SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s 2022 primary election is being held June 7. Candidates are vying for nominations for California Governor, California Attorney General, and U.S. Senator, along with other statewide races.
In the Sacramento region, the top races include Sacramento County Sheriff and Sacramento County District Attorney. Seats on the Sacramento City Council and Sacramento County Board of Supervisors are also being decided.
Placer County voters are selecting a new Sheriff and some Board of Supervisor seats.
The U.S. 3rd Congressional district race has Republican Assemblymember Kevin Kiley, Republican Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones and Democrat Kermit Jones vying to make it to the general election.
Use our interactive map to take a closer look at the results. Click on the map to see how more candidates did in certain counties. Use a desktop browser for optimal viewing:
► MORE RACES: See all the Sacramento region results HERE.
► WATCH MORE: Inside the Vote Count: This is what happens to your California ballot.
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Key Races
Attorney General
Low voter turnout and some political gamesmanship may decide which of three challengers emerges Tuesday to take on California Attorney General Rob Bonta in the November election. Bonta is running in his first statewide election as the only Democrat in the race. He faces two Republicans: Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor and former assistant U.S. attorney general endorsed by the state party, and Eric Early, legal counsel for the unsuccessful effort to recall Newsom last year. But the wildcard is Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, who gave up her Republican affiliation four years ago and is running as an independent. Also running is Green Party candidate Dan Kapelovitz.
Governor
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is back on the ballot after defeating a recall attempt last year. Newsom will appear in Tuesday's primary for governor along with 25 other candidates. Newsom is expected to finish in first place with ease. Whoever finishes in second will face him in November. Polling suggests Newsom's most likely opponent will be Republican state Sen. Brian Dahle. Democratic U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla is on the ballot twice on Tuesday. Newsom appointed him to the office last year. Padilla is seeking to finish out that term and be elected to a full six-year term that begins in January.
Silicon Valley Showdown
Kansen Chu gave up the state Assembly seat he had held for six years to run for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in 2020 and be close to his now-deceased mother.
He lost, and now wants his old seat back.
But it's now held by Alex Lee, who at age 25 became the youngest California state lawmaker in more than eight decades.
Chu, 69, said he wants to use his life, work and government experience “to make California a better state than I found it 40-some years ago" when he immigrated from Taiwan.
Lee “is too progressive for many of the voters here,” Chu said.
Lee's experience came from working for five different lawmakers, either as a college intern or a paid aide. His first legislative internship was with Chu himself, in 2015.
“I feel like I’ve been able to accomplish more in my less than two years in office than however long he’s been in office — probably basically as long as I've been alive," said Lee, jibing that Chu's keystone accomplishment was a ballot measure aimed at making daylight saving time year-round in California.
A coalition backed by real estate agents and landlords is spending more than $1.2 million to oppose Lee, who has promoted guaranteed housing and tenant protections among other issues. One opposition mailer noted that Lee “lives with his mom.”
Also running are two other Democrats, Fremont City Councilmember Teresa Keng and former San Jose City Councilman Lan Diep.
The top vote-getting Democrat is likely to again face Republican Bob Brunton, who's been trounced repeatedly by both Chu and Lee in the safe Democratic district that includes parts of Alameda and Santa Clara counties.
It's one of two Assembly districts in California where a majority of the residents are of Asian descent, according to the California Target Book that tracks legislative contests.
Central Valley Musical Chairs
Legislative remapping drew Sen. Melissa Hurtado into the same district as Sen. Anna Caballero. Rather than duke it out with a fellow Democratic incumbent, Hurtado agreed to relocate into the new 16th Senate District that includes Kings County and parts of Fresno, Kern and Tulare counties.
But that has her butting heads with former Assemblywoman Nicole Parra and Delano Mayor Bryan Osorio, fellow Democrats who initially planned to run for Congress before bidding for the state Senate.
Things immediately turned testy, with Hurtado creating a website aimed at Parra's background and Parra firing back on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Jane Fonda's Climate PAC is backing Osorio, along with candidates in other contests, with a video decrying Big Oil's influence among unnamed Democratic state lawmakers. The winner will help represent the heart of California's petroleum production region.
Also bidding for a top-two chance to advance out of the primary election are Republicans David Shepard and Gregory Tatum. Democrats hold a 13 percentage point edge in voter registration but the Target Book puts that within Republicans' reach in the Central Valley, where voters tend to be more conservative.
Business-Labor Battle
Republicans have become a virtual non-factor in California's Capitol, often leaving business and labor to spar over which candidate is most palatable among rival Democrats.
That's happening in legislative races up and down the state, and nowhere more than in the Sacramento County district where three candidates — all Democrats — are fighting for the chance to succeed Democratic state Sen. Richard Pan, who terms out of office this year.
“There's no Republican in the race so that's going to be a Dem vs. Dem runoff,” said Rob Pyers, California Target Book research director. “But in spite of that, both sides are pounding each other relentlessly in the primary.”
Business, housing and law enforcement organizations generally are favoring Sacramento City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, while labor is the mainstay for former Assemblyman Dave Jones. He was the state's insurance commissioner from 2011 to 2019 and is endorsed by the state Democratic Party and Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party.
Also running is union representative Rafa Garcia.
More than $1.6 million in independent spending has helped fuel the contest, which has split the party's moderate and progressive wings.
A political action committee that supports moderate Democrats, joined by housing, law enforcement, pharmaceutical and other lobbying organizations, paid for a billboard and other ads depicting Jones as a bobblehead doll. The ads urged voters not to give Jones “the nod” for senator.
Jones says he is running “to fight for people, not big corporations” and says “Big Oil” is backing Ashby through its contributions to the Democratic PAC.