Kounalakis, Yee, Ma among statewide victors in California
SACRAMENTO - California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Secretary of State Alex Padilla and Controller Betty Yee will all return to office. Eleni Kounalakis will be the first female lieutenant governor. The four are among several statewide offices voters cast ballots for Tuesday. In the contest for insurance commissioner, Republican-turned-independent Steve Poizner had the edge over Democratic Sen. Ricardo Lara.
Here's a look at the down-ballot races:
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ATTORNEY GENERAL
Xavier Becerra, who was appointed California's first Latino attorney general last year after Kamala Harris left for the U.S. Senate, was elected to stay on the job.
Becerra defeated Republican Steven Bailey, a former state court judge, with 58 percent of the vote on Tuesday.
"I'm honored and elated by the voters' confidence to continue as Attorney General of our great state," he said.
Becerra vowed to continue battling the Trump administration. Formerly a longtime Los Angeles congressman, Becerra regularly makes national headlines challenging the GOP president's efforts to change environmental and immigration policies.
Bailey called the focus on Trump policies "a waste of taxpayer resources."
In his short time as chief law enforcement officer , Becerra said he has secured more than 20 legal victories in federal court in cases involving health care, fraudulent college lenders and gun safety laws.
He also previously served as a state assemblyman and California deputy attorney general.
Bailey lagged in fundraising and ethics questions further complicated his efforts. He denied allegations he used his judgeship to aid his political campaign, improperly accepted gifts and steered business to a firm where his son worked.
A judicial ethics panel is reviewing the case and a decision is expected after the election.
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LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
Eleni Kounalakis will be California's first female lieutenant governor after defeating Ed Hernandez in a Democrat-on-Democrat matchup.
Kounalakis won with nearly 57 percent of the vote and will replace Gavin Newsom, who was elected governor.
During the race, Kounalakis emphasized her background as a developer and former ambassador to Hungary.
She vows to fight sexual harassment in workplaces, hold perpetrators accountable, and ensure women receive equal pay for equal work.
Although the job holds little real power, it's seen as a launching pad to higher office.
The lieutenant governor serves as a University of California regent, a Cal State trustee and as a state lands commissioner overseeing conservation and public access. The lieutenant also acts as governor when the top executive is away.
Kounalakis and Hernandez, a state senator, advanced after no Republican finished in the top two spots during June's blanket primary.
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INSURANCE COMMISSIONER
Republican-turned-independent Steve Poizner had the edge over Democratic Sen. Ricardo Lara as they vie for insurance commissioner.
Poizner held 51 percent of the vote with nearly five million ballots tallied early Wednesday.
Either candidate will break ground for a California statewide office. Poizner, a former insurance commissioner, would be the first independent to win such an election and Lara would be the first openly gay statewide officeholder.
The Department of Insurance enforces insurance laws, licenses and regulates companies and investigates fraud.
Poizner, a wealthy Silicon Valley technology entrepreneur who lost a bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2010, ran as an independent because he said the office should be free of politics.
Lara, who authored a failed bill that would have provided state-run health insurance, said that remains a top priority.
Poizner has said he would focus on making sure homeowners have adequate protection against wildfires and other natural disasters.
Both have promised not to take insurance money, though Lara had to give back money he took from the political action committee of the nation's largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer.
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SECRETARY OF STATE
California's Democratic Secretary of State Alex Padilla was re-elected after campaigning on his record of sparring with President Donald Trump.
Padilla defeated Republican Mark Meuser Tuesday to keep his position as the top state official overseeing elections. He won with 59 percent of the vote.
Padilla often denounced the president's unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud in California.
He also refused to comply with the Trump administration's requests to provide data on California voters, arguing it was politically motivated.
Padilla was elected to his first term in November 2014.
Meuser ran on a platform of purging voter rolls of people who have moved or died and conducting audits to ensure ineligible people aren't registered to vote.
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