Joe Biden won California and its 55 electoral votes Tuesday, tightening the Democrats’ grip on the nation’s most populous state.
California has voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in every election since 1992. Four years ago, Hillary Clinton trounced Donald Trump by more than 4 million votes. The president’s trips to California during the campaign mainly were fundraising efforts.
“If we continue under this administration, America will be a lost cause. We will lose hope,” said Harry Rochester, 40, a home care nurse from San Francisco who voted for Biden.
The election came under the pall of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 17,600 people in the state so far, including Alameda County sheriff’s Deputy Oscar Rocha in July. His widow, Maureen Ennor-Rocha, cast her ballot for Trump on Tuesday.
“This is my first voting day without him, so I think that might be part of my anxiety,” she said. “We fly the blue line flag, we believe in protecting our police.”