(KRON) -- As the dust continues to settle on a historic "Blue Tsunami" of an election that saw Democrats win up and down the ticket across the nation, one California measure beloved of the party's progressive wing appears to be on the ropes. Proposition 40, known as the "billionaire tax," looks to be on the verge of failing.
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As of Wednesday morning, with 60% of the vote in, the measure is trailing by nearly a million votes. Among votes tallied, less than 45% of voters have backed the measure, with nearly 56% opposing.
Polling that emerged the week before the election showed the measure, which was backed by progressives like Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), losing steam with voters. Support for the measure was always split among Democrats with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Governor-elect Xavier Becerra both opposing Prop 40.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., speaks at a campaign rally in support of California Proposition 40, known as the billionaire tax, in Los Angeles, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Becerra's opponent in the gubernatorial election, Republican cable TV pundit Steve Hilton, also opposed the measure. Many of the Golden State's uber-wealthy tech moguls also rallied against Prop 40.
Meta's Mark Zuckerberg threatened to leave the state if it passed, while Building a Better California, an organization founded by Google's Sergey Brin, spent over $100 million in an effort to prevent it from passing.
Prop 40, if it were to somehow pass, would have imposed a one-time 5% tax on California's billionaires to fund health care. As the numbers continue to come in, that now appears increasingly unlikely.
