DAVIS, Calif. — Davis voters overwhelmingly rejected school board candidate Beth Bourne and her campaign centered on opposition to transgender-inclusive school policies Tuesday, delivering decisive early victories to two incumbents and a third candidate while signaling strong support for the district’s current direction.
Bourne received just 12.31% of the vote in Trustee Area 4, trailing incumbent Elizabeth Moon, who captured 87.69%, according to unofficial Yolo County election returns.
The results were similarly decisive in the district’s other two contested races.
In Trustee Area 1, incumbent Colleen Zern received 84.72% of the vote, compared with 15.28% for challenger Dortie Jensen.
In Trustee Area 3, Joe DiNunzio led Kurt Wendlenner by 65.58% to 34.42%.
A substantial number of ballots remain to be counted, and Yolo County is expected to provide an update on how many are outstanding. While the final totals will change as additional votes are processed, the margins in all three races are so large that the outcomes appear unlikely to change.
According to the Yolo County Elections Office, unofficial results will be updated by 5 p.m. every Tuesday and Friday until certification, which must occur no later than Dec. 3.
The margins in all three races were substantial, particularly the nearly 76-percentage-point advantage Moon held over Bourne.
For Bourne, whose public advocacy has focused heavily on opposition to transgender rights and gender-affirming care, the early returns represented an especially decisive defeat.
Her campaign and public statements have repeatedly challenged policies intended to protect transgender students, while raising objections to the district’s approach to gender identity, parental rights and school governance.
Election Day saw another attempt by Bourne to generate controversy, this time over a Progress Pride flag displayed in a classroom serving as a polling location at Emerson Junior High School.
In an email addressed to Yolo County Registrar of Voters Jesse Salinas, Bourne demanded that the flag be removed, arguing that its presence compromised the neutrality of the polling place and violated federal standards governing the display of the American flag.
“I am writing to you in your capacity as Yolo County Registrar of Voters to request the immediate removal of the Progress Pride flag currently displayed at the vote center located at Emerson Junior High School,” Bourne wrote.
She claimed the flag was displayed above the American flag and argued that its presence amounted to political or ideological messaging inappropriate for a polling location.
“The presence of a Progress Pride flag (a symbol associated with a specific political and social movement) in a space used for voting undermines the expectation of neutrality for all voters, regardless of viewpoint,” Bourne wrote.
Bourne also invoked the United States Flag Code, arguing that the American flag must occupy the position of highest honor.
She said she intended to submit a formal complaint and had notified the office of Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
Yolo County Counsel Phil Pogledich responded to Bourne, rejecting her contention that the flag violated election law.
“My office has reviewed your concern about the Progress Pride flag displayed in a classroom currently serving as a polling place,” Pogledich wrote.
“The flag’s presence does not violate any state or federal election law. It does not violate the ban on electioneering under California law, which applies only to focused advocacy for or against a candidate or ballot measure, nor does it constitute voter intimidation under federal law.”
Pogledich further explained that school classrooms frequently serve as polling locations and that county elections officials do not control classroom decorations.
“Directing changes to classroom decor is outside the County’s authority and role in the absence of a violation of state or federal election law,” he wrote.
Bourne responded by reiterating her objections to the flag and expanding her criticism of transgender-inclusive policies.
“I am also very sad and concerned to know that this ‘Progress Pride’ flag would be allowed in a junior high school,” Bourne wrote.
She went on to characterize gender-affirming medical care in inflammatory terms, making claims about surgeries involving minors without providing supporting evidence in the correspondence.
The exchange illustrated the continuing focus of Bourne’s political advocacy on transgender issues, even as the district faces more immediate challenges involving enrollment, finances and labor relations.
The Davis results provide another resounding repudiation of Bourne’s attempts to sow division over transgender inclusion, with voters in her trustee area giving nearly nine out of every 10 votes counted to her opponent.
