SAN DIEGO, CALIF. - Independent candidate Steve Poizner brought in the most votes of any independent in a statewide race in California history, but it may not have been enough to compete with the blue wave that swept the state Tuesday.

Poizner, running for California Insurance Commissioner -- a closely watched race by politicos not just in California, but nationwide -- is currently trailing Democrat Ricardo Lara by 1.6 points with 97% of precincts reporting.

JEFFERSON CITY, MISSOURI - Clean Missouri celebrated a landslide victory Tuesday night. Their comprehensive good government proposal -- Amendment 1 -- was approved by 62% of state voters.

Amendment 1 isn't just about money in politics or special interest influence or gerrymandering, but the negative impact all of those things have on the political process. The amendment:

Democrats and pollsters expecting Josh Harder (D) to surf into Washington on a blue wave in California's 10th Congressional District Tuesday were met with the reality that all politics is local.

Blood is thicker than water, the old saying goes, and in California's Central Valley, water is the community's lifeblood. So said incumbent Rep. Jeff Denham (R) in the days leading up to the election.

San Diego, Calif.- It appears City of San Diego voters made history last night.

Never before have two city council incumbents lost on an election night.

In fact, the last time an incumbent lost was 1992.

San Diego Councilwomen Lorie Zapf and Myrtle Cole are both trailing in election returns.

Election Results

The establishment Democrats prevailed in California's most visible 2018 statewide elections for governor and the U.S. Senate:

The race between hedge fund manager John Cox (R) and Lt. Gov Gavin Newsom (D) to fill vacating governor Jerry Brown's office in the state capitol; and incumbent Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein's challenge from the left, by Democratic State Sen. Kevin de León.

San Diego, Calif.- At long last we appear to have a Mission Valley solution.

Now, let the negotiations begin.

After a bruising campaign that lasted nearly two years, it appears voters have decided to move forward with the SDSU West plan Measure G, for Mission Valley.

With 72% of precincts reporting SDSU West is at 54.86%.

The opposing measure, SoccerCity, only received 29% of the vote.

Washington, D.C. - The Republicans have held on to the Senate by grabbing some center-left leaning districts, while Democrats scooped up the 218 they needed to topple GOP control of the House of Representatives. Those numbers weren't necessarily surprising for many Americans. But the details surrounding this election are fascinating. Candidates broke barriers across gender (more than 100 women were elected), race, religion and sexual identity.

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. - Game-changing proposals to end partisan gerrymandering passed in 3 states Tuesday -- with the results of a 4th (Utah) pending -- taking control of redistricting out of the hands of partisan politicians in favor of a nonpartisan system.

Nonpartisan redistricting proposals were on the ballot in Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, and Utah. Though each proposal differs to various degrees, the goal for all of them was the same: implement a redistricting system that puts the interests of voters ahead of party scheming.

FARGO, N.D. - There probably isn’t a small town in America with a more identifiable name than Fargo, North Dakota — though the Academy-award winning movie Fargo and the related TV series on FX are mostly set in other cities. Still, people know the name.

Yet, Fargo is making a new name for itself as the first jurisdiction in the US to adopt Approval Voting for use in elections. Voters approved a ballot initiative to implement the alternative voting method with 64% of the vote.

Fiercely partisan voters on both sides of the aisle agree on one thing: If you vote for a third party or independent candidate instead of one with an "(R)" or "(D)" printed next to their name in the newspapers, you are basically just "throwing away" your vote.

In their political calculus, a principled vote is a wasted vote unless it's for a candidate that's polling as one of the top two in an election, and for them it's better to cast a damage control vote for the least bad option that has a chance of winning, than waste a vote on principle.