San Benito County voters largely agreed with the rest of state
or district voters, but with significantly slimmer margins in
several key races in what signaled a subtle shift against tradition
here. Although San Benito County traditionally follows statewide
voters in bellwether fashion, it wasn’t necessarily the case in the
Nov. 2 election.
San Benito County voters largely agreed with the rest of state or district voters, but with significantly slimmer margins in several key races in what signaled a subtle shift against tradition here.
Voters on Nov. 2 made choices on several key state or federal races, including local seats in the state Assembly and Senate, along with Congressman Sam Farr and U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer’s reelection bids. The ballot also included propositions to legalize recreational marijuana and bar the state from taking some local funds.
Although San Benito County traditionally follows statewide voters in bellwether fashion – The Los Angeles Times recently profiled the county’s tendency to vote in line with the rest of Californians – it wasn’t necessarily the case in the Nov. 2 election.
Elections workers have finished counting the 2,800 mail-in ballots remaining after Nov. 2, but still must complete about 500 provisional ballots.
More than 48 percent of voters in San Benito County are registered Democrats, while 30.25 percent are Republicans and nearly 17 percent “decline to state” or register with other, smaller parties. Statewide, about 45 percent of registered voters are Democrats and 31 percent are Republicans.
In the governor’s race, Democrat Jerry Brown gained 50.6 percent of the county vote with Republican Meg Whitman receiving 43.9 percent, or a difference of 6.7 points, according to those recent results. That is a smaller margin for Brown than statewide, with Brown carrying an 11.9-point advantage in the latest figures.
In the race for lieutenant governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom’s margin over Republican Abel Maldanado was a mere 0.5 percent, or 72 votes countywide. Statewide, Newsom won by 10.3 points in the latest results.
In the race for U.S. Senator, Democrat Barbara Boxer’s margin of victory here was 4.3 percentage points. Statewide, Boxer won by nine points.
In Farr’s reelection bid in the 17th Congressional District, the Democrat in San Benito County gained 55.8 percent of the vote to Republican Jeffrey Taylor’s 40.7 percent, according to the county figures. Throughout the district, Farr won by a margin of 66.4 percent to 30.5 percent, or 35.9 points. As a comparison, in 2008 Farr beat Taylor 73.9 percent to 25.9 percent districtwide, while he won in San Benito 64.4 percent to 35.1 percent that year.
The race for the 28th Assembly District seat was a lot closer than in other areas, but Republican Robert Bernosky is a San Benito County resident. Bernosky lost out districtwide to Democrat Luis Alejo by a margin of 60.8 percent to 39.2 percent. In the county, Alejo won 51.8 percent to 47.9 percent.
Some of the races that showed similar results here as statewide included those for attorney general and State Senate District 12.
