California Election 2020 Results

Updated as of November 20, 2020

• Ballot Propositions
• Assembly Races
• Senate Races
• Congressional Races

As the nation awaits the final formal actions necessary to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, California is finalizing the vote count following a turnout now estimated at 80% of the state’s 22 million registered voters—the highest statewide participation in 44 years. Californians decided 12 statewide ballot measures, 53 congressional district elections and 100 state legislative races, plus numerous local bond measures and some major state and local social justice reform proposals. With nearly all of the 17.5 million votes counted, only a handful of legislative elections and state ballot measures are still too close to call.

California and the COVID-19 Economy

California will likely continue on its current cautious path regardless of the presidential election. Governor Newsom’s commitment to a “slow and stringent” approach to reopening will continue while the country awaits a game-changing antiviral treatment and widely available vaccine. The health of California state and local budgets is also in play given the continuing shortfall in tax revenues, dwindling cash reserves available to fund safety net programs, permanent business closures and record unemployment throughout the state. President-elect Biden’s likely win improves the chances that state and local governments will receive a significant infusion of direct economic aid from Washington to reduce the threat of huge deficits, safety net cuts and wholesale service reductions. However, with control of the U.S. Senate still in the balance, the prospects for substantial state aid remains uncertain. The ultimate question is whether any aid package will be enough to help California weather the COVID-19 recession and come back strong in 2021.

Political Ripples

With the vacancy created when U.S. Senator Kamala Harris becomes Vice President Harris, Governor Newsom will name a new senator, who can stand for election in their own right in 2022. The Governor’s decision is already drawing scrutiny and heavy lobbying from multiple interest groups with different priorities. Whatever choice he makes will ultimately lead to applause but also criticism from some quarters. If he selects one of the state’s current constitutional officers or a county supervisor for the U.S. Senate seat, the selection may also provide the Governor the opportunity to make one or more additional appointments to fill the resulting vacancies.

From a state governing perspective, this election demonstrates that California remains the leading state for progressive and leftward-leaning politics. Democrats will maintain and possibly add to their overall numbers in the California Legislature. While the number of seats Democrats hold may have increased, recent history makes clear that bigger majorities don’t automatically translate into lockstep unity on every policy issue or unbroken unanimity on the priorities for the allocation of scarce funding for public services. This is likely to continue the growth of internal policy divisions between the various Democrat caucuses, including those who believe climate change should be the state’s top priority to those who believe some form of universal healthcare should come first, and from those who are strong supporters of the labor movement to those who are more attuned to the emergent “gig economy.”

Ballot Propositions

California’s progressive-leaning politics are clearly reflected by the Democrats’ supermajority control of both houses of the state legislature as well as the Newsom Administration’s well-known “loyal resistance” to many Trump Administration policies. This year, however, although the progressive agenda was also reflected in the state’s 12 ballot measures, the outcome is a mix of wins and losses that suggests a 2020 California electorate that was strongly united against the re-election of Donald Trump—who will lose the state by as many as 6 million votes—but more cautious and conservative when considering the other measures and candidates on the ballot.

Among other proposals, voters were asked to decide whether to modify the 42-year-old Proposition 13 limits on taxing commercial properties, adopt nation-leading consumer privacy protections, restore affirmative action, extend the vote to 17-year-olds and paroled felons, adopt a statewide policy favoring rent control, and eliminate the cash bail system.

As of this update, what we do know is five of the 12 ballot measures have likely passed and seven appear to have failed. The biggest winner of the night appears to be the technology business-backed Proposition 22. It has the widest support margin of any proposition at this time.

✓ = Passed/Passing
X = Failed/Failing
? = Too Close to Call

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Assembly Races

With all 80 seats in the Assembly up for election this year, Democrats led by Speaker Anthony Rendon started with a commanding majority of 61 Democrats, 18 Republicans and 1 Independent. This lopsided majority was already the largest margin for any party in more than 150 years, and it won’t be significantly eroded this year. The Assembly Democrats believe they will end up with a net loss of one seat (Assembly Member Christy Smith’s seat), which would change their supermajority to 60 Democrats, 19 Republicans and 1 Independent (Chad Mayes, who appears to have won).

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Senate Races

Twenty seats in the 40-member State Senate were on the ballot this year, and Democrats under the leadership of Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins started Election Day with an already powerful supermajority of 29 Democrats and 11 Republicans. Democrat Dave Min beat Republican incumbent Sen. John Moorlach, and Democrat Josh Newman beat Republican incumbent Sen. Ling Ling Chang. Two other possible Democratic pickups (Sen. Mike Morell’s vacancy in SD 23 and Sen. Scott Wilk’s seat in SD 21) are too close to call, but look to be out of reach for Democrats; nevertheless, the two-seat pickup for Democrats would bring the Senate supermajority to at least 30 Democrats, nine Republicans and one temporary vacancy created by the election of Democrat Holly Mitchell to the LA County Board of Supervisors. The vacancy will be filled by special election next spring, and the seat is in a heavily Democratic district.

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Congressional Races

One Orange County Democrat, Harley Rouda, has conceded, and three more—Gil Cisneros, TJ Cox and Christy Smith—are currently behind in races still too close to call. All these races are for previously Republican seats Democrats flipped in 2018. The California congressional delegation is currently 45 Democrats, seven Republicans and one vacancy. When all votes are counted, the California congressional delegation will have between eight and 11 Republicans, contributing to national Republican gains in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

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