LOS ANGELES (AP) - The latest on the midterm election in California.
1:15 a.m.
Voters in San Francisco have approved a measure to tax some of the city’s wealthiest companies to provide services for the homeless.
Proposition C has divided the city’s elite tech titans, with Salesforce founder Marc Benioff supporting it and Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey among those opposed.
Benioff has donated at least $8 million from company and personal resources.
The measure would generate up to $300 million a year, nearly doubling what the city already spends on people who are homeless or at risk of being so.
Seattle city leaders pulled back a measure to tax businesses for homelessness after Amazon and Starbucks complained.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed opposed Proposition C, saying the city needs to do a better job accounting for the money it has already spent.
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1 a.m.
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.
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12:43 a.m.
California voters have rejected a ballot measure to expand a property tax break for older homeowners who move, sparing schools and local governments a major revenue loss.
With 5 million ballots counted early Wednesday, Proposition 5 was behind 57 percent to 43 percent.
Under current law, seniors and near-seniors can transfer tax assessments if their new homes are worth the same or less than the ones they sell, and they can only do it only once. Current law also limits out-of-county transfers.
Proposition 5 would have allowed homeowners over 55 to transfer their assessments to any new home - no matter what it costs - anywhere in the state and as many times as they wish.
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12:26 a.m.
California voters have approved $2 billion in bond funding to house homeless people with mental illness.
Returns early Wednesday morning show Proposition 2 with 59 percent of the vote.
Lawmakers approved the bonds in 2016 with plans to repay them using funds from a tax on millionaires that voters approved in 2004. But the funds became tied up in court because of a lawsuit that argues voters approved the tax to fund mental health services, not housing.
Lawmakers and the governor decided to resolve the legal dispute by taking the issue to voters.
Another housing bond measure also appears to be winning. Preliminary returns show Proposition 1 leading with 52 percent of the vote. It would fund housing for the poor and veterans.
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11:59 p.m.
California’s Democratic Secretary of State Alex Padilla has been 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 won his first term in November 2014.
Meanwhile, Democrat Fiona Ma is the voters’ choice to replace outgoing Treasurer John Chiang. Ma defeated Republican Greg Conlon with 59 percent of the vote.
The treasurer manages the state’s money and sits on the boards of California’s public employee pension funds.
Ma, a State Board of Equalization member and former assemblywoman, vows to make socially responsible investments with the state’s money.
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11:40 p.m.
California’s appointed Democratic Attorney General Xavier Becerra has won election after promising voters he will keep fighting Trump administration policies.
Becerra says he’s “honored and elated” after defeated Republican challenger Steven Bailey on Tuesday with more than 58 percent of the vote. Bailey, a former Superior Court judge, consistently trailed in the polls.
Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Becerra last year as the state’s first Latino attorney general after Kamala Harris left the job when she was elected to the U.S. Senate.
Meanwhile, Democrat Betty Yee fended off a Republican challenger and won re-election as California controller.
Yee defeated Konstantinos Roditis with nearly 61 percent of the vote.
The controller serves as the state’s top accountant and audits various state programs, and has seats on several state boards and the State Lands Commission.
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11:40 p.m.
California voters are authorizing $1.5 billion in bond funding for children’s hospitals.
Returns late Tuesday night show Proposition 4 winning 58 percent of the vote with more than 4 million votes counted. The measure will fund construction, renovation, expansion and new equipment in children’s hospitals. The money will have to be paid back over time with interest.
Supporters of the measure say the funding will help hospitals save children’s lives.
Proposition 4 is one of four bond measures on the ballot this election. Preliminary returns show two bond measures to fund affordable housing passing while a water bond measure trails.
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11:30 p.m.
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein won a fifth full term representing California after shaking off a challenge from a fellow Democrat who argued she hasn’t been tough in confronting President Donald Trump.
Feinstein defeated state Sen. Kevin de Leon on Tuesday.
Voters first sent Feinstein to Washington in 1992. At 85, she is the oldest current U.S. senator.