The local election also occurred against the backdrop of a national political strategy in which Republicans invested heavily in transgender-related attacks against Democratic candidates.
According to an Associated Press analysis, Republican campaigns and allied organizations spent approximately $183 million on television advertisements focused on transgender-related issues through Oct. 25.
The spending generated approximately 217,000 television spots nationwide, exceeding the amount Republicans had spent on similar advertisements at the comparable point in the 2024 presidential election.
Democrats, by comparison, spent approximately $11 million on transgender-related advertising, much of it responding to Republican attacks.
The strategy reflected a calculation by Republican campaigns that controversies involving transgender athletes, gender-affirming medical care and school policies could motivate voters or weaken Democratic candidates.
However, national polling suggested a substantial disconnect between the prominence of those advertisements and voters’ stated priorities.
An October AP-NORC survey found that just 12% of registered voters considered transgender issues among the most important factors in their election decisions.
By comparison, 85% identified the economy as a major priority, 84% cited the cost of living and 69% pointed to health care.
The national election results nevertheless revealed a more complicated picture than the Davis school board contests alone.
In Arizona, Proposition 318, which would restrict transgender students’ participation in school sports and access to bathrooms and locker rooms based on sex assigned at birth, led with approximately 57% support in early returns.
In Washington, Initiative 638, which would restrict transgender girls’ participation in girls’ school sports, was also leading, with approximately 57% support in initial returns.
Other states, including Colorado, Nebraska and Missouri, placed measures involving transgender athletes or gender-affirming medical care before voters.
Those contests underscore the distinction between public attitudes toward individual policies and the effectiveness of making transgender issues a central theme of an election campaign.
Voters may support restrictions on particular practices without treating transgender-related controversies as a primary concern when selecting candidates for public office.
An additional AP-NORC survey conducted in September found that registered voters were more likely to trust Democrats than Republicans on transgender issues, although public attitudes remain divided on specific policies.
The broader national election was dominated by economic concerns, according to an Associated Press voter survey involving approximately 80,000 participants. About four in 10 identified the economy as the country’s most important issue, while approximately three in 10 cited democracy.
In Davis, the contrast between Bourne’s emphasis on transgender-related controversies and the district’s pressing educational challenges was particularly pronounced.
The Davis Joint Unified School District has experienced declining enrollment for more than a decade, a trend that threatens school funding and has prompted discussions about school consolidation, staffing reductions and the long-term sustainability of district facilities.
Abridged reported in September that state projections anticipate the district could lose more than 1,600 students over the next decade, placing additional pressure on school leaders to make difficult decisions about staffing and facilities.
The district has already considered potential school closures and other restructuring measures as it confronts declining student populations.
At the same time, the district faces unresolved labor negotiations with the Davis Teachers Association, which represents certificated educators.
According to the district’s official negotiations updates, the teachers association declared an impasse on Sept. 10 after 12 bargaining sessions since February.
The negotiations cover the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years, and the district reported that the next step would involve a mediator from the State Mediation and Conciliation Service.
The unresolved contract dispute raises questions about compensation, working conditions and the district’s ability to maintain educational services while addressing its long-term financial challenges.
These are among the substantive issues confronting the school board, yet the election campaign involving Bourne repeatedly returned to controversies over transgender inclusion and school policies.
The Davis results provide another resounding repudiation of Bourne’s attempts to sow division, as voters delivered commanding margins to candidates associated with the district’s existing direction while the board faces pressing questions about declining enrollment, school facilities and teacher compensation.
Moon’s early advantage over Bourne was especially pronounced, with 3,270 votes to Bourne’s 459, a margin of 2,811 votes.
In Trustee Area 1, Zern received 2,910 votes compared with Jensen’s 525, while DiNunzio led Wendlenner by 1,865 votes to 979 in Trustee Area 3.
The next scheduled Yolo County election results update is Friday, Nov. 6, with additional updates each Tuesday and Friday until certification.
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