State Senate
Voters will choose their representatives in half of the 40 state Senate districts, each home to more than 900,000 constituents.
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What to Know
What does a state senator do?
- Represent your constituents, holding meetings in the district and keeping attuned to priorities.
- Participate on some of 22 standing committees, six subcommittees or joint committees, each focused on areas such as labor, health and the environment.
- Introduce as many as 40 bills per two-year session, as well as specific budget items.
Background
The state Senate saw a shake-up in 2022 due to a combination of term limits and new district maps following the 2020 Census. Senators serve staggered, four-year terms, and the 20 odd-numbered districts are on the ballot this year. So some voters didn’t get to pick a state senator in 2022 but will this year.
The current Senate has 31 Democrats and 9 Republicans. If the GOP flips at least five seats, Democrats would lose their two-thirds supermajority that allows them to pass tax increases or put constitutional amendments on the ballot without any Republican votes.
State senators are paid $128,215 a year, plus $214 a day for expenses when the Legislature is in session. Party leaders get higher pay.
The top two finishers in March, regardless of party, advanced to the November general election. There are three Democrat vs. Democrat races and one Republican vs. Republican.
Key Races
Click on a district to learn more about some key state Senate races in California
District 7
Candidates
The District
This East Bay district includes parts of Alameda and Contra Costa counties, and a sliver of San Francisco County. The district has a mix of incomes and wealth levels. It includes the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, which in 2022, experienced some of the highest rates of homelessness in California.
Voter registration: 68.0% Democrat, 6.5% Republican, 20.4% no party preference
The Scoop
Primary results: Jesse Arreguín 32.1%, Jovanka Beckles 17.7%
Can the primary underdog do it again? The bid to take over this seat, now occupied by Sen. Nancy Skinner, who reaches her term limit in December, was the most expensive legislative race in the state. Early results in the March primary leaned towards a general election battle between Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin and Oakland City Council member Dan Kalb — until a late-stage surge in votes for Jovanka Beckles, a former Richmond city council member and a member of the Bay Area Rapid Transit board who spent far less on the primary race.
Arreguin has the support of Skinner, long a powerful lawmaker, and the Democratic Party and continues to outraise Beckles. But he has been criticized for taking money from industry groups representing landlords, developers and realtors. Beckles has the support of more progressive groups and elected leaders — including U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Fundraising
Key Endorsements
Jesse Arreguín
- California Democratic Party
- Planned Parenthood
- State Building and Construction Trades Council
- California Labor Federation
- California YIMBY
- United Farm Workers
- San Francisco Chronicle
- Mercury News
Jovanka Beckles
- California Teachers Association
- California Labor Federation
- California Working Families Party
- U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna
- U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders
Related News
District 19
Candidates
The District
This district, drawn after the 2020 Census, covers the Coachella Valley to the San Bernardino Mountains and includes cities of Palm Springs, Barstow and Big Bear Lake. It is home to Joshua Tree National Park — meaning national parks, recreational activities, and tourism are key issues here.
Voter registration: 36.7% Democrat, 35.6% Republican, 18.7% no party preference
The Scoop
Primary results: Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh 53.8%, Lisa Middleton 46.2%
The primary in this purple district wasn’t exactly a close one, with Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, the incumbent in the prior district covering most of the current one, securing a solid lead. But that was before President Joe Biden decided not to run for re-election. Some consultants believe the surge in enthusiasm among Democratic voters for Kamala Harris could carry Democrat Lisa Middleton to victory in a district that has become more blue since 2020. Democrats currently have about a 1 percentage point advantage in voter registration.
Ochoa Bogh is a former elementary school teacher, school board member and Realtor. She was the first Republican Latina to serve in the Senate, where she has held leadership positions on education, housing and human services.
Middleton worked as an auditor and later, as vice president for California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund. She also served as chairperson of California’s Fraud Assessment Commission.
Fundraising
Key Endorsements
Lisa Middleton
- California Democratic Party
- National Union of Healthcare Workers
- California Labor Federation
- Equality California
- Reproductive Freedom For All California
Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
- California Republican Party
- Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
- California Association of Highway Patrolmen
- San Bernardino Sun
Related News
District 23
Candidates
The District
This Southern California district includes a mix of coastal communities such as Santa Barbara, as well as smaller, rural agricultural communities and the Danish-inspired village of Solvang.
Voter registration: 39.3% Democrat, 30.9% Republican, 21.2% no party preference
The Scoop
Primary results: Suzette Martinez Valladares 32.8%, Kipp Mueller 29.4%
Based on the new boundaries from the most recent redistricting, this Northern Los Angeles County district has become more Democratic since 2014, so it’s worth watching whether that, and enthusiasm among Democrats for the presidential race, helps flip it. Sen. Scott Wilk, who represents the district in its current boundaries, pulled off a win as a Republican in a district with a Democratic majority in 2016 — though just barely. The new district lines give Wilk’s former Democratic opponent, Kipp Mueller, another shot at the seat, as Wilk reaches his term limit.
Mueller’s resume includes working for the U.S. Department of Justice consumer protection branch under President Barack Obama, and as a workers rights and pro bono asylum attorney with the Catholic Charities of Los Angeles Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project.
He’s running against Suzette Martinez Valladares, a former Republican Assemblymember who lost her reelection bid by about 500 votes to Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo in 2022. Valladares was the executive director of Southern California Autism Speaks before her time in the Assembly.
Fundraising
Key Endorsements
Kipp Mueller
- California Environmental Voters
- California Democratic Party
- California Nurses Association
- State Building and Construction Trades Council
- SEIU California
- California Labor Federation
Suzette Martinez Valladares
- California Republican Party
- Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
- Peace Officers Research Association of California
- Log Cabin Republicans
- Los Angeles Daily News
Related News
District 35
Candidates
The District
This Southern California district includes parts of the city of Los Angeles, as well as nearby Carson, Compton, Inglewood and Hawthorne. The densely populated area is home to many low-income and working-class communities. With their proximity to many highways and Los Angeles International Airport, the cities in the district share concerns about pollution and environmental justice, as well as affordability and cost of living.
Voter registration: 58.5% Democrat, 11.9% Republican, 21.8% no party preference
The Scoop
Primary results: Laura Richardson 27.8%, Michelle Chambers 24.5%
Laura Richardson, who served in the Assembly in 2006 for a year before being elected to Congress in a special election in 2007 and serving until 2013, is looking to make a comeback to the Legislature to replace Sen. Steven Bradford, who is leaving due to term limits. But some local leaders are reminding voters of Richardson’s past controversies, according to LA Magazine: alleged attacks on her LGBTQ+ opponent (which she denied), and a reprimanded and fine by the House Ethics Committee for misusing her staff members to work on her 2010 campaign. Richardson is endorsed by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
In the primary, Richardson led fellow Democrat Michelle Chambers by more than 3,000 votes in this safe blue district. Chambers has worked as the external affairs manager for the California Department of Justice.
Whoever wins this seat may have big shoes to fill of Bradford, who has been a leading force in work on reparations for descendants of Black Americans who were enslaved in the United States. Both Chambers and Richardson have said they support concepts of the reparations package, including cash payments, free public college tuition and paying fair market value for jail and prison labor, according to the Los Angeles Times. Bradford has endorsed Chambers.
Fundraising
Key Endorsements
Michelle Chambers
- California Teachers Association
- Dolores Huerta, United Farm Workers co-founder
- California Democratic Party
- California Labor Federation
- California YIMBY
- Sen. Steve Bradford
Laura Richardson
- California Association of Highway Patrolmen
- Southern California Pipe Trades District Council 16
- U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters
- Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass
Related News
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