Bera, Niello, Kiley lead key regional races; Sacramento County’s semi-final report shows 20.04% turnout
The day-after picture in California’s statewide primary election showed Republican Steve Hilton moving ahead of Democrat Xavier Becerra in the governor’s race, Republican Assemblyman Josh Hoover maintaining his lead in the Folsom-area Assembly District 7 contest and several Sacramento County races taking clearer shape as semi-final local returns were posted early Wednesday.
The results remain preliminary and are not final. The statewide figures in this report are based on California Secretary of State results posted at 4:44 a.m. Wednesday, June 3, with 19,788 of 19,788 precincts partially reporting. The Sacramento County results are based on the county’s semi-final report posted at 12:56:34 a.m. Wednesday, June 3.
State officials cautioned that vote-by-mail, provisional, conditional voter registration provisional and other ballots will continue to be processed after election night. Results will change during the ballot-counting canvass period, and statewide certification is scheduled for July 10.
In Sacramento County, the semi-final report showed 183,951 ballots cast out of 917,930 registered voters, for a turnout of 20.04%. That marked an increase from the first election-night report, which showed 168,331 ballots cast and 18.34% turnout. The added ballots did not dramatically change the shape of the major Folsom-area races, but they did provide a fuller early look at countywide contests, Sacramento City Council races and several school board races.
Governor: Hilton moves ahead of Becerra statewide
The largest change from the first election-night snapshot came in the race for California governor. Last night’s earliest statewide returns showed Becerra narrowly ahead of Hilton. By Wednesday morning, Hilton had moved into first statewide with 1,386,966 votes, or 27.8%. Becerra followed with 1,267,070 votes, or 25.4%. Democrat Tom Steyer remained third with 979,007 votes, or 19.6%, while Republican Chad Bianco was fourth with 566,679 votes, or 11.3%.
The top two candidates remained the same, but the order changed. Hilton, a former Fox News host and Republican commentator, moved from a narrow second-place position to a more defined lead in the statewide count. Becerra, a former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary and former California attorney general, remained in position to advance to November if the standings hold.
In Sacramento County, Hilton also narrowly led Becerra in the semi-final report, with 51,871 votes, or 28.53%, to Becerra’s 51,491 votes, or 28.32%. Steyer followed locally with 30,306 votes, or 16.67%, while Bianco had 18,577 votes, or 10.22%.
Under California’s top-two primary system, the two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the November general election regardless of party affiliation. That means the race remains focused on whether Hilton and Becerra continue to hold the top two spots as later ballots are counted.
Assembly District 7: Hoover keeps edge over Slavensky
For Folsom-area voters, Assembly District 7 remained one of the most closely watched local contests. Hoover continued to lead in Sacramento County’s semi-final report with 33,512 votes, or 54.27%. Democrat Amy L. Slavensky followed with 27,111 votes, or 43.91%, while American Independent candidate Sanaz Motamedi had 1,126 votes, or 1.82%.
The result showed no major shift from last night’s early report, when Hoover was also ahead. Hoover represents a district that includes Folsom and surrounding Sacramento County communities, making the race one of the most locally significant contests for eastern Sacramento County voters.
State Senate District 6: Niello remains well ahead
In State Senate District 6, Republican Roger Niello remained far ahead in the Sacramento County portion of the race. The semi-final report showed Niello with 44,969 votes, or 56.37%. Democrat Sean Frame followed with 20,131 votes, or 25.24%, while Democrat Sara Velasco had 14,672 votes, or 18.39%.
State Senate District 8: Ashby leads Mason
In State Senate District 8, Democrat Angelique Ashby led the Sacramento County count with 57,229 votes, or 63.30%. Republican Susan A. Mason followed with 29,255 votes, or 32.36%, while Peace and Freedom candidate Linda “LR” Roberts had 3,927 votes, or 4.34%.
Assembly District 6: Krell ahead of Singh
In Assembly District 6, Democrat Maggy Krell led with 34,102 votes, or 84.36%, while Democrat Jagtar Singh had 6,320 votes, or 15.64%, in the Sacramento County report.
