The 2014 primary season ends (Sept. 9: DE, MA, NH, NY, RI)

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

In early results for California, we have

Governor:
Brown 59.6%
Kashkari 16.0%
Donnelly 12.5%


Controller (crazy 4-way race with 2 Ds and 2 Rs):
Betty Yee 24.0%
Perez 21.8%
Evans 21.3%
Swearengin 21.2%

[ElectionsGuy]

Some counties in northern California are voting on whether to form 'Jefferson' state.

[Maxwell]

Politico finally calls it for King, who is currently ahead of Webber 35-23.

[Miles]

Brown is winning every county except for Modoc, where Donnelly leads.

[Morning in Atlas]

Yee pulls to 8200 votes out of second.

[Senate Minority Leader Lord Voldemort]

In early results for California, we have

Governor:
Brown 59.6%
Kashkari 16.0%
Donnelly 12.5%


Controller (crazy 4-way race with 2 Ds and 2 Rs):
Betty Yee 24.0%
Perez 21.8%
Evans 21.3%
Swearengin 21.2%

49.1% in...

The CA state GOP might not be out of this just yet, we might have a runoff between two Republicans!

Swearengin (R) 23.6%
Evans (R) 22.2%
Yee (D) 22.0%
Perez (D) 20.0%
Wells (G) 5.7%
Blair (D) 5.5%

The third wheel Democrat and Green candidate might suck enough votes from the two Dem frontrunners to put the two Republicans in the runoff.

[Miles]

Yee slides down to trailing by more than 9K.

[Miles]

Donnelly concedes.

Brown/Kashkari it is.

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

If there are two GOP candidates in the general for Controller in November, you can bet Perez is going to be eating some tough [inks] from the party.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

If there are two GOP candidates in the general for Controller in November, you can bet Perez is going to be eating some tough [inks] from the party.

If there are two, the California Democratic party needs to put their full forces behind repealing our idiotic top two system. The results are still early, but it's unsettling that 2 Republicans lead for the Controller race, and aren't far off from leading in CA-31 again.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Epic battle for 2nd place for CA Controller. The Democrats desperately need one of their candidates to secure a place on the November ballot.

   John A. Pérez
(Party Preference: DEM)
604,225   21.6%
   Betty T. Yee
(Party Preference: DEM)
604,959   21.6%
   David Evans
(Party Preference: REP)
611,382   21.8%

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Perez looks like he might take 2nd. It's 91.9% reporting statewide versus 87.9% in his home term of Los Angeles. However,  there's probably a million uncounted absentees. I voted for Yee.

   John A. Pérez
(Party Preference: DEM)
616,611   21.6%
   Betty T. Yee
(Party Preference: DEM)
613,739   21.5%
   David Evans
(Party Preference: REP)
620,955   21.8%

Note that first place is obviously

Ashley Swearengin
(Party Preference: REP)
695,852   24.4%

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

Perez looks like he might take 2nd. It's 91.9% reporting statewide versus 87.9% in his home term of Los Angeles. However,  there's probably a million uncounted absentees. I voted for Yee.

   John A. Pérez
(Party Preference: DEM)
616,611   21.6%
   Betty T. Yee
(Party Preference: DEM)
613,739   21.5%
   David Evans
(Party Preference: REP)
620,955   21.8%

Note that first place is obviously

Ashley Swearengin
(Party Preference: REP)
695,852   24.4%

With any luck those absentees will break Yee's way. I can live with Perez but only barely -- this whole race was just a huge power grab by him.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Perez looks like he might take 2nd. It's 91.9% reporting statewide versus 87.9% in his home term of Los Angeles. However,  there's probably a million uncounted absentees. I voted for Yee.

   John A. Pérez
(Party Preference: DEM)
616,611   21.6%
   Betty T. Yee
(Party Preference: DEM)
613,739   21.5%
   David Evans
(Party Preference: REP)
620,955   21.8%

Note that first place is obviously

Ashley Swearengin
(Party Preference: REP)
695,852   24.4%

With any luck those absentees will break Yee's way. I can live with Perez but only barely -- this whole race was just a huge power grab by him.

