California Gov. Gavin Newsom cruised to an easy victory in Tuesday’s primary barely one year after surviving a recall attempt, advancing to the November general election where he will be an overwhelming favorite to defeat a little-known Republican state senator.

Early returns Tuesday showed Newsom receiving just over 60% of the vote. He was far ahead of second-place finisher Brian Dahle, a Republican state lawmaker and farmer from the sparsely populated northeast corner of the state that borders Oregon and Nevada.

In the U.S. Senate race, Democratic incumbent Alex Padilla had an equally easy time advancing to a November runoff. He was appointed to the seat by Newsom last year after Kamala Harris resigned to become vice president.Padilla was on the ballot twice — once to complete the final few months of Harris’ term and another in a race for a full six-year term that begins in January.

Early vote totals showed Republican attorney Mark Meuser was second in both races. Meuser’s work with the right-leaning Dhillon Law Group has included 22 lawsuits against Newsom claiming he overstepped his authority in imposing coronavirus restrictions.

Turnout in the nation’s most populous state was light despite significant frustration by voters over record-high gas prices, rising crime and a homelessness crisis in cities large and small. But despite those problems Democrats are expected to maintain their stranglehold on state offices and in the Legislature.

Just one year ago, it looked as if Newsom could be on his way out as more than 1.7 million voters signed a petition to recall him from office. Dozens of Republicans lined up to challenge him in the 2021 recall election, eager to take down the Democratic governor of the nation’s most populous state ahead of the 2022 midterms.

Instead, Newsom defeated the recall in such a decisive way that none of the major contenders from last year filed to challenge him for reelection this year.