Election Night 2026 Live: San Mateo County and National Results
With Julie Lind, Charles Stone, Rep. Kevin Mullin, and 4 more
On Election Night, November 3, 2026, Mark Simon reports live from the IBEW union hall in San Mateo and Bob Marks from Election Central as Democrats win control of the House and Senate. They open with the New York Times projections and why, in their view, voters turned against President Trump on the economy, tariffs, the war in Iran and immigration. With producer Frank Bravo putting up the results, they go through the early returns for governor, insurance commissioner (Ben Allen and Jane Kim) and the Board of Equalization (Sally Lieber and John Pimentel), the statewide propositions, and the San Mateo County results: the regional transit measure, school and city tax measures, county charter amendments, city council races, and the District 5 supervisor race between Juslyn Manalo and Mark Nagales.
Assemblymember Diane Papan reacts to the national results and explains her reservations about the regional transit measure and the accountability of transit agencies. Congressman Kevin Mullin talks about the size of the Democratic win, impeachment, the House's power over the budget, ending the war in Iran, undoing the Medicaid cuts, his work on the Energy and Commerce Committee, and what the new majority could mean for 2028. Supervisor Jackie Speier discusses the independent redistricting commission she championed, BART's share of the transit measure, which she says means $30 million a year from San Mateo County for 14 years with no seat on the BART board, and whether the Board of Supervisors can work together.
Julie Lind of the San Mateo County Central Labor Council, former Belmont Mayor Charles Stone and Superintendent of Schools-elect Héctor Camacho join for the rest of the night. They cover Belmont's Measure Y for the Barrett Community Center, which was losing, the Pacifica parcel tax falling just short of two-thirds, the Latino vote and the role of parents in the national results, and Props 40, 41 and 42, Prop 3, Prop 39 on voter ID and Prop 45 on CEQA. Don Cecil, who worked on the regional transit measure campaign, reports that it is passing in all five counties, and the panel debates how transit agencies should be held accountable over the next 14 years.
Bob rejoins with President Trump's reaction, and Mark and Bob close with the limits of campaign money, Xavier Becerra's election as governor, the local tax measures, Bob's suggestion that the county find a way to count votes faster, the state of the initiative process, and the start of the 2028 race.
Chapters
- (00:00) - Intro: Democrats take the House and Senate
- (05:38) - Why voters turned against Trump
- (11:42) - First statewide results: governor and insurance commissioner
- (13:45) - Early returns on the statewide propositions
- (16:57) - San Mateo County: regional transit and school measures
- (19:44) - City tax measures and county charter amendments
- (22:09) - City measures, council races and the supervisor race
- (28:31) - Assemblymember Diane Papan
- (33:57) - Congressman Kevin Mullin on the size of the win
- (42:11) - Kevin Mullin on ending the war in Iran
- (44:45) - Kevin Mullin on his committee and the new majority
- (53:14) - Charles Stone and Julie Lind join; Belmont's Measure Y
- (58:18) - Supervisor Jackie Speier on the national results
- (59:52) - Jackie Speier on the independent redistricting commission
- (01:01:50) - Jackie Speier on local tax measures and BART
- (01:04:42) - Julie Lind on the local results
- (01:07:39) - Hector Camacho, superintendent of schools-elect
- (01:10:17) - The panel on the national results
- (01:14:02) - Hector Camacho on the Latino vote and parents
- (01:16:42) - Don Cecil on the regional transit measure
- (01:20:05) - The panel on transit funding and accountability
- (01:26:13) - Props 40, 41 and 42 and the billionaire tax
- (01:30:29) - Bob Marks rejoins with Trump's reaction
- (01:32:02) - Can the Democrats meet expectations?
- (01:33:51) - Prop 3 and Prop 39, voter ID
- (01:35:41) - Prop 45 and CEQA
- (01:38:20) - The panel's takeaways on San Mateo County
- (01:45:42) - Bullpen: Mark and Bob on the Democratic win, campaign money
- (01:50:23) - Bullpen: Mark and Bob on statewide races, school measures
- (01:52:31) - Bullpen: Mark and Bob on vote counting, initiatives
- (01:55:19) - Bullpen: Mark and Bob on 2028
Guests
Julie Lind
San Mateo County Central Labor Council
Julie Lind is Executive Officer and Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the San Mateo County Central Labor Council, which represents 105 affiliated unions and more than 95,000 workers and their families. She joined the council in 2010 as Political Director and has led it since 2016. She is a Vice President of the California Labor Federation.
Charles Stone
Partner, Goethals & Stone; former Belmont mayor
Charles Stone is a partner at Goethals & Stone, PC in Burlingame, where he focuses on civil litigation, pre-litigation advising and alternative dispute resolution. He served on the Belmont City Council from 2013 to 2022 and was mayor in 2017 and 2021. He also served on the boards of the San Mateo County Transit District, which he chaired, and Caltrain.
https://the-game-peninsula.transistor.fm/people/charles-stone
Rep. Kevin Mullin
https://the-game-peninsula.transistor.fm/people/rep-kevin-mullin
Jackie Speier
San Mateo County Supervisor, District 1
Jackie Speier represents District 1 on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, a seat she won in 2024. She first served on the board from 1980 to 1986. She went on to the California State Assembly and Senate, and served in the U.S. Congress from 2008 to 2023.
https://the-game-peninsula.transistor.fm/people/jackie-speier
Don Cecil
MC2 Bay Area Public Affairs Consulting
Don Cecil founded MC2 Bay Area Public Affairs Consulting in 2009 and is its principal. The firm provides government affairs, strategic communications and campaign consulting. He has worked in Bay Area public affairs since 1994, and earlier managed more than 30 successful campaigns for city council, board of supervisors and state assembly.
