A student-operated publication at Santa Rosa Junior College.

The Oak Leaf

A student-operated publication at Santa Rosa Junior College.

The Oak Leaf

A student-operated publication at Santa Rosa Junior College.

The Oak Leaf

The Oak Leaf election blog: November 2022 edition

California Ballot Proposition status with 35 days left until the results will be certified, Dec. 16, according to the California Secretary of State’s website.

Prop 1- Abortion Rights

Yes 64.7% to 35.3%

Prop 26 – Legalize Sports Betting on Tribal Lands

No 30% to 70%

Prop 27- Legalize Mobile Sports Betting

No 16.7% to 83.3%

Prop 28 – Public School arts and music education funding

Yes 61.4% to 38.6%

Prop 29 – Regulates staffing of kidney dialysis clinics

No 30.1% to 69.9% 

Prop 30 – Imposes a tax to support the purchase of electric vehicles

No 40.8% to 59.2% 

Prop 31 – Banning the sale of flavored tobacco

Yes 62.1% to 37.9%  

Reporting by Michael Combs

10:25 p.m.

Current statewide contests with 50% of votes counted in California according to  the California Secretary of State’s website.

Secretary of State 

Democrat Shirley Weber 61% to Republican Rob Bernos 38%

Controller

Democrat Malia Cohen 56% to Republican Lanhee Chen 43%

Treasurer

Democrat Fiona Ma 60% to Republican Jack Guerrero 40%

Attorney General

Democrat Rob Bonta 61% to Republican Nathan Hochman 39%

Insurance Commissioner

Democrat Ricardo Lara 61% to Republican Robert Howell 38%

Superintendent of Public Instruction

Independent Tony Thurmond 65% to Republican Lance Christensen 34% 

Prop 1- Abortion Rights

Yes 68% to 31%

Prop 26 – Legalize Sports Betting on Tribal Lands

No 29% to 70%

Prop 27- Legalize Mobile Sports Betting

No 16% to 84%

Prop 28 – Public School arts and music education funding

Yes 63% to 36%

Prop 29 – Regulates staffing of kidney dialysis clinics

No 30% to 69% 

Prop 30 – Imposes a tax to support the purchase of electric vehicles

No 42% to 57% 

Prop 31 – Banning the sale of flavored tobacco

Yes 64% to 35%  

Reporting by Michael Combs, Tony Moeckel, Nick Vides, and Sean Young

9:35 p.m.

New York

With 79% of the votes counted, CNN and NBC have declared Democratic Candidate Kathy Hochul the winner against Republican Candidate Lee Zeldin.

Reporting by Nick Vides

Michigan

Democrat Incumbent Gretchen Whitmer continues to maintain her 66,000 vote lead over Republican candidate Tudor Dixon with 54% of the vote counted, according to CNN.

Reporting by Tony Moeckel

Arizona

Democrat Katie Hobbs maintains her lead over Republican Kari Lake for governor with 56.6% to 43.3%, according to CNN

Democrat Mark Kelly maintains his lead over Republican Blake Masters with 57.7% to 40%, according to CNN

Reporting by Michael Combs

Kansas

Republican candidate Derek Schmidt closes the gap further against Democratic Incumbent Laura Kelly. Kelly’s lead is now 26,000 with an estimated 85% of the votes counted, according to CNN

Reporting by Tony Moeckel

 

California Ballot Proposition status with 34% of the votes counted, according to the California Secretary of State’s website.

Prop 1- Abortion Rights

Yes 69% to 31%

Prop 26 – Legalize Sports Betting on Tribal Lands

No 29% to 70%

Prop 27- Legalize Mobile Sports Betting

No 16% to 84%

Prop 29 – Regulates staffing of kidney dialysis clinics

No 30% to 69% 

Prop 30 – Imposes a tax to support the purchase of electric vehicles

No 43% to 56% 

Prop 31 – Banning the sale of flavored tobacco

Yes 65% to 34%  

Reporting by Michael Combs and Tony Moeckel

 

8:40 p.m.

