ÉçÇøºÚÁÏ

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for ÉçÇøºÚÁÏ Newsletter

Top Takeaways

• The top two candidates will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.
• Millions of mail-in ballots have yet to be counted.
• The next governor will face major decisions about school funding and oversight.

With millions of ballots still to be counted in California, Chino Valley Unified school board President Sonja Shaw has a clear lead in the state superintendent of public instruction primary with 24.9% of the vote, followed by San Diego Unified school board President Richard Barrera with 18.9% of the vote. 

None of the other candidates have more than 10% of the vote at this point.

Although all the polling places have reported, it’s not over yet. The top two candidates moving on to the Nov. 3 general election won’t be decided until all the mail-in ballots and provisional ballots are counted. In a state with 23 million registered voters, the process could take up to 30 days, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

The late votes are likely to lean Democrat, as they have historically made up the majority of the mail-in voters in the state. This year, that might be even more true, as many Democrats held on to their ballots until a clear Democratic leader emerged in the governor’s race.

The two candidates at the front of the pack for the state superintendent of public instruction position agree that student test scores are too low and that the proposed restructuring of the California Department of Education , but they disagree about almost everything else.

, who notoriously had state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond ejected from a Chino Valley Unified , wants to end California policies prohibiting school staff from disclosing a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity. She also wants to prohibit transgender students from participating in girls’ sports.

support and to help districts recruit and retain teachers. 

There wasn’t much excitement around the superintendent’s race until late April when outside organizations to support their preferred candidates. 

A released in early April found that none of the 10 candidates for had more than 10% of support among likely voters. About a third of the voters surveyed said they didn’t know who they would vote for in the race.

When education unions began to spend in the race, they did not coalesce behind one candidate. The California Teachers Association’s independent expenditure committee spent $5 million on the Barrera campaign. The California Federation of Teachers committee spent $200,000, and a political action committee for the California School Employees Association spent $175,000 on the campaign; while a political action committee for the Service Employees International Union spent $250,000 on the campaign. 

Hilton, Becerra lead in governor’s race

Although education has in the gubernatorial race, the next governor will face major decisions about school funding and may have to execute a plan to move oversight of the California Department of Education from the state superintendent of public instruction to a new , if the plan is approved by the Legislature.

Republican , a political commentator, and Democrat , the former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, are leading the with 27.8% and 25.4% of the votes, respectively.

The front-runners are followed by Democrat Tom Steyer, a billionaire investor, with 19.6% of the vote, and Republican Chad Bianco, Riverside County sheriff, with 11.3% of the vote.

The four top vote-getters emerged from a crowded field of 61 candidates all vying to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will be termed out after eight years.

Hilton has said he would change state policies that prohibit parental notification when students indicate they may be transgender and that allow transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports. He also said he will hold teachers accountable for student performance by rewarding the best and firing the worst. 

During the campaign, Becerra highlighted his efforts to expand early childhood education when he was U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. He has also said he would ensure all California communities and that college is more .

investing more money in public schools and increasing teacher pay to help recruit and retain them. He would like free education from universal preschool at age 3 to community college. He proposes paying for it by raising taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals.

Bianco would like to expand career technical education and high-performing charter schools. His other ideas include increasing the focus on reading, writing, math and science, increasing funding for teacher training and recruitment, promoting mental health supports and ensuring all schools have an assigned law enforcement officer.

This story was originally published by . Sign up for their .

Did you use this article in your work?

We’d love to hear how ÉçÇøºÚÁÏ’s reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.