Hillary Clinton Wins The Democratic Primary In California
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LOS ANGELES (AP) - Hillary Clinton captured the Democratic presidential primary, while Donald Trump easily won on the Republican side as voters also cast ballots for a new U.S. senator and a host of other offices in California's late-season primary.
In the other marquee contest, two Democrats, California Attorney General Kamala Harris and U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Orange County, will face each other in the U.S. Senate race in November. Both are women and minorities.
Donald Trump cruised to the Republican primary nomination Tuesday in the nation's most populous state, where other GOP candidates remained on the ballot. Ohio Gov. John Kasich was running second.
Voters also were narrowing the field for the November general election in contests for the U.S. House, both chambers of the state Legislature and numerous local races. Millions of votes remained uncounted early Wednesday and many late ballots will not be counted for days.
Clinton carried California in the 2008 presidential primary over then-Sen. Barack Obama. This victory in California proved to be a capstone to her history-making candidacy, which she celebrated earlier Tuesday in Brooklyn, New York with a rally marking her standing as the first female major party presidential nominee.
"I just like her politics and her qualifications and I want to see a woman be president. It's time," said Tirzah Davis, 54, after voting in Roseville, 20 miles northeast of Sacramento. "It's crazy. I never thought it would happen."
Two former Republican party chairmen and a physicist-turned-software developer are among several GOP contenders for the Senate seat, but none has polled above single digits or raised significant campaign funds in the overwhelmingly Democratic state.
The crowded Senate ticket featured 34 candidates, making it hard for some voters to differentiate.
"There were so many names. I didn't know 80 percent of them," said Fresno correctional officer Juan Perez. He ended up choosing Sanchez.
Voters also approved a measure giving lawmakers authority to suspend fellow lawmakers and withhold their pay when they're accused of wrongdoing.
In the state Legislature, Republicans are trying to prevent Democrats from gaining a two-thirds majority in both chambers, which would give the party a virtual lock on political power.
In a further sign of the weakened state of the GOP in California, Democrats face the prospect of several same-party runoffs that have attracted millions of dollars in outside spending in a tug-of-war between the party's moderate and liberal wings. Early results showed Republican incumbents holding strong in the most closely divided districts currently in GOP hands.
In congressional races, two Republican incumbents being targeted by Democrats advanced Tuesday night, while their challengers remained undecided. David Valadao advanced in the Central Valley district where his party lags Democrats by 16 points in voter registration and Steve Knight advanced in the Los Angeles area.
California's primary has triggered a surge of interest, with voter registration hitting a primary election record of 17.9 million. The Field Poll estimates that 45 percent of registered voters will participate in the primary, about two-thirds of them by mail.
Election officials in several large counties — including Los Angeles and San Diego — described turnout as better than the 2012 presidential primary but below that in 2008.
Many new registrants are not affiliated with either party. The state Democratic Party allows them to vote in its presidential race, but they must request a ballot, and many are unaware of the rules.
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