OAKLAND — Election night was good to Black candidates in California, and the East Bay was out front.
Rep. Lateefah Simon won reelection easily in the Oakland-based 12th Congressional District. Assemblymember Mia Bonta won another term in Oakland’s 18th Assembly District, a race guaranteed to elect a Black legislator because both finalists were Black. And at the top of the city ballot, Mayor Barbara Lee won a full term.
Statewide, Black candidates were ahead in 17 of the 24 state and federal races they ran in after the first night of counting, and every Black incumbent on the ballot was leading. The Associated Press had called 10 of those races by midnight.
Statewide and in Congress
Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, who became California’s first Black secretary of state in 2021, and State Controller Malia M. Cohen both won reelection comfortably. When Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond leaves office in January, they will be the only two Black officials elected statewide.
All three of California’s Black members of Congress won: Rep. Simon, Rep. Maxine Waters in South Los Angeles and Inglewood, and Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove in Southwest Los Angeles and Culver City. “We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Rep. Waters told supporters, promising to fight to restore food assistance and Medicare and to push the biggest housing bill in decades.
Former Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln, a Republican who would have become the delegation’s fourth Black member, fell short against Rep. Adam Gray in the Central Valley.
In the Legislature
All eight Black Assembly incumbents on the ballot were leading. The AP called races for Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson in Solano County, Assemblymember Bonta in Oakland, Assemblymember Sade Elhawary in South Los Angeles and Assemblymember Tina McKinnor in Inglewood and Hawthorne. Assemblymembers Rhodesia Ransom of Stockton, Isaac Bryan of Ladera Heights and Culver City, Corey Jackson of Riverside County and LaShae Sharp-Collins of San Diego were also ahead.
New faces are coming, too. Rohnert Park City Councilmember Jackie Elward led in the North Bay’s 12th Assembly District, and Compton school board member Ayanna Davis led in the 65th, the seat Assemblymember Mike Gipson is leaving. Gipson himself led for a seat on the state Board of Equalization covering Los Angeles County. Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas won reelection in South Los Angeles.
Two races were tight. Small business owner Paula Swift trailed narrowly in Orange County’s 70th Assembly District, and physician Dr. Tiffanie Tate closed the gap but trailed in a Riverside County state Senate race.
If the results hold, the California Legislative Black Caucus will grow from 12 members to 13. A win by Swift would make it 14.
In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass conceded to Councilmember Nithya Raman after the count tightened.
Counties are still counting mail ballots that arrive by Nov. 10, and the Secretary of State will certify the election by Dec. 11.
California Black Media contributed to this report.
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