Jared Huffman, left, and Mike Thompson have both won their respected congressional districts. (Courtesy Huffman and Thompson)

California 

Democratic Incumbent Jared Huffman has been called the projected winner over Republican Douglas Bower in the California House. Fellow Democratic Incumbent, Mike Thompson is projected to win over Republican Matt Brock in the California House according to CNN.

“I am humbled and honored to have earned the trust of our district to represent our community in Congress. Serving the people of the district where I was born, grew up and raised my family is the greatest honor of my life.” Thompson said,  “Know that I will work tirelessly in the upcoming Congress to ensure our district is the best place in the nation to raise a family, start a business, and retire with dignity.”

Reporting by Tony Moeckel

 

8:30 p.m.

Georgia

Democratic Candidate Stacy Abrams has lost to Republican Brian Kemp for the Governor’s seat according to Associated Press.

Reporting by Nick Vides

Ohio

Republican JD Vance has won against Democratic Candidate Tim Ryan for the Senate.

Reporting by Nick Vides

Pennsylvania 

Democratic Candidate Josh Shapiro has won the gubernatorial race against Republican Candidate Douglas Mastriano.

Reporting by Nick Vides

Michigan

Democrat incumbent Gretchen Whitner maintains her lead over Republican candidate Tudor Dixon with 51.7% to 46.6%, according to CNN

Reporting by Michael Combs

Arizona

Democrat Katie Hobbs maintains her lead over Republican Kari Lake for governor with 56.9% to 43%, according to CNN

Democrat Mark Kelly maintains his lead over Republican Blake Masters with 58% to 39.7%, according to CNN

Reporting by Michael Combs

 

8:10 p.m.

Gov. Gavin Newsom answers press questions after a debate against state Sen. Brian Dahle at KQED in San Francisco on Oct. 23, 2022. (Aryk Copley)

California

Alex Padilla has won his race against Mark P. Meuser according to CNN.

Gavin Newsom has also kept his gubernatorial seat.

Reporting by Nick Vides

Ohio 

In the Ohio Senate Race, Republican candidate J.D. Vance leads Democratic candidate Tim Ryan with 86% of votes in, according to CNN’s live election updates.

Reporting by Sean Young

Texas
Republican incumbent Greg Abbott defeated Democrat Beto O’Rourke in the governor’s race with 55.2% of the vote to O’Rourke’s 43.5%

Reporting by Stephen Howe

Georgia

Republican candidate Herschel Walker has pulled ahead of Democratic incumbent Rev. Raphael Warnock in the Georgia Senate Race with 86% of votes counted, according to CNN’s live election updates. In the Georgia Gubernatorial Race, Republican Governor Brian Kemp leads over Democratic Candidate Stacey Abrams with 86% of votes counted, according to CNN’s live election updates. 

Reporting by Sean Young


Michigan

Democrat incumbent Gretchen Whitner leads the governor’s race by 6.4 points over Republican candidate Tudor Dixon with 52.4% to 46%, according to CNN

Reporting by Michael Combs

Kansas

Republican candidate Derek Schmidt has closed the gap against Democratic Incumbent Laura Kelly in the past hour. Kelly’s lead is now 39,000 with an estimated 79% of the votes counted according to CNN

Reporting by Tony Moeckel 

Arizona

Katie Hobbs has increased her lead by 14% over candidate Republican Kari Lake in the race for Governor of Arizona. The Democratic Senate incumbent Mark Kelly maintains his lead with a 19% over Republican Blake Masters. Half of the votes are in and counted according to CNN.

Reporting by Hana Seals

Oregon

In the Oregon Gubernatorial Race, Democratic candidate Tina Kotek leads over Republican Christine Drazen and Independent Betsy Johnson with 22%, according to CNN.

Reporting by Sean Young

 

7:30 p.m. 

California polls close in 30 minutes. Please stay in line if you are in line.

New York 

After 29% of the state’s votes in, Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul leads the governor’s race by 579,348 votes, with 1,179,899 votes over Republican Lee Zeldin’s 600,551 votes.

