter and hotter. Jerry Brown leads Meg Whitman, barely, in most recent polls.

CA-GOV: Jerry Brown's First Ad

Jerry Brown Turns 72 Today

Happy 72nd Birthday, Jerry Brown!

CA-GOV: New Polls Show Tight Brown v Whitman Race

Recent polls show that billionaire Republican Meg Whitman running even or ahead of presumptive Democratic gubenatorial nominee Jerry Brown.

(Field Poll)
March 2010 (January '10, October '09)
Whitman 46 (36, 29)
Brown 43 (46, 50)
Undecided 11 (18, 21)

(Rasmussen)

	February 15, 2010	March 15, 2010
Meg Whitman (R)	43%	40%
Jerry Brown (D)	43%	40%
Some other candidate	6%	6%
Not sure	8%	14%

Really, California? Are you going to let a political novice buy the governorship of the country's largest state?

CA-GOV: Jerry Brown Is Running for Governor

Ending one of the worst-kept secrets in California politics, Jerry Brown will announce on Tuesday that he is running for Governor of California, a job he has been elected to twice before, in 1974 and 1978.

Brown, an enigmatic political figure whose father, Pat Brown, also served two terms as governor, is seeking to regain the state's top job near the end of a long political career. He has won elections to the posts of secretary of state and Oakland mayor, besides his current job; waged three failed presidential runs and lost a bid for Senate. Brown has also served as the state Democratic Party chairman.

Though he had been plotting this run for two years, Brown had resisted making it official while two would-be Republican contenders have openly battled for their party's nod. The winner of that primary contest in June, whether it be former EBay chief Meg Whitman or California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, will have substantial personal wealth with which Brown will have to contend in the general election.

Brown is currently 71 years old.

UPDATED 03/02/2010 02:29PM
Jerry Brown has released a video explaining his candidacy. I especially like "An insider's knowledge and an outsider's mind."

CA-GOV: Poll Shows Whitman and Brown Tied

A February 15th telephone poll of 500 California "likely voters" by Rasmussen has Republican Meg Whitman and former Democratic Governor Jerry Brown tied at 43 percent support each, with a margin of error of 4.5 points. Brown leads the other Republican challenger, Steve Poizner, 46% to 34%.

Brown, who is currently California's Attorney General, has not officially announced his gubernatorial candidacy but he is the only prominent California Democrat left, especially with Senator Dianne Feinstein expressing her desire not to join the race in no uncertain terms.

CA-GOV: Whitman Dumps Another $20 MILLION In

Republican gubernatorial candidate stunned political observers by donating another $20 million to her campaign this week, leaving her with $30.9 million cash on hand and bringing the total amount of money she has spent towards becoming the next governor of California to $39 million. And she has yet to air a single television ad, spending almost $19 million on radio ads.

Whitman has said she is wlling to spend the Bloombergian sum of $100 million of her estimated $1.4 billion in order to succeed Arnold Schwarzenegger.

NY Gov Issues Order Protecting Public Employees On Gender Identity

Governor David Paterson of New York signed executive order No. 33 protecting state employees from discrimination based on gender identity on Wednesday.

The New York Times said:

Though state antidiscrimination law includes gay men and lesbians, it is silent on the issue of transgender people. And while Mr. Paterson’s order will not have the sweep of a statute enacted by the State Legislature because it will apply only to state agencies, gay and transgender rights advocates said it would be a first step toward including gender identity and expression protections in state law.

Advocates for transgender people have succeeded in winning broad antidiscrimination protections in a number of cities throughout the state, including New York, Buffalo, Albany and Rochester. But efforts to add similar protections to state law have so far fallen short. The Assembly has passed a transgender antidiscrimination bill, but the Senate has refused to vote on the issue.

Human Rights Campaign provided background information on the move:

An executive order prohibiting discrimination in state employment is the furthest extent to which any governor is able to exercise his or her executive power. Extending protections to private employees must be accomplished by the state legislature. New York joins eight other states in which an executive order, administrative order, or personnel regulation prohibits discrimination against public employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity: Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

In addition, twelve states and the District of Columbia prohibit full employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity: California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. Nine more states, including New York, prohibit employment discrimination based only on sexual orientation. For an electronic map showing where employment non-discrimination stands in the states, please visit: www.HRC.org/State_Laws.

Now, the Governor says that the New York State Senate should hurry up and pass GENDA already (which would add gender identity or expression to the list of categories which private employers are prohibited from practicing discrimination).

Hat/tip Rod 2.0.

CA-GOV: Poizner Dumps $15M Into Own Campaign

Republican Steve Poizner tried to revive his struggling campaign for the Republican gubernatorial nomination by injecting $15 million dollars into the faltering effort to succeed the Governator.

With his recent self-financing, State Insurance Commissioner Poizner has matched the $19 million his main rival former eBay CEO and fellow billionaire Meg Whitman has given to her quest to become Governor of California in her inaugural foray into electoral politics.

When Whitman poured $15 million into her campaign in July, Poizner spokesman Jarrod Agen criticized her, saying, "This election isn't an eBay auction, and you can't win by outbidding your opponent."

