California Primary Election Day Highlights
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Voters in the nation's most populous state have cast their ballots, bringing the six-month presidential primary almost to a close - Washington, D.C. holds the final contest next week - and culling the field in other races up and down the ballot.
Here's a look at some of the races and issues decided or left unsettled.
PRESIDENTIAL RACE
Hillary Clinton claimed the Democratic presidential primary in California after capturing enough commitments from delegates to become the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee.
In the weeks leading up to Tuesday, Bernie Sanders all but lived in California, holding near daily rallies in his last-ditch effort to win the state. He hoped a strong showing would help him make a strong case to superdelegates to back off their support for Clinton and give him the party's nod to take on Republican Donald Trump.
Trump handily won the GOP contest in California after all his Republican rivals dropped out. Still, almost one in four Republicans wasn't willing to support him, casting a ballot instead for the other Republicans who appeared on the ballot despite giving up their own bids.
SENATE CONTEST
Presidential politics aside, the marquee matchup from Tuesday is for California's first open U.S. Senate seat in 24 years.
In a first for California, two Democrats advanced to the November runoff for U.S. Senate. Attorney General Kamala Harris led the field by far, and U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez edged out two former California Republican Party chairmen and dozens of other contenders for the second slot.
Harris and Sanchez are vying to replace four-term Democrat Dianne Feinstein, who is retiring.
Under California's primary rules, all voters get the same choices and the top two finishers advance regardless of party.
DOWN THE BALLOT
Fifty-three seats in the U.S. House were up for grabs, and all incumbents looked poised to survive at least until November.
Several seats are likely to be top targets for the national political parties, including those held by Republicans David Valadao of the Central Valley and Steve Knight of the Los Angeles area. Democrat Ami Bera faces a tough fight against Republican Scott Jones in a Sacramento-area seat.
Both parties expect Democrats to keep their solid majorities in the state Assembly and Senate. Several Republicans running in districts that favor Democrats outpolled their Democratic rivals Tuesday.
The primaries also set up a number of hotly contested fights between moderate and liberal Democrats, with some favoring business interests and others supporting unions.
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer won a majority of votes, allowing him to clinch the job without facing a runoff in November. Same for former state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg in his bid for Sacramento Mayor.
VOTE-BY-MAIL
Many of the votes remain to be counted thanks to California's popular vote-by-mail option. For the first time, election officials planned to count ballots that arrive up to three days after the election, as long as they were postmarked by Tuesday.
The Field Poll estimated before the election that two-thirds of voters would cast a ballot at an early voting site or by mail.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