Assembly District 9: Flora, Adams top Sacramento County portion
In Assembly District 9, the Sacramento County portion showed Republican Heath Flora leading with 2,184 votes, or 28.17%. Democrat Matthew Adams followed with 1,775 votes, or 22.89%. Democrat Corey Jackson had 1,115 votes, or 14.38%, while Democrat Tami Nobriga followed with 809 votes, or 10.43%.
Assembly District 11: Wilson, Callison lead small Sacramento County portion
In the small Sacramento County portion of Assembly District 11, Democrat Lori D. Wilson led with 57 votes, or 54.81%. No Party Preference candidate Jenny Leilani Callison followed with 39 votes, or 37.50%, while No Party Preference candidate Rochelle Conner had 8 votes, or 7.69%.
Congressional District 3: Bera, Tucker remain in top two
In Congressional District 3, Democrat Ami Bera and Republican Robb Tucker remained in the top two districtwide, keeping the same general shape as last night’s report. In the Sacramento County portion of the race, Bera led with 23,696 votes, or 41.84%, while Tucker followed with 13,385 votes, or 23.63%. Republican Christine Bish had 9,087 votes, or 16.05%, while Democrat Heidi Hall had 4,964 votes, or 8.77%.
Because Congressional District 3 crosses county lines, Sacramento County’s numbers are only part of the full districtwide result. But the county portion continued to show Bera and Tucker ahead locally.
Congressional District 6: Kiley leads districtwide, Pan leads Sacramento County portion
Congressional District 6 showed one of the more important distinctions between districtwide and county-level results. Districtwide, No Party Preference candidate Kevin Kiley led with 28,362 votes, or 26.8%, followed by Republican Michael Stansfield with 23,493 votes, or 22.2%, and Democrat Richard Pan with 22,385 votes, or 21.2%.
In the Sacramento County portion, however, Pan led with 12,236 votes, or 24.69%, followed by Stansfield with 11,477 votes, or 23.16%, and Kiley with 10,207 votes, or 20.60%. Democrat Lauren Babb Tomlinson had 5,557 votes, or 11.21%, while Democrat Thien Ho had 5,315 votes, or 10.73%.
The split is important because county-level results alone do not determine the outcome in districts that cross county lines. Districtwide totals determine who advances.
Congressional District 7: Matsui, Vang hold top spots
In Congressional District 7, Democrat Doris Matsui led districtwide with 31,988 votes, or 30.6%, followed by Democrat Mai Vang with 26,002 votes, or 24.9%. Republican Zachariah Wooden was close behind with 25,158 votes, or 24.1%, leaving the second-place position a race to watch as additional ballots are counted.
In the Sacramento County portion, Matsui had 20,990 votes, or 33.53%, and Vang had 20,172 votes, or 32.23%. Wooden followed with 12,003 votes, or 19.18%, while Republican Ralph Nwobi had 7,571 votes, or 12.10%.
Congressional District 8: Garamendi leads districtwide, Recile leads small Sacramento County portion
In Congressional District 8, Democrat John Garamendi led districtwide, but the small Sacramento County portion of the district showed Republican Rudy Recile ahead locally. In that Sacramento County portion, Recile had 189 votes, or 49.48%, while Garamendi had 172 votes, or 45.03%. Democrat Nicolas Carjuzaa and Democrat Aaron Rowden followed with small single-digit shares.
The small Sacramento County vote total makes the county portion less representative of the full districtwide result.
Congressional races statewide: Top-two picture continues to form
Across California’s 52 U.S. House districts, the day-after statewide count showed several races with close second-place battles and a few changes from the earliest election-night snapshot. Districtwide results posted by the Secretary of State at 4:44 a.m. showed the following top candidates in each race.
In District 1, Republican James Gallagher led with 49,625 votes, or 47.2%, followed by Democrat Mike McGuire with 39,416 votes, or 37.5%. In District 2, Democrat Jared Huffman led with 51,723 votes, or 50.4%, while Republican Robin Littau moved into second with 13,049 votes, or 12.7%. That marked a shift from the earliest snapshot, when Angelita Valles appeared in second.
In District 3, Democrat Ami Bera and Republican Robb Tucker remained the top two. In District 4, Democrat Mike Thompson remained ahead, followed by Republican Ray Riehle. In District 5, Republican Tom McClintock led with 78,192 votes, or 63.1%, followed by Democrat Michael Masuda with 28,143 votes, or 22.7%.