She faced a fellow Democrat because of California’s system that sends the two candidates who win the most primary votes to the general election.
The race failed to generate much excitement, with Democrats more focused on winning seats in the U.S. House than on a safe Senate seat.
Feinstein argued that her experience and tenure in Washington made her the best person to serve California
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11:09 p.m.
Republican Rep. David Valadao has shown again he knows how to win in a Democratic district.
The congressman defeated Democrat T.J. Cox in California’s 21st District in the Central Valley.
Valadao carried the district by a wide margin in 2016, even though registration numbers favor Democrats.
Cox tried to make the race a referendum on Valadao’s support for President Donald Trump. In a tip to the district’s heavy Hispanic population, Valadao touted his support for a way to keep in the country people who came as children when their parents illegally entered.
The seat had been targeted by Democrats trying to pick up 23 seats nationwide to win control of the House.
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11:04 p.m.
California’s incoming governor already is punching hard at President Donald Trump.
Democrat Gavin Newsom didn’t mention Trump by name in his victory speech following Tuesday’s election, but his remarks were aimed squarely at the Republican president.
Newsom told supporters in Los Angeles that now is the time for decency, facts, trust and the truth, and said “agents of anger” need to “pack it in.” He presented California as “America’s coming attraction” and extolled the state’s diversity, innovative businesses and thriving economy.
Trump has called Newsom a “clown” and disparaged the state for its policies on immigrants and the environment.
Newsom’s vanquished rival, Republican businessman John Cox, told supporters he’s proud that his campaign highlighted the people struggling with California’s high cost of living.
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11:01 p.m.
California voters have rejected a proposal to repeal a gasoline tax increase that was passed by the Legislature to fund road and transportation projects.
Proposition 6 failed Tuesday after Democrats campaigned to preserve $5 billion a year to fix roads and improve transit.
The Republican-backed initiative sought to repeal increases in fuel taxes and vehicle fees that are expected to fund $52 billion in transportation projects over a decade. It also would have required voter approval for future gas tax hikes.
GOP officials argued that California has grown too expensive and state lawmakers should spend money more wisely. They hoped the measure would drive Republican turnout in contested state and congressional races.
Democrats and construction industry and union leaders maintained the revenues are vital to upgrade California’s crumbling roads and bridges.
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10:58 p.m.
California voters rejected a ballot measure that would have capped dialysis clinics’ profits in an effort to improve patient care.
Voters rejected Proposition 8 on Tuesday. It would have limited profits for dialysis clinics that provide vital treatment for people whose kidneys don’t function properly.
Proposition 8 was the most expensive initiative on the 2018 ballot in California. A health care workers union funded the $18 million supporting campaign. Dialysis companies contributed more than $111 million to kill the measure.
The union argues Proposition 8 would have forced dialysis companies to invest more in patient care.
Dialysis providers say the measure was actually a tactic to pressure the companies to let workers unionize.
Voters also passed a measure to let private ambulance companies require workers stay on-call during paid breaks
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10:54 p.m.
California voters say it’s time to stop resetting clocks twice a year.
Voters approved Proposition 7 on Tuesday, the first step toward permanent year-round daylight saving time. The measure still requires a two-thirds vote from the Legislature and a change in federal law to take effect.
Democratic Rep. Kansen Chu of San Jose says he sponsored Proposition 7 because changing the clocks twice a year is a hassle.
He says it’s also been shown to increase the risk of car accidents and heart attacks following the spring change when people lose an hour’s sleep after moving clocks forward.
The issue was fresh on voters’ minds when they headed to polls Tuesday. California and most of the rest of the nation fell back an hour to standard time last Sunday.
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10:34 p.m.
State Sen. Kevin de Leon says his challenge against U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein has been a fight for California’s future.
De Leon’s remarks to his supporters Tuesday in Los Angeles came as he trailed Feinstein by about 260,000 votes. The Associated Press has not called the race.
Feinstein is seeking a fifth full-term.
