FULL ELECTION RESULTS FOR STATEWIDE OFFICES

Attorney General, Insurance Commissioner, Superintendent of Public Instruction among key open-seat races

June 9, 2010 (Sacramento) – All precincts have been counted statewide, though absentee ballots remain to be counted in some areas. Outcomes for nearly all statewide offices are clear. For full details, see the Secretary of State’s site at http://vote.sos.ca.gov . Below are the winners in the major parties who will square off in the November General election.

Former Governor Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown won the Democratic primary by a landslide over several lesser known challengers. Meg Whitman, ex-CEO of E-Bay, trounced Steve Poizner with 64.2% to Poizner’s 26.9% amid a field of eight Republicans. Brown today challenged Whitman to a series of townhall forums or debates. But Whitman declined, urging Brown to instead issue a detailed plan for turning around California’s economy.
 

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, winner of the Democratic primary, will face off against Republican State Senator Sam Aanestad for Lieutenant Governor.
 

San Francisco district attorney Kamala Harris beat out a crowded field of challengers to win the Democratic primary for Attorney General by a large margin. She will face Republican Steve Cooley, district attorney from San Jose.
 

In the Insurance Commissioner race, Dave Jones won the Democratic primary handily with 61.2%. On the Republican side of the aisle, Brian Fitzgerald and Mike Villines are locked in a nearly dead heat race at 50.4% to 49.6% margins; absentee ballots could make the difference.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen, a Democrat, will be challenged by Damon Dunn, who took 74.3% of the vote in the Republican primary.
 

Republican Tony Strickland, a former State Senator and president of Green Wave Energy Solutions, will face off against incumbent Controller John Chiang, a Democrat.
 

Bill Lockyer, Democratic incumbent for Treasurer, will run against Republican State Senator Mimi Walters. Both ran unopposed in their primary races.
 

In the nonpartisan Superintendent of Public Instruction, voters will decide a run-off between Larry Aceves and Tom Torlakson. Aceves, a superintendent who has never previously run for public office but has backing from some school administrators, pulled off a surprise victory to receive the most votes in a crowded field of a dozen candidates. Torlakson, an Assemblyman and teacher, is backed by the California Teacher’s Union. Gloria Romera, a well-funded candidate who had advocated for charter schools, took a close third.
 

Democrat Mary Heising, a retired businesswoman, will run against Michelle Steel, Republican incumbent for Board of Equalization District 3 in San Diego.