Kamala Harris Wins U.S. Senate Seat Over Loretta Sanchez

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Kamala Harris seized California's open U.S. Senate seat Tuesday, after a campaign that underscored generational, political and demographic shifts in the nation's most populous state.

Hillary Clinton also was a big winner in California, extending to seven the string of Democratic presidential victories in the state that started with her husband in 1992. She had about 60 percent of 4.8 million votes counted in early returns, easily outdistancing Donald Trump.

Harris was even more convincing, with about 65 percent of 4.2 million votes against U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez, a fellow Democrat.

Speaking to supporters in Los Angeles, Harris struck a defiant tone on a night when Trump claimed the White House and Republicans clinched control of the House and were on track to hold the Senate.

She promised to "fight for who we are and for our ideals, to be committed to what we know we have to do when we have been attacked, and our ideals and fundamental values are being attacked."

"Do we retreat, or do we fight?" Harris asked. "I say we fight. And I intend to fight."

Her victory came on a watershed night when California voters legalized the recreational use of marijuana, extended an income tax hike on the wealthy, and considered whether to end the death penalty and change the way the state negotiates for prescription drugs.

Meantime, Democrats were looking to add to their 39-14 advantage in California's congressional delegation, with Darrell Issa from the San Diego-area 49th District the most prominent GOP target. Issa had a narrow early lead against Democrat Doug Applegate, a retired Marine colonel.

In the Senate race, it was the first time since voters started electing senators a century ago that Republicans were absent from California's general election ballot, reaffirming the GOP's fading influence in the state. Democrats control every statewide office and both chambers of the Legislature.

Harris, 52, becomes the first Indian woman elected to the Senate, and the second black woman. Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun was elected in 1992 and served one term. Harris, a lifelong prosecutor, is the daughter of parents from India and Jamaica.

An exit poll conducted for AP and the television networks by Edison Research found Harris with an edge in nearly all demographic groups. The two were about evenly splitting the Hispanic vote, even though Sanchez, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, had made overt appeals for Latino support.

Harris never trailed in polls or fundraising and was the consensus pick of the Democratic establishment. She was endorsed by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Gov. Jerry Brown, Boxer and her soon-to-be Senate colleague from California — Dianne Feinstein.

Harris and Sanchez emerged from a 34-candidate primary in June, in which only the top two vote-getters advanced to November. None of the Republicans managed to break out of single digits in voting.

Their rivalry revolved around who was best suited for the job — a veteran prosecutor with liberal credentials who touted her experience fighting big banks and environmental criminals, or a 10-term member of the House who positioned herself as a moderate, with experience in national security and military affairs.

The Senate contest marks a generational and demographic shift in the state that is growing increasingly diverse in population and favorable for Democrats.

Boxer, who is white and turns 76 this week, will be replaced by a Baby Boomer.

The matchup between Harris and Sanchez is seen as a harbinger of things to come in the nation's most populous state. Voters could increasingly find only two Democrats to pick from for top offices in November elections.

The exit poll survey of 2,282 California voters includes preliminary results from interviews conducted as voters left a random sample of 30 precincts statewide Tuesday, as well as 744 who voted early or absentee and were interviewed by landline or cellular telephone from Oct. 29 through Nov. 4. Results for the full sample were subject to sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points; it is higher for subgroups.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.