The 51-year-old de Leon says his campaign has given voters a choice between “new ideas and the same old, same old,” and between “progressivism and privilege.” He’s criticized Feinstein for not being aggressive enough against President Donald Trump.
The 85-year-old Feinstein is the oldest current U.S. senator.
De Leon says he’s disrupted a status quo that cares most about holding onto power.
More than 3.5 million votes have been counted.
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10:31 p.m.
California voters have approved a measure requiring all eggs sold in the state to come from cage-free hens by 2022.
Proposition 12 is leading Tuesday with 59 percent of the vote with more than 3.7 million ballots counted.
The measure also sets new minimum requirements on the size of cages or pens that house breeding pigs and calves raised for veal. It also bans the sale of veal, pork and eggs in California from farms that don’t comply.
Supporters say the measure is a step toward more humane farming practices.
Opponents say it doesn’t go far enough.
Proposition 12 builds on Proposition 2, which passed in 2008.
That measure banned California farmers from keeping the same animals in tiny cages but lacked specific size requirements.
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10:11 p.m.
California Rep. Devin Nunes has been easily re-elected.
The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and close ally of President Donald Trump outdistanced Democrat Andrew Janz in the Republican-friendly 22nd District.
Nunes had depicted Janz as a favorite of the Democratic liberal wing.
Janz, a prosecutor, said he entered the race after what he called “ethical lapses” by the incumbent. His supporters, many from outside California, were eager to take down one of Trump’s key supporters and poured millions into the race.
Trump carried the district in 2016 while losing California by 4 million votes.
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10:04 p.m.
Democrats’ total dominance of the state Legislature likely comes down to a single Senate seat, where the race is too close to call in early returns.
Republicans are trying to retain the seat being given up by termed-out Sen. Anthony Cannella in California’s Central Valley.
Democrats are pinning their hopes in Tuesday’s election on Assemblywoman Anna Caballero while Republicans fielded Madera County Supervisor Rob Poythress. The contest remains tight with about 87,000 votes counted.
Democrats need 27 votes for a two-thirds majority in the 40-member Senate, and have 26. They need 54 votes in the 80-member Assembly, and have 55.
Two key Assembly contests in Bakersfield and Riverside County also remained close. Democrats are expected to maintain their supermajority in the chamber.
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9:56 p.m.
Californians are leaning against borrowing nearly $9 billion for California water projects in a state where water scarcity often pits city dwellers, farmers, anglers and environmentalists against one another.
About 53 percent of voters are opposing Proposition 3 Tuesday, with about 3.6 million votes counted.
The bond measure would set aside money for storage and dam repairs, watershed and fisheries improvements, and habitat protection and restoration.
Much of the $8.9 billion is earmarked for conservancies and state parks to restore and protect watersheds, and to nonprofits and local agencies for river parkways.
There also is money for providing safe drinking water.
The measure is backed by agricultural and water associations and groups devoted to conserving wetlands, fish and wildlife.
Opponents say it benefits special interests while siphoning money from other programs.
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9:47 p.m.
A measure requiring all eggs sold in California come from cage-free hens by 2022 is leading in early returns.
Proposition 12 had about 59 percent of the vote after polls closed Tuesday with more than 3.5 million ballots counted.
The measure also would set new minimum requirements on the size of cages or pens that house breeding pigs and calves raised for veal. It also would ban the sale of veal, pork and eggs in California from farms that don’t comply.
Supporters say the measure is a step toward more humane farming practices.
Opponents say it doesn’t go far enough.
Proposition 12 builds on Proposition 2, which passed in 2008.
That measure banned California farmers from keeping the same animals in tiny cages but lacked specific size requirements.
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9:42 p.m.
Californians have rejected a ballot measure that would have allowed more rent control to ease the state’s housing crisis.
Proposition 10 is losing by a wide margin Tuesday.
The measure was one of the highest-profile and most expensive issues on the ballot as California faces a massive housing shortage.