In District 6, Kiley, Stansfield and Pan were closely grouped, with Kiley first districtwide, Stansfield second and Pan third. In District 7, Matsui, Vang and Wooden were also tightly bunched, with Matsui first, Vang second and Wooden close behind. In District 8, Garamendi and Recile held the top two spots.
Elsewhere in California, Democrat Josh Harder led District 9, Democrat Mark DeSaulnier led District 10, Democrat Scott Wiener led District 11, Democrat Lateefah Simon led District 12, Democrat Adam Gray led District 13, Democrat Aisha Wahab led District 14, Democrat Kevin Mullin led District 15 and Democrat Sam Liccardo led District 16.
District 17 saw another notable change from the first snapshot. Democrat Ro Khanna remained first, while Republican Ritesh Tandon moved into second ahead of Republican Jennie Ha Phan. In District 18, Democrat Zoe Lofgren led with Republican Shane Lewis second. In District 19, Democrat Jimmy Panetta led with Republican Peter Coe Verbica second. In District 20, Republican Vince Fong led with Democrat Sandra Van Scotter second.
In District 21, Democrat Jim Costa held the top spot, followed by Republican Kyle Kirkland. In District 22, Republican David Valadao led, followed by Democrat Randy Villegas. In District 23, Republican Jay Obernolte led, followed by Democrat Tessa Lynn Hodge. In District 24, Democrat Salud Carbajal led, followed by Republican Bob Smith. In District 25, Democrat Raul Ruiz led, followed by Republican Joe Males. In District 26, Democrat Jacqui Irwin led, followed by Republican Sam Gallucci. In District 27, Republican Jason Gibbs remained ahead of Democrat George Whitesides in a competitive race. In District 28, Democrat Judy Chu led, followed by Republican April A. Verlato. In District 29, Democrat Luz Maria Rivas led, followed by Republican Rudy Melendez. In District 30, Democrat Laura Friedman led, followed by Republican Scott Alan Meyers. In District 31, Democrat Gil Cisneros led, followed by Republican Eric Ching.
In District 32, Republican Larry Thompson remained slightly ahead of Democrat Brad Sherman in one of the closest early congressional races in the state. Thompson had 48,317 votes, or 37.2%, while Sherman had 47,037 votes, or 36.2%. In District 33, Democrat Pete Aguilar led, followed by Republican Stephanie M. Vargas. In District 34, Democrat Jimmy Gomez led, followed by Democrat Angela Gonzales-Torres. In District 35, Democrat Norma J. Torres led, followed by Republican Mike Cargile. In District 36, Democrat Ted W. Lieu led, followed by Republican Houston Brignano. In District 37, Democrat Sydney Kamlager-Dove led, followed by Republican Baltazar Fedalizo. In District 38, Democrat Hilda Solis led, followed by Republican Pedro Antonio Casas. In District 39, Democrat Mark Takano led, followed by Republican Steve Manos. In District 40, Republican Ken Calvert led, followed by Republican Young Kim.
In District 41, Republican Mitch Clemmons and Democrat Linda Sánchez remained nearly tied in the top two. In District 42, Democrat Robert Garcia led, followed by Republican Brian Burley. In District 43, Democrat Maxine Waters led, followed by Republican Cristian Morales. In District 44, Democrat Nanette Diaz Barragan led, followed by Republican Genevieve Angel. In District 45, Democrat Derek Tran led, followed by Republican Chuong V. Vo. In District 46, Democrat Lou Correa led, followed by Republican David Pan. In District 47, Democrat Dave Min led, followed by Republican Jenny Rae Le Roux. In District 48, Republican Jim Desmond led, followed by Democrat Marni von Wilpert. In District 49, Democrat Mike Levin led, followed by Republican Armen Kurdian. In District 50, Democrat Scott Peters led, followed by Republican Steve Cohen. In District 51, Democrat Sara Jacobs led, followed by Republican Ricardo Cabrera. In District 52, Democrat Juan Vargas led, followed by Republican Jeff Belle.
Board of Equalization District 1: Grove leads districtwide, Esparza leads Sacramento County
The Board of Equalization District 1 race also required a statewide-versus-county distinction. Districtwide, Republican Shannon Grove led with 388,456 votes, or 36.6%, followed by Democrat Nelson Esparza with 316,224 votes, or 29.8%. Democrat Donald E. Williamson was third with 181,362 votes, or 17.1%.
