Newsom Elected Lieutenant Governor Of California
LOS ANGELES (AP) — San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has been elected California's lieutenant governor.
The 43-year-old Democrat defeated the current Republican lieutenant governor, Abel Maldonado, in Tuesday's balloting.
Newsom is best-known for his support of same-sex marriages and for creating a universal health plan in San Francisco that he hopes to replicate throughout the state.
His second term as mayor does not expire until January 2012. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is debating how to go about naming his successor.
California's lieutenant governor fills in when the governor travels out of state or is incapacitated. The second-in-command also serves on the governing boards of the state's public universities and commissions dealing with economic development and the environment.
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