How Newsom defeated the recall: Early leads in suburbs, overwhelming margins in big cities

But out of the more than 9.1 million votes tabulated as of early Wednesday, nearly 64% were in favor of keeping Newsom in office. In L.A. County, roughly 71% of ballots counted as of Wednesday morning were opposed to the recall. In San Diego County, California's second most populous, nearly 59% of votes counted so far were opposed to the recall. The margins were thinner in Orange County at 52.6%, Riverside County at 52.4% and San Bernardino County at 52%. Conservative talk show host Larry Elder led the 46 candidates to replace Newsom, but the second question on the ballot became moot after a majority of California voters decided to keep Newsom in office.