In Sacramento County, however, Esparza led the local portion with 59,990 votes, or 36.53%. Grove followed with 47,858 votes, or 29.14%, while Williamson had 30,674 votes, or 18.68%. Republican Dusty Beach had 18,958 votes, or 11.54%, and Republican Nader F. Shahatit had 6,757 votes, or 4.11%.
Lieutenant governor: Romero moves ahead statewide, Ma leads Sacramento County
The lieutenant governor’s race produced another notable change from the first election-night snapshot. Last night, Democrat Fiona Ma was leading the statewide count. By Wednesday morning, Republican Gloria Romero had moved into first statewide with 925,314 votes, or 19.9%. Ma was second with 888,348 votes, or 19.1%, while Democrat Josh Fryday fell to third with 630,301 votes, or 13.5%. Democrat Michael Tubbs followed with 514,841 votes, or 11.1%.
In Sacramento County, Ma continued to lead locally with 35,829 votes, or 20.95%. Romero was second with 30,485 votes, or 17.83%. Tubbs had 25,812 votes, or 15.10%, while Fryday had 19,778 votes, or 11.57%.
Secretary of state: Weber, Wagner remain top two
In the secretary of state race, Democratic incumbent Shirley N. Weber remained well ahead statewide with 2,567,451 votes, or 54.2%. Republican Donald P. Wagner followed with 1,962,410 votes, or 41.4%. Green Party candidate Michael Feinstein had 111,486 votes, or 2.4%, while Green Party candidate Gary N. Blenner had 95,060 votes, or 2.0%.
Sacramento County mirrored the statewide order, with Weber leading at 92,971 votes, or 54.82%, followed by Wagner with 68,646 votes, or 40.48%.
Controller: Cohen, Morgan hold top positions
In the controller’s race, Democratic incumbent Malia M. Cohen remained first statewide, with Republican Herb W. Morgan in second. Sacramento County showed the same order, with Cohen at 90,591 votes, or 53.69%, and Morgan at 70,845 votes, or 41.99%. Peace and Freedom candidate Meghann Adams had 7,297 votes, or 4.32%.
Treasurer: Kounalakis, Hawks ahead
In the state treasurer race, Democrat Eleni Kounalakis led statewide, followed by Republican Jennifer Hawks. Sacramento County also favored Kounalakis, who had 64,087 votes, or 37.79%. Hawks followed with 41,913 votes, or 24.71%. Republican David Serpa had 26,158 votes, or 15.42%, while Democrat Anna M. Caballero had 22,544 votes, or 13.29%.
Attorney general: Bonta, Gates hold top two
In the attorney general’s race, Democratic incumbent Rob Bonta remained ahead statewide, with Republican Michael E. Gates in second. Sacramento County’s semi-final results showed Bonta with 90,799 votes, or 52.87%, followed by Gates with 71,933 votes, or 41.89%. Green Party candidate Marjorie Mikels had 8,998 votes, or 5.24%.
Insurance commissioner: Kim, Allen lead
In the insurance commissioner race, Democrat Jane Kim led in Sacramento County with 42,672 votes, or 25.76%, followed by Democrat Ben Allen with 29,456 votes, or 17.78%. Republican Stacy A. Korsgaden followed with 25,423 votes, or 15.35%, while Republican Robert P. Howell had 14,246 votes, or 8.60%.
Statewide, Kim and Allen also held the top two spots in the latest results, with Korsgaden still close enough to make the race worth watching as later ballots are counted.
Superintendent of public instruction: Thurmond leads Sacramento County field
In the statewide superintendent of public instruction race, Tony Thurmond led the Sacramento County count with 37,273 votes, or 25.05%. Richard Barrera followed with 29,926 votes, or 20.11%, while Wendy Castaneda Leal had 13,218 votes, or 8.88%. Al Muratsuchi had 12,320 votes, or 8.28%, and Josh Newman had 12,096 votes, or 8.13%.
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors District 1: Cofer, Guerra in front
In Sacramento County Board of Supervisors District 1, Flo Cofer led the semi-final count with 11,035 votes, or 38.53%. Eric Guerra followed with 8,722 votes, or 30.45%. Deborah Ortiz had 5,283 votes, or 18.45%, while Tim Riley had 3,599 votes, or 12.57%.
