Xavier Becerra, a former U.S. secretary of health and human services and a Democrat, defeated Steve Hilton, a Republican and former Fox News host, in the California gubernatorial race.
With about 59% of the vote counted, Becerra received 4.98 million votes, or 64.1%, while Hilton got 2.8 million, or 36%, according to the Associated Press.
Becerra raised about $36 million and had around $7.1 million on hand, according to the California secretary of state’s office. Hilton raised about $27 million and had about $2 million on hand.
Matt Klink, a Republican strategist in Los Angeles, told JNS that “California did not experience a blue wave like the rest of the United States.”
“Here, we call it Election Day,” he said.
Democrats “dominated” the state at federal and state levels, “as they have done for decades,” he told JNS. “California voters, Democrats included, are not happy with the state’s direction, but the voters’ outright disdain for Donald Trump and his agenda reinforced the ‘vote Democrat’ propensity by both partisans and left-leaning decline to state voters.”
The candidates differed sharply in their views on Israel and the Jewish state’s war against Hamas in Gaza. When the nonprofit news site CalMatters asked all of the gubernatorial candidates in May if Israel is guilty of “genocide,” Hilton said simply “no,” per a video that the site released.
Becerra said that Israel’s actions in Gaza “cannot be classified as within international norms” and that the Israeli prime minister “should answer for all he has done before the international community.”
Los Angeles mayor’s race
Nithya Raman, a Democratic member of the Los Angeles City Council, has overtaken Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in early returns. With roughly 63% of the vote counted, Bass received 360,864 votes (48.9%), and Raman 377,458 (51.1%), according to NBC News in a race that remains too close to call.
Bass has to win 51.9% of the remaining votes to catch up, according to NBC.
The mayor raised about $5.4 million in the general and primary elections, while Raman raised around $2.6 million, according to data from the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission.
At a Sept. 30 mayoral forum at the Skirball Cultural Center, Raman defended her appearance on antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker’s show and her characterization of Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide.” She also said that the movement to boycott Israel is a “legitimate form of protest.”
After the national Democratic Socialists of America challenged the Los Angeles chapter’s endorsement of her due to her past dismissal of the BDS movement, Raman said that “the best way for working Angelenos to stand in solidarity with Gaza is through non-violent protest, legislative action and diplomatic pressure, including BDS,” according to California Post reporting.
On Nov. 2, the national group’s political committee voted 14-13 against revoking the endorsement.
Bass, meanwhile, said at the September forum that she opposes the anti-Israel boycott movement and that “genocide” is an inappropriate word to describe Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Congressional races
In California’s 11th Congressional District, Scott Wiener, a Jewish Democratic state senator, leads Connie Chan, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). With about 51% of the vote counted, Wiener got 87,641 votes, or 55.4%, while Chan received 70,511 votes (44.6%), per the AP.
Pelosi endorsed Chan, while Wiener secured support from several prominent Democratic organizations and elected officials.
Both candidates have accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza. Wiener resigned as co-chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus after he made the allegation.
At a San Francisco Pride event in June, some participants criticized Wiener over his position on Israel, telling the openly gay lawmaker that he “stopped being queer the moment you started supporting Israel” and that he had been “terrible on Gaza.”
Federal Election Commission filings show that Wiener had raised approximately $5.7 million and had around $614,000 cash on hand. Chan raised roughly $2.4 million and ended with nearly $582,000 cash on hand, per FEC data.
In California’s 7th Congressional District, Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) is leading Mai Vang, a member of the Sacramento City Council. With approximately 41% of the vote counted, Matsui received 75,732, or 57.4%, while Vang received 56,248 votes (42.6%), per the AP.
Vang’s campaign website calls for an end to the “genocide in Palestine” and criticizes Matsui for accepting donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in 2024, when Vang said she was helping pass a ceasefire resolution in Sacramento.
AIPAC endorsed Matsui in 2024, but she does not appear on its 2026 endorsement list. At an April candidate forum, Matsui called Netanyahu a “war criminal” and said she would not provide “offensive dollars” to Israel.
According to FEC filings, Matsui raised around $2.4 million and ended with nearly $2 million in cash on hand. Vang raised around $1.7 million and ended with $388,763 on hand, per FEC data.
In California’s 22nd Congressional District, Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) lost to Randy Villegas, a political science professor who has said that U.S. tax dollars shouldn’t fund Israeli “genocide” in Gaza. With about 67% of the vote counted, Villegas received 54,337 votes, or 66.4%, while Valadao has 27,480 (33.6%), according to the AP.
Valadao, whose seat was redistricted under California’s Proposition 50, raised around $4.5 million and ended with $1.7 million on hand, while Villegas raised $5.6 million and ended with $962,351 on hand, FEC data shows.
Rep. Aisha Wahab (D-Calif.), who won an August special election for the seat held by former Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell in California’s 14th Congressional District, leads Melissa Hernandez, a former mayor of Dublin, Calif., in the contest for a full two-year term.
With approximately 53% of the vote counted, Wahab received 68,612 votes, or 56.5%, compared with 52,755, 43.5%, for Hernandez, according to the AP.
Wahab has accused Israel of “genocide,” while Hernandez said that “Israel had the right to defend itself” after Oct. 7 but that “the destruction in Gaza has gone too far.”
Wahab raised $1.18 million and ended with $462,322 on hand, while Hernandez raised $2.1 million and ended with $108,358 on hand, per FEC data.
In California’s 48th Congressional District, Marni von Wilpert, a Democrat member of the San Diego City Council, leads Republican Jim Desmond, a member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. The district was also redrawn under Prop 50.
With about 60% of the vote counted, von Wilpert received 92,924 votes, 59.6%, while Desmond received 63,015 votes, 40.4%, per the AP.
The Democratic Majority for Israel political action committee endorsed von Wilpert. She is seeking to succeed retiring Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).
According to FEC data, Desmond raised around $2.78 million and ended with $717,518 on hand, while von Wilpert raised $4.7 million and ended with $659,136 remaining.
Tali Klima, a spokeswoman for Bay Area Jewish Coalition-Action, told JNS that “many watched last night with trepidation as progressive extremists like Wahab and Khanna won.”
“We recommended Wiener, despite the community’s concerns over his remarks and endorsements, because we stand firmly against the antisemitic assaults he experienced while campaigning and because, frankly, the DSA alternative was worse,” Klima said.
“We hope that Wiener fights for Jewish safety and well-being in Congress and protects Israel’s right to self-defense,” Klima said.
However, “in local races, we do not see the progressive gains that were observed nationally,” she told JNS. “People are simply unwilling to allow extremist politics into their cities and schools.”
“We hope to move forward by working with all the new electeds towards greater understanding of the Jewish community’s experiences and needs and reduce hate for all groups,” she said.