It would have overturned a state law limiting rent control on apartments built after 1995, single-family homes and condominiums. It also would have allowed local laws restricting what landlords can charge new tenants.
Opponents argue Proposition 10 would have decreased housing supply by reducing developers’ incentive to build. Supporters say allowing more rent control would protect people from being priced out of their homes.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation funded the pro-Proposition 10 effort. The real estate industry funded the opposition campaign.
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9:37 p.m.
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein says she’ll do everything in her power to provide effective leadership on the Senate Judiciary Committee if re-elected to another term.
Feinstein’s remarks to supporters Tuesday night came as she was leading in her re-election bid. She faces fellow Democrat Kevin de Leon.
Feinstein says the country has been “factionalized and trivialized with rhetoric” and that people must come together.
She also says there’s more work to do to make sure women have strong representation. She was one of the first women elected to the U.S. Senate and placed on the judiciary committee.
She’s now the ranking Democrat and led the party’s efforts against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Feinstein has not declared victory. She says she is lucky to have such a supportive constituency.
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9:30 p.m.
Embattled Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter leads his opponent in early returns despite facing federal corruption charges.
Hunter has 54 percent of the vote Tuesday over Democratic candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar with more than 90,000 votes counted in the deeply red San Diego-area district.
Hunter is trying to be one of few incumbents in U.S. history to be re-elected while indicted and the race is considered a fresh test of partisanship during the era of President Donald Trump.
Hunter and his wife have pleaded not guilty to allegations of illegally spending more than $250,000 in campaign funds on personal expenses from tequila shots to family trips.
Campa-Najjar, a former Obama administration official, was largely unknown before the charges in the district where Hunter succeeded his father in office 10 years ago.
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9:23 p.m.
A California initiative that would cap dialysis clinics’ profits is losing in early returns.
Early results Tuesday evening show just 40 percent of voters supporting the measure with more than 3 million ballots counted.
Proposition 8 would limit profits for dialysis clinics that provide vital treatment for people whose kidneys don’t function properly.
It was the most expensive initiative on the 2018 ballot in California. A health care workers union funded the $18 million supporting campaign. Dialysis companies contributed more than $111 million to kill the measure.
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9:23 p.m.
A California ballot measure to expand a property tax break for older homeowners who move trails in early returns.
With about 3.2 million ballots counted Tuesday, Proposition 5 is behind 56 percent to 44 percent.
Under current law, seniors and near-seniors can transfer tax assessments if their new homes are worth the same or less than the ones they sell, and they can only do it only once. Current law also limits out-of-county transfers.
Proposition 5 would allow over-55 homeowners to transfer their assessments to any new home - no matter what it costs - anywhere in the state and as many times as they wish.
California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office says the measure could result in revenue losses of about $1 billion a year each for schools and local governments.
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9:18 p.m.
Early returns show a string of close contests for California House seats that could figure in control of the chamber.
Democrats are trying to take control of seven GOP-held districts in the state carried by Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.
In key races Tuesday, early returns showed 15-term Rep. Dana Rohrabacher separated by less than 100 votes with Democrat Harley Rouda in Orange County’s 48th District.
In the 25th District north of Los Angeles, Democrat Katie Hill and Republican Rep. Steven Knight were virtually tied.
And in Orange County’s 45th District, Republican Rep. Mimi Walters was holding a slight edge over Democrat Katie Porter.
Nationally, Democrats appeared close to taking back the House in a victory that would slap a check on President Donald Trump’s agenda.
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9:08 p.m.
A California ballot measure to expand a property tax break for older homeowners who move trails in early returns.
With about 2.6 million ballots counted Tuesday, Proposition 5 is behind 56 percent to 44 percent.
Under current law, seniors and near-seniors can transfer tax assessments if their new homes are worth the same or less than the ones they sell, and they can only do it only once. Current law also limits out-of-county transfers.
Proposition 5 would allow over-55 homeowners to transfer their assessments to any new home - no matter what it costs - anywhere in the state and as many times as they wish.