Agreed that Yee is the most qualified. Obviously with a possible million or so absentees, it will be still be too close to call this even once it hits 100% reporting.  However, I do think Perez is the most likely to win it. Here are the latest.

    John A. Pérez
(Party Preference: DEM)   624,843   
21.6%
    Betty T. Yee
(Party Preference: DEM)   620,834   
21.5%
    David Evans
(Party Preference: REP)   625,674   
21.6%

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

With 98.8% reporting Perez takes 2nd as predicted. Los Angeles is 97.4% reporting.

John A. Pérez
(Party Preference: DEM)   634,112   
21.7%
    Betty T. Yee
(Party Preference: DEM)   628,496   
21.5%
    David Evans
(Party Preference: REP)   633,074   
21.6%

[Senate Minority Leader Lord Voldemort]

With 98.8% reporting Perez takes 2nd as predicted. Los Angeles is 97.4% reporting.

John A. Pérez
(Party Preference: DEM)   634,112   
21.7%
    Betty T. Yee
(Party Preference: DEM)   628,496   
21.5%
    David Evans
(Party Preference: REP)   633,074   
21.6%

Wow! Perez made the runoff by about 2,400 votes out of nearly 3,000,000 cast.

[Miles]

Yep. Perez is still up with about 2400 with 100% in. Wow. And last night it looked like he would be the GOP's spoiler in this race.

[CatoMinor]

The fact that it came as close as it did to an all GOP election for Controller, perhaps the CA Democrats should start thinking about repealing their awful voting system.

[Maxwell]

Aren't the democrats the ones who put that system into place? It's hilarious they keep being screwed by it.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Yep. Perez is still up with about 2400 with 100% in. Wow. And last night it looked like he would be the GOP's spoiler in this race.

I'm not sure this is over yet. Absentee ballots dropped of on election day are generally not counted right away.

Aren't the democrats the ones who put that system into place? It's hilarious they keep being screwed by it.

It was a Proposition. The Democrats and Arnold did refer it to the voters as part of Republican Abel Maldonado's extortion for voting for a budget. Too bad that the Proposition reducing the 2/3rds majority to simple for passing a budget didn't pass a little earlier. I think all 6 political parties opposed the Proposition.

[Senate Minority Leader Lord Voldemort]

Yep. Perez is still up with about 2400 with 100% in. Wow. And last night it looked like he would be the GOP's spoiler in this race.

I'm not sure this is over yet. Absentee ballots dropped of on election day are generally not counted right away.

Aren't the democrats the ones who put that system into place? It's hilarious they keep being screwed by it.

It was a Proposition. The Democrats and Arnold did refer it to the voters as part of Republican Abel Maldonado's extortion for voting for a budget. Too bad that the Proposition reducing the 2/3rds majority to simple for passing a budget didn't pass a little earlier. I think all 6 political parties opposed the Proposition.

I think it's probably safe to say that Perez will make the runoff. Don't absentees tend to favor Democrats?

Schwarzenegger and Maldonado were the only two people who publicly backed prop 14 in 2010 to chance the primary system. The legislature had to stomach sending the prop to the voters as part of a compromise to get the budget through. Basically everyone prayed it wouldn't pass, but it did 53-47ish.

I thought it still took a 2/3 majority to pass a budget? No reason to change that rule since the legislature's majorities tend to be so lopsided anyway.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Yep. Perez is still up with about 2400 with 100% in. Wow. And last night it looked like he would be the GOP's spoiler in this race.

I'm not sure this is over yet. Absentee ballots dropped of on election day are generally not counted right away.

Aren't the democrats the ones who put that system into place? It's hilarious they keep being screwed by it.

