Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

“This is my 11th straight election victory and what a sweet one it is,” Boxer said at a victory party in Hollywood, as the L.A. Times reported.

But Fiorina refused to concede:

“The facts are, it is too close to call, the facts are it’s going to be a long night. We’re going to be watching those returns all night. All those people who called the race, it was maybe not a smart thing to do.”

Okey dokey.

BTW, I am going to bed now that it’s midnight. I’ll be up before the print newspaper hits your doorstep, however, to provide an election update. Don’t tell Russ Steele, but today was a record traffic figure since this blog started. Seems there’s a real demand for this kind of product.

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From the NBC political team:

“We might be in for a long night — or a long few weeks — in the Alaska Senate race, but the early numbers are good ones for Republican write-in candidate Lisa Murkowski,” NBC is reporting.

With 33 percent of votes recorded, the “write in” option is leading with 40 percent of the vote, with Republican Joe Miller receiving 34 percent and Democrat Scott McAdams getting 25 percent.

If the write-in option wins or comes within one percent of the top vote-getter, the ballots will be individually evaluated to determine which names voters wrote in. That process could take weeks.”

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Here’s the latest from the Elections Office. The preliminary figures once again confirm that Tom McClintock and Dan Logue are much less popular in our county than the wider districts. In fact, Prop. 23, which both of them vocally supported, is losing. The full results are here.

Registration and Turnout
Completed Precincts: 35 of 87
Reg/Turnout Percentage
Total Registered Voters 61,481
Precinct Registration 61,481
Precinct Ballots Cast 6,694 10.9%
Early Ballots Cast 126 0.2%
Absentee Ballots Cast 18,236 29.7%
Total Ballots Cast 25,056 40.8%

PROPOSITION 23
Completed Precincts: 35 of 87
Vote Count Percentage
YES 11,008 47.5%
NO 12,187 52.5%

PROPOSITION 19
Completed Precincts: 35 of 87
Vote Count Percentage
YES 9,924 42.2%
NO 13,570 57.8%

Treasurer/Tax Collector.
Completed Precincts: 35 of 87
Vote Count Percentage
TINA M. VERNON 10,578 52.8%
DAI MEAGHER 9,475 47.2%

Governor.
Completed Precincts: 35 of 87
Vote Count Percentage
MEG WHITMAN (REP) 12,008 51.2%
JERRY BROWN (DEM) 10,410 44.3%
DALE F. OGDEN (LIB) 393 1.7%
LAURA WELLS (GRN) 315 1.3%
CHELENE NIGHTINGALE (AI) 273 1.2%
CARLOS ALVAREZ (PF) 74 0.3%
Top

Lieutenant Governor.
Completed Precincts: 35 of 87
Vote Count Percentage
ABEL MALDONADO (REP) 11,438 49.7%
GAVIN NEWSOM (DEM) 9,331 40.6%
PAMELA J. BROWN (LIB) 1,410 6.1%
JAMES “JIMI” CASTILLO (GRN) 391 1.7%
JIM KING (AI) 238 1.0%
C.T. WEBER (PF) 188 0.8%
Top

Secretary of State.
Completed Precincts: 35 of 87
Vote Count Percentage
DAMON DUNN (REP) 10,906 47.8%
DEBRA BOWEN (DEM) 10,018 43.9%
ANN MENASCHE (GRN) 761 3.3%
CHRISTINA TOBIN (LIB) 671 2.9%
MERTON D. SHORT (AI) 302 1.3%
MARYLOU CABRAL (PF) 171 0.7%

Controller.
Completed Precincts: 35 of 87
Vote Count Percentage
JOHN CHIANG (DEM) 11,670 50.9%
TONY STRICKLAND (REP) 9,344 40.8%
ANDREW “ANDY” FAVOR (LIB) 866 3.8%
ROSS D. FRANKEL (GRN) 560 2.4%
LAWRENCE G. BELIZ (AI) 276 1.2%
KAREN MARTINEZ (PF) 199 0.9%

Treasurer.
Completed Precincts: 35 of 87
Vote Count Percentage
MIMI WALTERS (REP) 10,798 47.6%
BILL LOCKYER (DEM) 10,139 44.7%
CHARLES “KIT” CRITTENDEN (GRN) 805 3.5%
EDWARD M. TEYSSIER (LIB) 589 2.6%
DEBRA L. REIGER (PF) 196 0.9%
ROBERT LAUTEN (AI) 173 0.8%

