Real-Time Results: Rohnert Park-Cotati Midterm Election 2026

ROHNERT PARK-COTATI, CA — The polls are closed in Sonoma County, and voters will soon know if billionaires will get their own California tax, and whether a blue wave will flood Congress, possibly sinking the final two years of President Donald Trump’s lame-duck presidency.

Millions of voters and election officials wait not only for the results but also for the president’s reaction.

Trump’s Justice Department spent the final two weeks of the campaign season issuing subpoenas to California election officials and suing to block 20,000 Golden State ballots from being counted amid allegations of illegal voting.

The Justice Department issued subpoenas for multiple California election officials to appear in court the day after the election. And the Justice Department threatened California election workers with criminal prosecution and unleashed monitors on Election Day to watch operations at voting centers across major Golden State cities.

Amid that contentious backdrop, Californians cast their ballots for a new governor, widely expected to be Democrat Xavier Becerra, who went into the election with a wide lead in the polls over Republican Steve Hilton.

The outcome of dozens of down-ballot primary races also hangs in the balance in Sonoma County. Rohnert Park and Cotati voters will choose congressional and state Assembly representatives, along with local officials in contests determined by city and district boundaries.

Scroll down for Sonoma County election night results.

Click here to track your ballot and make sure it is counted.

As of September, the California Secretary of State reported that 23,164,977 Californians were registered to vote, which accounts for more than 85 percent of the state's eligible voting population.

Not surprisingly, there are far more registered Democrats than Republicans in the state, with 45 percent for the former and 25 percent for the latter. [Find your county’s registration stats here on page 17 of the Secretary of State’s report].

In Sonoma County, the rate of voter registration is high. As of September, it topped 89 percent — with 55 percent of voters registered as Democrats, 18 percent as Republicans.

Click here for all Sonoma County election results.

Record Turnout

Based on early voting, California is poised to see 60 percent of registered voters head to the polls, a record for a gubernatorial race, Paul Mitchell, of political data analysis firm Political Data told The San Francisco Chronicle.

While the governor’s race was expected to be called early Tuesday, it’s California’s congressional races and ballot measures poised to offer the biggest upsets and surprises. Hanging in the balance is control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mitchell predicted that five key redrawn congressional districts appear poised to deliver Democratic victories driven, in part, by high turnout among Latino voters.

“I think the blue wave is on track,” Mitchell told The Chronicle. “It seems to be on track that we’re going to have a really strong turnout.”

So far, voter turnout has been higher in competitive races such as the Central Valley’s District 22 and the 48th Congressional District in San Diego — two districts Democrats hope to flip after their mid-decade gerrymander.

As of Oct. 29, Democratic voters represented 51 percent of ballots returned statewide compared to just 28 percent among Republican voters, according to the Political Data tracker.

Congressional and local races

A close council contest and a proposed sales tax gave Rohnert Park voters plenty to watch Tuesday night, while both communities weighed choices for schools and regional leadership. By 11:18 p.m., the unofficial returns showed early leads, with additional ballots still to be counted.

U.S. House, District 4 — Democratic incumbent Mike Thompson was leading among Sonoma County voters with 56 percent of the votes, followed by Democrat Eric Jones with 44 percent. These totals excluded votes from other counties in the district (13,529 votes to 10,697 votes).

California Assembly, District 12 — Rohnert Park Councilmember Jackie Elward was leading among Sonoma County voters with 61 percent of the votes, followed by Marin County Supervisor Eric Lucan with 39 percent. Both were Democrats. These totals excluded Marin County votes and did not represent the overall district result (21,132 votes to 13,439 votes).

County Supervisor, District 2 — Joanna Paun was leading Sylvia Lemus with 62 percent of the votes to 38 percent in the race to succeed David Rabbitt. The district included Cotati and part of Rohnert Park (9,681 votes to 5,959 votes).

Rohnert Park City Council, District 2 — Linda Tams was leading with 38 percent of the votes, followed by Paul Carey with 37 percent and Michael DeSimone with 25 percent (461 votes to 442 votes to 303 votes).

Rohnert Park City Council, District 5 — Incumbent Susan Hollingsworth Adams was leading with 53 percent of the votes, followed by Mauricio Barreto with 35 percent and Arlene G. Linder with 12 percent (576 votes to 385 votes to 132 votes).

Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School Board, Trustee Area 1 — Angela Marie Scardina was leading with 53 percent of the votes, followed by incumbent Leff Brown with 37 percent and Nathan Toister with 10 percent. Voting was limited to residents of Trustee Area 1 (816 votes to 560 votes to 154 votes).

Sonoma County Board of Education, Trustee Area 2 — Jonathan Lenz was leading with 52 percent of the votes, followed by Caitlin Quinn with 48 percent (7,365 votes to 6,846 votes).

Cotati had no City Council contest on the ballot: The city canceled its municipal election after only Kimberlyn Moffet and Ryan Long qualified for the two available seats.

Local ballot measures

Measure H — Yes was leading with 77 percent of the votes, followed by no with 23 percent, above the two-thirds approval threshold in the preliminary count. The measure proposed continuing the existing countywide one-eighth-cent parks sales tax until voters ended it, supporting parks, trails, habitat, water protection and wildfire prevention (69,853 yes votes to 21,214 no votes).

Measure AB — Yes was leading among Sonoma County voters with 65 percent of the votes, followed by no with 35 percent. The measure required 55 percent approval and proposed authorizing $830 million in Sonoma County Junior College District bonds for Santa Rosa Junior College facilities, repairs and career-training spaces. These totals excluded participating voters in other counties (58,379 yes votes to 31,244 no votes).

Measure K — Rohnert Park: Yes was leading with 52 percent of the votes, followed by no with 48 percent, above the majority approval requirement in the preliminary count. The measure proposed establishing a half-cent sales tax for general city services, generating an estimated $5.5 million annually until voters ended it. Cotati residents did not vote on this measure (3,363 yes votes to 3,057 no votes).

These figures reflected the 11:18 p.m. report, when additional ballots remained to be counted. Percentages were rounded to the nearest whole number.

Gubernatorial Race

California voters headed to the polls Tuesday, facing high gas and grocery prices, the effects of climate change on wildfires and rising seas amid a shortage in insurance coverage and the ever-present housing affordability crisis.

The governor’s race was somewhat anticlimactic following a chaotic primary with a crowded field of candidates roiled when the frontrunner was forced to step down amid sexual assault allegations. Since then, Becerra maintained a steady lead over Hilton in the polls.

In the final days of the election, a new SurveyUSA poll showed Becerra with a 22-point lead.

Click here for real-time results in the California Governor’s races.

Congressional Races

All 52 of California’s Congressional seats were on the ballot.

Congressional races across California were under intense scrutiny following voter approval of Proposition 50, a partisan redistricting measure expected to reshape the state’s political map. Thanks to the redistricting, only a handful of districts were truly competitive. Democrats hoped to flip as many as five Republican House seats in a bid to overturn the GOP’s slim House majority.

Democrats think they can flip as many as five seats, with four seeming very much in reach, according to the polls. Both parties are spending like control of the House is on the line.

Click here for real-time results in California’s Congressional races.

Propositions

There were 14 statewide propositions on the ballot this week. Arguably, the most hot-button ballot initiatives involve taxation. Proposition 40 is the highly discussed billionaire tax, while Propositions 41 and 42 aim to counter the measure. Proposition 3 also addresses taxes on the state's highest earners.

Click here for real-time results for all of California’s ballot measures.