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors District 2: Kennedy ahead
In District 2, Patrick Kennedy led with 14,186 votes, or 63.39%. Ronnie Bell followed with 4,352 votes, or 19.45%, while Brian Lajda had 3,842 votes, or 17.17%.
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors District 5: Hume unopposed
In District 5, Pat Hume was the only listed candidate and had 27,003 votes, or 100%.
Sacramento County assessor: Wynn unopposed
In the Sacramento County assessor race, Christina Wynn was the only listed candidate. Wynn had 113,482 votes, or 100%, in the semi-final report.
Sacramento County Board of Education Area 1: Donette, Hermann separated by narrow margin
In Sacramento County Board of Education Area 1, Dominique Donette held a narrow lead with 6,755 votes, or 34.25%. Anna Molander Hermann followed closely with 6,656 votes, or 33.75%. Davon Thomas had 4,398 votes, or 22.30%, while Ralph Merletti had 1,913 votes, or 9.70%.
Sacramento County Board of Education Area 3: Keefer leads Fischer
In Area 3, Paul Keefer led with 9,598 votes, or 52.49%, while Annie Fischer followed with 8,689 votes, or 47.51%.
Twin Rivers Unified Trustee Area 6: Amanfor leads Gonzales
In Twin Rivers Unified School District Trustee Area 6, Emmanuel Amanfor led with 704 votes, or 47.18%. Adrianne Gonzales followed with 522 votes, or 34.99%, while Eduardo Lalo Ochoa had 266 votes, or 17.83%.
Sacramento City Council District 1: Kaplan ahead of Chawla
In Sacramento City Council District 1, Lisa M. Kaplan led with 3,832 votes, or 53.10%. Jennifer “Jenn” Chawla followed with 3,019 votes, or 41.84%, while Venkat Mechineni had 365 votes, or 5.06%.
Sacramento City Council District 3: Talamantes unopposed
In District 3, Karina Talamantes was the only listed candidate and had 3,769 votes, or 100%.
Sacramento City Council District 5: Maple ahead
In District 5, Caity Maple led with 2,730 votes, or 63.15%. Henry Harry followed with 892 votes, or 20.63%, while Santiago Mario Morales Jr. had 701 votes, or 16.22%.
Sacramento City Council District 7: Jennings leads Lau
In District 7, Rick Jennings led with 5,502 votes, or 55.70%. Scott Lau followed with 2,606 votes, or 26.38%, while Mark R. Velasquez had 1,770 votes, or 17.92%.
Superior Court races: Langle, Morris unopposed
In Sacramento County Superior Court Office No. 15, Heath Langle was the only listed candidate and had 113,996 votes, or 100%. In Office No. 21, James Morris was the only listed candidate and had 114,413 votes, or 100%.
What changed from election night
Compared with last night’s first report, the biggest statewide change was the governor’s race, where Hilton moved ahead of Becerra after trailing narrowly in the earliest statewide snapshot. The top two candidates did not change, but their order did.
The lieutenant governor race also shifted, with Romero moving into first statewide and Ma settling into second. Fryday, who appeared in second in last night’s early statewide section, dropped to third in the day-after count.
The Folsom-area Assembly District 7 race remained stable, with Hoover still ahead of Slavensky by roughly 10 percentage points in Sacramento County’s semi-final report. State Senate District 6 also remained stable, with Niello maintaining a large lead over Frame and Velasco.
Several congressional races showed more nuance as additional returns were posted. District 6 now shows Kiley first districtwide but Pan ahead in the Sacramento County portion. District 7 remains close for second place between Vang and Wooden districtwide, even though Vang holds a stronger second-place position in Sacramento County. District 2 and District 17 also saw changes in the second-place position compared with the first statewide snapshot.
What happens next
The results remain unofficial. Sacramento County’s election page notes that the first interim report will be posted by 4 p.m. on the Friday after Election Day and will include timely vote-by-mail ballots and provisional ballots. Subsequent reports are scheduled for Mondays and Wednesdays until certification.
At the state level, results will continue to change as counties process remaining ballots. Counties must report final official results to the California Secretary of State before statewide certification, which is scheduled for July 10.
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