Newsom leading tight CA lt. gov race
Gavin Newsom's election night speech
Updated on: 2010-11-03 02:14:35
Democrats were leading in all but one race for statewide offices Tuesday as the party's rising star, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, held a slight margin over his Republican counterpart for lieutenant governor.
With voters electing Jerry Brown as governor over Republican Meg Whitman, Democrats hoped Newsom could outduel incumbent Abel Maldonado for lieutenant governor, giving the majority party the state's two top spots.
With 30 percent of precincts reporting, Newsom had 46 percent of the vote, compared to 43 percent for Maldonado.
"I feel very good about our chances tonight, I feel very good about all the work and the extra effort that went into this campaign," Newsom, 43, told a crowd of supporters in San Francisco.
Maldonado was girding himself for possibly not knowing the outcome until sometime Wednesday.
"It's going to be a long night though, we know that," he told KCAL-TV.
Republican candidates in California were trying to ride the wave of discontent with Democrats in Congress and hoping to avoid a repeat of 2006, when Democrats took most of California's eight constitutional offices.
Only Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley was ahead in early returns for attorney general against Democrat Kamala Harris, San Francisco's top prosecutor.
Republicans account for roughly 31 percent of registered voters in California, while Democrats comprise about 44 percent of registered voters.
Newsom has garnered national attention for his support of gay marriages, while Maldonado has roiled conservatives in the GOP for casting the deciding vote last year while he was state senator on a budget that boosted taxes.
Cooley is known for his moderate stance toward California's three-strikes law and has been credited for creating a public corruption unit that has recently ensnared leaders of several nondescript suburbs ringing Los Angeles.
Harris has been recognized as a reformer for trying to improve laws aimed at social problems that help lead to crime.
Elsewhere, Democratic incumbent Debra Bowen was ahead of Republican Damon Dunn, a former NFL journeyman, for secretary of state.
Two termed-out state assemblymen, Democrat Dave Jones of Sacramento and Republican Mike Villines of Clovis, were in a close race to replace outgoing Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner.
Democratic incumbent and longtime California politician Bill Lockyer was leading Republican state Sen. Mimi Walters in the treasurer's race.
Incumbent John Chiang, a Democrat, had a sizeable lead against Republican Tony Strickland in a rematch from 2006 for controller.
A teacher-turned-lawmaker, state Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, and retired school district superintendent Larry Aceves also were in a close race to replace Jack O'Connell as the state superintendent of public instruction. The position is nonpartisan.
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Víctor Lei
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