But Poizner has struggled to gain traction with six months to go before the June primary. He ranked third in the latest Field Poll with support from just 9 percent of likely voters, compared with 22 percent for Whitman and 20 percent for a third candidate, former South Bay Rep. Tom Campbell.

Poizner's cash infusion "will quiet whispers in political circles that he wasn't serious about the race," said Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California.

By all means, knock yourselves out trying to get the nomination, Meg, Steve and Tom! Jerry Brown will be tanned, rested and ready!

Arnold Picks Rep. Senator To Replace Dem. Lt. Gov.

Photo Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

It's all about Lieutenant Governors today! Since California Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi won the 10th Congressional District race on November 3rd and was sworn in a few days later, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has the opportunity to choose a replacement, which he announced yesterday will be Republican State Senator Abel Maldonado.

Yesterday, MadProfessah attended a forum where the two leading Democratic contenders for Lieutenant Govenor in the June 2010 primary, Los Angeles City Councilperson (15th District) Janice Hahn and State Senator Dean Florez appeared at the monthly Stonewall Democratic Club meeting.

Before they spoke, SDC President John Cleary asked both candidates their view about the Maldonado appointment. Florez said that as someone who will be voting on the matter in the State Legislature within 90 days, he opposed the nomination, primarily because he didn't see why they should allow a Republican governor to replace a Democratic state constitutional officeholder with a Republican. Janice Hahn gave a non-commital response, but both Hahn and Florez thought that either of them could defeat State Senator Jeff Denham, the only Republican who has announced he is running for Lieutenant Governor.

At Calitics, progressive activists received the Governor's creation of State Senate vacancy in a Republican held but Democratic leaning seat with glee:

I am one happy camper. This is perhaps the best news progressives AND Democrats have gotten in this state all year long. I live in SD-15, and Abel Maldonado is, sadly, my State Senator. He is a joke of a Senator, a "moderate" politician when it is convenient for him, a conservative one generally speaking. He only won re-election last year because he and Don Perata cut a terrible deal in 2007, where Perata promised to stop a Democratic primary challenge in exchange for his vote on that budget deal.

But more importantly, this seat - SD-15 - is one of the two seats we need to reach 2/3rds in the State Senate. And like SD-12, it is a majority Democratic seat. The current registration numbers are 41% Dem, 34.5% Rep, and 23% DTS. Arnold Schwarzenegger has just created a huge and invaluable opening for us to break the Zombie Death Cult grip on the State Senate.

Florez referenced the debate on Calitics during his remarks at the SDC forum. It would really be great to have a 2/3rds Democratic majority in the State Senate, but we would still be four seats shy in the 80 seat State Assembly from a 2/3rds Democratic majority in the lower house.

The correct solution is to change the insane 2/3rds requirement for passage of a budget and taxes by enacting the California Democracy Act: "All legislative actions on revenue and budget must be determined by a majority vote."

I signed a petition to have these fourteen words appear on the November 2010 ballot, and I hope you will too.

CA-GOV: Gavin Newsom Drops Out!

David Cannon / Getty Images

San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom sent an email to his supporters dropping out of the race for the California Democratic Party gubernatorial nomination:

It is with great regret I announce today that I am withdrawing from the race for governor of California. With a young family and responsibilities at city hall, I have found it impossible to commit the time required to complete this effort the way it needs to and should be done.

This is not an easy decision. But it is one made with the best intentions for my wife, my daughter, the residents of the city and county of San Francisco, and California Democrats.

When I embarked on this campaign in April, my goal was to engage thousands and thousands of Californians dedicated to reforming our broken system and bringing change to Sacramento.

I would like to thank those supporters, volunteers, and donors who have worked so hard on my behalf. I have been humbled by their support and am indebted to their efforts. They represent the spirit of change and determination essential to putting California back on the right track.

I will continue to fight for change and the causes and issues for which I care deeply - universal health care, a cleaner environment, and a green economy for our families, better education for our children, and, of course, equal rights under the law for all citizens.

Newsom's departure leaves the field wide open for Attorney general (and 2-time former Governor) Jerry Brown to run mainly uncontested. Will this give Dianne Feinstein something to think about? Or Loretta Sanchez?

CA-GOV: Brown Has Huge Lead In Field Poll

A recently released Field poll confirms that Jerry Brown is leading all his potential rivals for the California governorship.

Jerry Brown (D): 47
Gavin Newson (D): 27
Undecided: 26

Meg Whitman (R): 22
Tom Campbell (R): 20
Steve Poizner (R): 9
Undecided: 49
(MoE: ±4.5%)

Jerry Brown (D): 50
Meg Whitman (R): 29
Undecided: 21

Jerry Brown (D): 48
Tom Campbell (R): 27
Undecided: 25

Jerry Brown (D): 50
Steve Poizner (R): 25
Undecided: 25

Gavin Newsom (D): 40
Meg Whitman (R): 31
Undecided: 29

Gavin Newsom (D): 38
Tom Campbell (R): 33
Undecided: 29

Gavin Newsom (D): 39
Steve Poizner (R): 30
Undecided: 31
(MoE: ±3.2%)

This poll was conducted between September 18-October 6 and confirms the huge lead which was previously revealed in the Rasmussen poll.