It was a Proposition. The Democrats and Arnold did refer it to the voters as part of Republican Abel Maldonado's extortion for voting for a budget. Too bad that the Proposition reducing the 2/3rds majority to simple for passing a budget didn't pass a little earlier. I think all 6 political parties opposed the Proposition.

I think it's probably safe to say that Perez will make the runoff. Don't absentees tend to favor Democrats?

Schwarzenegger and Maldonado were the only two people who publicly backed prop 14 in 2010 to chance the primary system. The legislature had to stomach sending the prop to the voters as part of a compromise to get the budget through. Basically everyone prayed it wouldn't pass, but it did 53-47ish.

I thought it still took a 2/3 majority to pass a budget? No reason to change that rule since the legislature's majorities tend to be so lopsided anyway.

Absentees favoring Democrats certainly wouldn't prevent Yee from taking second.

A different Proposition also passed in 2010 dropped it to a simple majority to pass a budget.

[Maxwell]

Yep. Perez is still up with about 2400 with 100% in. Wow. And last night it looked like he would be the GOP's spoiler in this race.

I'm not sure this is over yet. Absentee ballots dropped of on election day are generally not counted right away.

Aren't the democrats the ones who put that system into place? It's hilarious they keep being screwed by it.

It was a Proposition. The Democrats and Arnold did refer it to the voters as part of Republican Abel Maldonado's extortion for voting for a budget. Too bad that the Proposition reducing the 2/3rds majority to simple for passing a budget didn't pass a little earlier. I think all 6 political parties opposed the Proposition.

I think it's probably safe to say that Perez will make the runoff. Don't absentees tend to favor Democrats?

Schwarzenegger and Maldonado were the only two people who publicly backed prop 14 in 2010 to chance the primary system. The legislature had to stomach sending the prop to the voters as part of a compromise to get the budget through. Basically everyone prayed it wouldn't pass, but it did 53-47ish.

I thought it still took a 2/3 majority to pass a budget? No reason to change that rule since the legislature's majorities tend to be so lopsided anyway.

That statement confuses me. Everyone prayed it wouldn't pass, but it did? Doesn't that seem to imply that a majority of people wanted it to pass?

[Flake]

Yep. Perez is still up with about 2400 with 100% in. Wow. And last night it looked like he would be the GOP's spoiler in this race.

I'm not sure this is over yet. Absentee ballots dropped of on election day are generally not counted right away.

Aren't the democrats the ones who put that system into place? It's hilarious they keep being screwed by it.

It was a Proposition. The Democrats and Arnold did refer it to the voters as part of Republican Abel Maldonado's extortion for voting for a budget. Too bad that the Proposition reducing the 2/3rds majority to simple for passing a budget didn't pass a little earlier. I think all 6 political parties opposed the Proposition.

I think it's probably safe to say that Perez will make the runoff. Don't absentees tend to favor Democrats?

Schwarzenegger and Maldonado were the only two people who publicly backed prop 14 in 2010 to chance the primary system. The legislature had to stomach sending the prop to the voters as part of a compromise to get the budget through. Basically everyone prayed it wouldn't pass, but it did 53-47ish.

I thought it still took a 2/3 majority to pass a budget? No reason to change that rule since the legislature's majorities tend to be so lopsided anyway.

That statement confuses me. Everyone prayed it wouldn't pass, but it did? Doesn't that seem to imply that a majority of people wanted it to pass?

I'm guessing party leadership didn't want it to pass.

[bayareademocrat]

If there are two GOP candidates in the general for Controller in November, you can bet Perez is going to be eating some tough [inks] from the party.

If there are two, the California Democratic party needs to put their full forces behind repealing our idiotic top two system. The results are still early, but it's unsettling that 2 Republicans lead for the Controller race, and aren't far off from leading in CA-31 again.

Even if Perez/Yee sneak through, at the time of this post Perez's lead over Evans has reduced to 1924 votes. California needs to do its best to get rid of top two. It's just terrible election policy. Maybe we should do a popular referendum. My bet is that top two would die if it went up for a vote in 2016.