Election 2018

After a tight race, Assemblymember Tony Thurmond has been elected as California superintendent of public instruction.

After more than two decades on the Berkeley City Council, this November will mark Councilmember Linda Maio’s last month as the elected official for District 1.

In this week’s elections, a number of recent UC Berkeley graduates succeeded in winning spots on city councils across the state, bringing new perspectives to local politics.

For many UC Berkeley students, voting in this year’s election included the task of deciding whether to register in Berkeley or in their hometown — a decision that potentially impacted the outcomes of local elections.

The results of Election Day perpetuated a series of flips and changes on the local, state and national stages. Among the highlights — a national flip in the House of Representatives, a state rejection of the expansion of rent control and a contentious Berkeley City Council District 1 race.

Rashi Kesarwani has won the race for Berkeley City Council District 1, defeating Igor Tregub, Margo Schueler and Mary Behm-Steinberg with 55.82 percent of the vote as of press time at 9 p.m.

Alameda County is still counting thousands of ballots for a midterm election projected to feature extraordinarily high voter turnout.

Harrison was sworn into office in March 2017 and during her time on the council has worked on multiple issues, including police reform, affordable housing and homelessness. Now that Harrison has been re-elected, she said she is “gratified” by the results.

Buffy Wicks beat opponent Jovanka Beckles for the California State Assembly District 15 seat, receiving 56 percent of the vote with 100 percent of precincts reporting as of press time at 3:01 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Robinson, who graduated from UC Berkeley as a political economy major this year, placed student representation at the center of his bid for the City Council seat.