LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Gov. Gavin Newsom will be advancing to a November runoff election in his bid for another term leading the state, easily topping a field of two dozen challengers.
Newsom will square off in the race against Republican Brian Dahle, who finished a distant second in Tuesday's primary.
Incumbents across the board in statewide offices easily advanced to the November runoff -- lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, attorney general, insurance commissioner and superintendent of public instruction.
Only the controller's office was up for grabs, with Betty Yee termed out of office. Four Democrats -- state Board of Equalization member Malia Cohen, Los Angeles city Controller Ron Galperin, state Sen. Steve Glazer and Monterey Park City Councilwoman Yvonne Yiu -- and one Republican -- Lanhee Chen -- were vying for that post.
Chen easily led the field and will advance to the November runoff, taking on Cohen.
The top two vote-getters in all of the races advance to the November general election, regardless of political party.
Meanwhile, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, was on Tuesday's ballot twice. Padilla was appointed to the Senate seat when Kamala Harris became vice president, and he ran to both complete the current term, which runs through the end of the year, and to claim a fresh six-year term in the office.
Hence, there were two Senate races on the ballot -- with Padilla easily winning the right to fill out the current term. In his bid for a full six-year term, Padilla will square off in November with Republican Mark Meuser, a constitutional law attorney from Pasadena.