It was a hard night for two chief executive officers, as longtime Democratic politicians Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer defeated their Republican rivals in Tuesday’s state election.
After a 28-year hiatus from office, current California Attorney General Brown was elected governor, defeating former eBay executive Meg Whitman by a 5 percent margin as of press time.
As governor, Brown will take over a state facing high unemployment rates and a tough economic situation.
“We’re really glad that we’re going to have a governor who cares about education,” said Patrick Ahrens, a fourth-year political science student and marketing director for Bruin Democrats.
Nevertheless, some attributed Brown’s victory to the state’s blue-state reputation, said Drew LaFountaine, a fourth-year political science and economics student and issues director for Bruin Republicans.
Daniel Mitchell, professor emeritus at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and School of Public Affairs, said the race could have been a lot closer.
Mitchell said Whitman and Brown were neck and neck in the polls going into September when news broke that Whitman had fired an illegal immigrant working in her household.
After a tumultuous campaign, Democratic incumbent Boxer retained her hold on the California Senate seat, beating former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina by a 4.5 percent margin. This will be Boxer’s fourth term in office.
With regard to these results, Mitchell said Fiorina positioned herself in a conservative position far from the median California voter during the primaries, which hurt her in the general election.
“(Boxer’s) been a check-in for progressive issues throughout her time in office,” Ahrens said.
In terms of other ballot measures, Proposition 19, which would have legalized marijuana for individuals older than 21, was defeated by a 9.6 percent margin.
This issue gained great attention, especially on college campuses like UCLA, where signs and tables on Bruin Walk promoted the passage of the proposition.
“I think a lot of people are surprised how the props are going, especially 19, but we have to remember we are at college and there is a different demographic,” said Hannah Spero, a first-year international development studies student.
As of press time, Democrat Gavin Newsom was projected to win lieutenant governor, and Republican Steve Cooley was expected to win attorney general.
With reports from Kylie Reynolds, Bruin reporter.