On Tuesday, voters across California turned up in droves to vote in the state’s primary election. In Solano County, the results were no different than how citizens voted in the rest of the state.

As in the state’s Democratic presidential primary election, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won in Solano County over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. However the victory gap in Solano was wider than in the state, with Clinton capturing 56 percent of the vote compared to Sanders’ 41 percent. In the statewide race, Clinton had a 12 point lead at press time securing the minimum number of delegates to become the party’s nominee, but Sanders has vowed to remain in the race until the Democratic National Convention.

As the one remaining candidate in the Republican race, New York businessman Donald Trump captured 72 percent of the vote in Solano County, with the remainder of votes going to write-in candidates and former GOP contenders who remained on the ballot in California, such as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

The U.S. Senate race featured 35 candidates vying to succeed retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer, but per California’s top-two primary system, only the top two vote getters will square off in the general election. In this case, it will be Democratic Attorney General Kamala Harris and Democratic Rep. Lorretta Sanchez, both of whom took first and second place respectively in Solano County as well.

In the race for California’s 5th Congressional District, which Benicia is a part of, incumbent Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Napa) was the victor, with Republican businessman Carlos Santamaria coming in second. Both candidates placed the same way in Solano, where Thompson received 65 percent of the vote and Santamaria received 17 percent.

Other elections that impacted Benicia included California’s 3rd Senatorial District, where Bill Dodd and Mariko Yamada will face off in November. Former Benicia City Councilmember and businessman Mike Ioakimedes took second place in the Solano County Board of Supervisors’ District 2 race where he will be running against Solano Community College board trustee Monica Brown.

As in the rest of California, Solano voters unanimously supported Proposition 50, which would aim to create a constitutional amendment to stop salaries and pension benefits for suspended senators. Many of the local measures were approved by voters, including Measure G which would allocate all the proceeds of voter-approved taxes to improve transportation. The initiative was a companion piece to Measure H, which would have enacted a half-percent sales tax over the next five years. However, 56 percent of Solano County voters voted against Measure H, which means Measure G is unlikely to go into effect. Voters also approved Measure AA, which would approve a $12 parcel tax to help restore wetlands in the Bay Area.

The elections will continue through November, where Benicians will be able to vote for mayor, City Council and Benicia Unified School District’s Governing Board in addition to the races listed above.

For complete results, visit the Solano County Registrar of Voters’ website at https://www.solanocounty.com/depts/rov/election_results/resultmaps.asp.

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