California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office says the measure could result in revenue losses of about $1 billion a year each for schools and local governments.
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9 p.m.
Democrat Gavin Newsom has been elected governor of California, taking the helm of the state’s strong resistance to Trump administration policies on health care, immigration and the environment.
Newsom’s victory Tuesday over Republican businessman John Cox means one harsh critic of President Donald Trump - current Gov. Jerry Brown - will be replaced by another in the nation’s most populous state.
Newsom, who served as lieutenant governor under Brown, has pledged to spur a rapid bump in housing construction, push for universal health care and help impoverished children.
As mayor of San Francisco, Newsom ordered the issuing of marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
During the campaign, Cox focused relentlessly on California’s high cost of living. But he could not overcome the Democrats’ significant advantage among registered voters and their dislike of Trump, who supported Cox.
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9 p.m.
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is leading in her bid for a fifth full term against fellow Democrat Kevin de Leon.
Feinstein has roughly 53 percent of the vote with more than 2.8 million ballots counted. She’s facing a fellow Democrat because of California’s system that sends the two candidates who win the most primary votes to the general election.
Voters first sent Feinstein to Washington in 1992. At 85, she’s the oldest U.S. senator. She’s argued her tenure in Washington makes her an effective leader. De Leon has tried to paint her as too weak against President Donald Trump.
Republicans have expanded their majority in the U.S. Senate.
Feinstein has argued it’s hard to be effective when Democrats are the minority party.
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9 p.m.
California voters are leaning toward putting an end to resetting their clocks twice a year.
With nearly 2 million ballots counted Tuesday night, 61 percent of voters were favoring passage of Proposition 7, the first step toward establishing permanent year-round daylight saving time in California.
The measure would also require a two-thirds vote from the state Legislature and a change in federal law to take effect.
Democratic Rep. Kansen Chu of San Jose says he sponsored it because changing clocks twice a year is a hassle.
The issue was fresh on voters’ minds when they headed to polls.
California and most of the rest of the nation fell back an hour to standard time on Sunday, gaining an extra hour of morning daylight but losing one in the evening.
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9 p.m.
A measure to allow more rent control in California is trailing significantly in early returns.
Proposition 10 is losing by double digits Tuesday evening with more than 2.6 million ballots counted.
The measure that would allow cities to expand rent control is one of the highest-profile and most expensive issues on the ballot as California faces a massive housing shortage.
It would overturn a state law limiting rent control on apartments built after 1995, single-family homes and condominiums. It also would allow local laws restricting what landlords can charge new tenants.
Opponents argue Proposition 10 would have decreased housing supply by reducing developers’ incentive to build. Supporters say allowing more rent control would protect people from being priced out of their homes.
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8:54 p.m.
A proposal to repeal a gasoline tax increase for transportation projects in California is trailing in early returns.
Proposition 6 had about 47 percent of the vote shortly after polls closed Tuesday with nearly 2 million votes counted.
The Republican-backed measure would repeal an increase in fuel taxes and vehicle fees that is expected to fund $5 billion in road fixes and transit improvements each year. It would also require voter approval for any future gasoline tax hikes.
Republicans hoped the measure would boost GOP turnout in contested congressional and state races. They say California is too expensive and should spend its money more wisely.
The Democratic-led Legislature passed the fuel tax increase last year. Construction industry leaders and labor unions oppose the repeal.
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8:45 p.m.
Democratic Attorney General Xavier Becerra is leading GOP challenger Steven Bailey in early returns.
Bailey consistently trailed in polls before Tuesday’s election.
Another incumbent, Democratic Secretary of State Alex Padilla is also ahead. Padilla is seeking re-election against Republican attorney Mark Meuser.
In the race to replace Gavin Newsom as lieutenant governor, Eleni Kounalakis is leading Ed Hernandez. They’re both Democrats. Newsom is running for governor.
In other statewide contests, voters are choosing the next schools chief, treasurer and controller.
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For AP’s complete coverage of the U.S. midterm elections: http://apne.ws/APPolitics
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