Attorney General.
Completed Precincts: 35 of 87
Vote Count Percentage
STEVE COOLEY (REP) 12,030 53.0%
KAMALA D. HARRIS (DEM) 8,488 37.4%
TIMOTHY J. HANNAN (LIB) 830 3.7%
PETER ALLEN (GRN) 807 3.6%
ROBERT J. EVANS (PF) 281 1.2%
DIANE BEALL TEMPLIN (AI) 274 1.2%

Insurance Commissioner.
Completed Precincts: 35 of 87
Vote Count Percentage
MIKE VILLINES (REP) 10,630 47.5%
DAVE JONES (DEM) 8,861 39.6%
RICHARD S. BRONSTEIN (LIB) 1,192 5.3%
WILLIAM BALDERSTON (GRN) 803 3.6%
DINA JOSEPHINE PADILLA (PF) 547 2.4%
CLAY PEDERSEN (AI) 355 1.6%

United States Senate.
Completed Precincts: 35 of 87
Vote Count Percentage
CARLY FIORINA (REP) 12,695 54.4%
BARBARA BOXER (DEM) 9,256 39.6%
GAIL K. LIGHTFOOT (LIB) 635 2.7%
DUANE ROBERTS (GRN) 399 1.7%
MARSHA FEINLAND (PF) 203 0.9%
EDWARD C. NOONAN (AI) 167 0.7%

House of Representatives of the United States District 4.
Completed Precincts: 35 of 87
Vote Count Percentage
TOM MCCLINTOCK (REP) 12,073 52.4%
CLINT CURTIS (DEM) 8,250 35.8%
BENJAMIN “BEN” EMERY (GRN) 2,714 11.8%

State Senate District 1.
Completed Precincts: 0 of 21
Vote Count Percentage
KEN COOLEY (DEM) 808 43.8%
TED GAINES (REP) 554 30.0%
ROGER NIELLO (REP) 268 14.5%
BARBARA ALBY (REP) 215 11.7%

State Senate District 4.
Completed Precincts: 35 of 66
Vote Count Percentage
DOUG LA MALFA (REP) 12,555 61.8%
LATHE GILL (DEM) 7,772 38.2%
Top

Assembly District 3.
Completed Precincts: 35 of 87
Vote Count Percentage
DAN LOGUE (REP) 11,664 52.3%
MICHAEL “MICKEY” HARRINGTON (DEM) 8,648 38.8%
GARY BRYANT (LIB) 1,995 8.9%

Council Member, City of Grass Valley.
Number To Vote For: 2
Completed Precincts: 4 of 8
Vote Count Percentage
DAN MILLER 1,273 37.0%
JASON E. FOUYER 1,022 29.7%
PATRICIA TUREAUD 853 24.8%
EDWARD W. YARBOROUGH 288 8.4%

Council Member, Town of Truckee.
Number To Vote For: 3
Completed Precincts: 0 of 9
Vote Count Percentage
RICHARD ANDERSON 697 29.9%
MARK BROWN 635 27.2%
CAROLYN WALLACE DEE 587 25.1%
CARL THOMAS JEFFRIES 416 17.8%

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Voters have rejected Prop. 19 to legalize marijuana, CNN projects.

Older people were opposed to the ballot measure, while younger people supported it.

There was a run on ballots at UC San Diego, according to CNN.

Proponents were somber at campaign headquarters in Oakland, handing out Baklava with marijuana.

The editor/publisher of The Union has supported the measure, while the county DA and Sheriff, among others, were opposed.

Some worried that passage of the measure would hurt the “underground” marijuana economy in our community, dampening spending.

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Harry Reid beat Sharron Angle in the U.S. Senate race in Nevada — the most visible sign of a tea party flop in the West.

The defeat was projected by CNN.

It was one of the nastiest political races in the nation.

I’ve included a photo of some Sharron Angle campaign material I collected from her Reno office this summer, if you recall. I figure I can sell it on eBay.

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Barbara Boxer has won her hard-fought U.S. Senate race against Carly Fiorina, and the Senate remains under Democratic control, according to CNN projections.

Jerry Brown also has been declared the winner over Meg Whitman for governor in California.

In addition, tea party candidate Sharron Angle is losing to Harry Reid in Nevada, according to the latest returns.