Reporting by Christian Vieyra 

Ohio

In the Ohio Senate Race, Republican candidate J.D. Vance leads Democratic candidate Tim Ryan with 67% of votes in, according to CNN’s live election updates.

Reporting by Sean Young

Kansas

Democratic Incumbent Laura Kelly currently leads by 10.3% over Republican candidate Derek Schmidt in Kansas’ governor race. An estimated 55% of the votes have been counted in Kansas according to CNN

Reporting by Tony Moeckel

Texas

Republican incumbent Greg Abbott leads the governor’s race with 53.3% to Democrat Beto O’Rourke’s 45.5% according to CNN

Reporting by Stephen Howe

Georgia 

Democratic incumbent Rev. Raphael Warnock narrowly leads the Georgia Senate Race over Republican candidate Herschel Walker with 79% of votes counted, according to CNN’s live election updates. In the Georgia Gubernatorial Race, Republican Governor Brian Kemp leads over Democratic Candidate Stacey Abrams with 79% of votes counted, according to CNN’s live election updates

Reporting by Sean Young

Arizona

Democrat Katie Hobbs is leading by 11% over Republican candidate Kari Lake in the race for Governor of Arizona. The Democratic incumbent Mark Kelly is ahead by 15% for Arizona’s Senate Seat over Blake Masters. Less than half of the votes are in and counted according to CNN

Reporting by Hana Seals

Michigan

Democrat incumbent Gretchen Whitner leads the governor’s race by 4.8 points over Republican candidate Tudor Dixon with 49.9% to 45.1%, according to FiveThirtyEight

Reporting by Michael Combs

 

6 p.m. 

Continued National Race Updates.

Ohio

In the Ohio Senate Race, Democratic candidate Tim Ryan leads 52.3% against Republican candidate J.D. Vance 47.6% with 38% of votes in, according to CNN.

Reporting by Sean Young

Texas
Republican incumbent Greg Abbott leads the governor’s race by 51.7% over Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke’s 47.2%, according to CNN.

Reporting by Stephen Howe

Michigan
Democrat incumbent Gretchen Whitner leads the governor’s race by 4.8 points over Republican candidate Tudor Dixon with 49.9% to 45.1%, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Reporting by Michael Combs

Georgia

In Georgia, Republican Governor Brian Kemp leads the governor’s race with 51.6% of the vote over Democratic Candidate Stacey Abrams who has 47.8% of the vote, according to CNN. Georgia Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock leads the Georgia Senate Race with 51.2% of the vote over Republican candidate Herschel Walker who has 47.0%, according to CNN.

Reporting by Sean Young

Florida

In Florida, Republican Marco Rubio will be reelected as Senator over Democrat Val Demings according to CNN. Also, Florida’s governor race was called with Republican Ron DeSantis winning over Democrat Charlie Crist according to CNN.

Reporting by Tony Moeckel

New York

Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul leads the governor’s race with 400,650 votes compared to Republican Lee Zeldin’s 139,592 votes with an estimated 9% of the state’s votes in per CNN.

Reporting by Christian Vieyra

Pennsylvania

Democratic Candidate John Fetterman is currently ahead of Republican Candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz with 64.1% of the vote for Senate Race in Pennsylvania; currently 15% of the votes have been counted, according to CNN’s live updates.

Reporting by Dharma Niles 

5:30 p.m.

Santa Rosa Junior College Students tell Oak Leaf reporters Tony Moeckel and Hana Seals whether they voted and why—or why not.

Tony Moeckel and Hana Seals

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reporting by Tony Moeckel and Hana Seals

5 p.m.

National Race Updates.

Texas

In the Texas gubernatorial race, Republican Incumbent Greg Abbott leads 51.7% against Democrat Beto O’Rourke’s 42.6%, as shown in Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight.

