California sees a Democratic surge

California got a deeper shade of blue during this election, and that's bad news for Republicans in the Golden State. The Times' Cathy Decker says Democrats did very well in some traditional GOP strongholds such as the Inland Empire. (The margins in the presidential race were pretty close in places like Fresno and Orange County too.)

Those unpredictable decisions by voters, however, were accompaniments to the election's main theme: the demographic and ideological shifts that have delivered the state into Democratic hands and demonstrated anew the tough road ahead for the Republican minority. In growth areas such as Riverside and San Bernardino counties, where the GOP once planned to mount a statewide resurgence, the Democratic nominee it derided as a far-left liberal and socialist was winning, the beneficiary of the fractured local economy. There and in the other key electoral counties in California, including the most populous ones, Democrats performed better than their registration levels would indicate. In Los Angeles County, where Democrats hold a 28 percentage-point edge, Obama was winning by 40 points. In San Francisco, where Democrats hold a 47-point margin, he was winning by 70 points.

New voters tell the tale: "Among first-time voters, Obama won 83%, according to a National Election Pool exit poll. Four years ago, Democrat John Kerry won 59% of first-time voters."

--Shelby Grad