Bottom line: The tea party “tsumani” has hit a wall when “blowing” West.

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The first batch of ballots, from voters who mailed in their votes, have been posted by the county Elections Office. Some highlights:

PROPOSITION 23
Completed Precincts: 0 of 87
Vote Count Percentage
YES 8,240 49.7%
NO 8,337 50.3%

PROPOSITION 19
Completed Precincts: 0 of 87
Vote Count Percentage
YES 6,998 41.8%
NO 9,759 58.2%

House of Representatives of the United States District 4.
Completed Precincts: 0 of 87
Vote Count Percentage
TOM MCCLINTOCK (REP) 8,897 54.0%
CLINT CURTIS (DEM) 5,858 35.6%
BENJAMIN “BEN” EMERY (GRN) 1,720 10.4%

Treasurer/Tax Collector.
Completed Precincts: 0 of 87
Vote Count Percentage
TINA M. VERNON 7,561 52.0%
DAI MEAGHER 6,968 48.0%

Council Member, City of Grass Valley.
Number To Vote For: 2
Completed Precincts: 0 of 8
Vote Count Percentage
DAN MILLER 984 38.2%
JASON E. FOUYER 757 29.4%
PATRICIA TUREAUD 607 23.6%
EDWARD W. YARBOROUGH 228 8.9%
Top

Council Member, Town of Truckee.
Number To Vote For: 3
Completed Precincts: 0 of 9
Vote Count Percentage
RICHARD ANDERSON 697 29.9%
MARK BROWN 635 27.2%
CAROLYN WALLACE DEE 587 25.1%
CARL THOMAS JEFFRIES 416 17.8%

The full results are here.

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The GOP has won solid control of the House, according to media projections.

Republicans could wind up with a net gain of 50 seats, according to CNN. Nancy Pelosi, vilified by the right, no longer will be the House speaker.

Though tea party candidates in Kentucky (Rand Paul) and Florida (Marco Rubio) have won, others, such as Christine O’Donnell in Delaware, have lost.

Gov. Joe Manchin was elected a Senator in West Virginia, a coup for the Democrats.

So far, the tea party “tsunami” may not extend to the west, and the Democrats still stand an excellent chance of controlling the Senate.

Exit polls show that Democrats are holding their own in the western United States — in Colorado and California, for example. The Wisconsin Senate race also is closer than expected.

“The Delaware political process will never be the same,” O’Donnell — who admitted to dabbling in witchcraft at that younger “experimental” age — said in her concession speech.

BTW, I bet John Stoos, the McClintock and hard right supporter who regularly comments here, a dinner that O’Donnel would lose. I’ll collect on that one. I also bet John that Prop. 23 would lose, and I expect I’ll collect on that one too.

I’ve been sampling some “flatland” restaurants in recent weeks in anticipation of collecting. Check out Hawks Restaurant in Granite Bay. I also have thought about getting John a “visa” to come to Nevada City for New Moon Cafe.

No worries: John was earning north of $90K under Tom, as public documents show. Besides, I’ll propose we go “dutch,” because we have ethical standards here.

Enjoy the rest of election night! We’ll be here until it’s over.

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The first batch of local election results, from mail-in ballots, are expected at about 8:35 p.m., the elections office told me.

It it expected to represent between one-quarter to one-third of the total count.

The next batch isn’t expected until about 10:35 p.m.

Sources, meanwhile, tell me that McClintock supporters are being very active in monitoring the elections in the Truckee area. McClintock lost handily in the Truckee area in the last Congressional election.

The east end of the county leans more to the left than the west end.

The scrutiny has offended some of the government officials there.

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Alta Sierra polling place

•Live chat: Talk elections with The Bee’s Dan Walters and Foon Rhee in a live chat at 8 p.m. Click the link below:

Election 2010: The Bee’s Dan Walters and Foon Rhee host

•Here’s some leaked exit poll reports being posted on Huffington Post:

Blumenthal (D-CT) +8
Rubio (R-FL) +21
Blunt (R-MO) +10
Boxer (D-CA) +8
Kirk (R-IL) +6
Paul (R-KY) +11,
NV–EVEN
Bennet (D-CO) +2
Toomey (R-PA) +4
Murray (D-WA) +6
Manchin (D-WV) +7
Johnson (R-WI) +5

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