Reporting by Erina Corl

New York 

Democratic Incumbent Kathy Hochul leads the New York governor race polls 51.7% over Republican Lee Zeldin 43.9% according to FiveThirtyEight

Reporting by Christian Vieyra

Florida

Republican Marco Rubio is leading against Democratic Candidate Val Demings 2,132,768 to 1,751,331 with 46% of the votes counted, according to the Associated Press. Florida Gov. Ron Desantis is also leading against Democratic Candidate Charlie Christ in the gubernatorial race per CNN.

Reporting by Nick Vides

Georgia

In Georgia, Democratic Candidate Stacey Abrams leads the governor’s race by 15% over Republican Governor Brian Kemp, per FiveThirtyEight. Georgia Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock leads the senate race by 18.7% over Republican candidate Herschel Walker, per FiveThirtyEight.

Reporting by Bryan Fructuoso

Pennsylvania

Republican Candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz just surpassed Democratic Candidate John Fetterman with a 0.5% lead; Oz has 47.4% and Fetterman has 46.9% in the Pennsylvania Senate Race, per FiveThirtyEight’s ongoing updates. 

Reporting by Dharma Niles. 

Nevada

Polls have Republican Candidate Adam Paul Laxalt leading the senate race with 47.3% against Democrat Incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto with 45.9%, according to FiveThirtyEight

Reporting by Lucas Cadigan-Carranza

Michigan

Democrat incumbent Gretchen Whitner leads the governor’s race by 4.8 points over Republican candidate Tudor Dixon (R) with 49.9% to 45.1%, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Reporting by Michael Combs 

3:30 p.m.

Kunde to Retire, Chaaban to assume trustee seat

Courtesy Chaaban and Kunde

For the past 10 months, winemaker and SRJC trustee Jeff Kunde has been searching for someone to run in his place. That’s where Chaaban comes into the picture. “I think he’s everything that the JC needs, for many different reasons,” Kunde said. “He’s a legal mind.”

Chaaban, a Sonoma Valley resident, currently serves as the chief of staff for California State Senator Bill Dodd, who represents the cities of Sonoma, Napa, Petaluma, Rohnert Park and Cotati.

Kunde is retiring after 16 years on the board.

Click here for the full story.

Reporting by Nick Vides and Sean Young.

3:15 p.m. 

Santa Rosa Junior College Students tell Oak Leaf reporters Tony Moeckel and Hana Seals whether they voted and why—or why not.

Tony Moeckel and Hana Seals

Reporting by Tony Moeckel and Hana Seals.

1:14 p.m. Tuesday

It’s Election Day in America, and tensions are high throughout the country as all 435 House seats and multiple Senate spots are up for grabs, all with razor thin margins.

In California, Democratic congressional incumbents Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman are expected to beat their opponents handedly, according to Nate Silver’s 538.

Democrat Alex Padilla is expected to maintain his senate seat against Mark P. Meuser.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is predicted to maintain his governorship against Republican Brian Dahle.

In Pennsylvania, senate polling between Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz and Democrat John Fetterman is within the margin of error, according to Nate Silver’s 538 polling site.

In Georgia, incumbent Democratic Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock is battling Republican Hershel Walker. Warnock is down one point in the polls, according to 538. 

Reporting by Nick Vides

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About the Contributors
Peter Morales, Editor
Peter Morales is in his fourth semester reporting for The Oak Leaf and working towards a journalism degree, with his sights on San Francisco State. He hopes to take more photos of general news as well as sports. His dream is to one day accomplish something with his life, and cause as many problems to the status quo through storytelling and photography. "Who knows, maybe I'll destabilize a government or two before my mid-life crisis."
Aryk Copley, Photographer
Aryk Copley (he/they) is an aspiring photojournalist in his second year with The Oak Leaf. After experiencing a brain injury and a subsequent 5-year recovery, Aryk has returned to school with a matured perspective of the world. As a means to cope with the aftereffects of his injury, he developed a passion for photography. Aryk works as a freelance wedding and portrait photographer in the Sonoma County area and maintains a propensity for full-contact weapons fighting, analog film photography, traveling, cinema and thrifting.

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