California Democrats Expand Legislative Supermajorities in Midterm Election
The Democratic Party is poised to control both chambers by historic margins, with gains driven by record midterm turnout among young and Latino voters in San Diego County. Democratic strategist Andrew Acosta noted the scale of the victory.
Mara Elliott Leads Kristie Bruce Lane in Senate Race
In San Diego County, the Democratic Party protected all seven of its seats up for reelection while potentially flipping two others. Mara Elliott, a Democrat and former San Diego city attorney, led Republican challenger Kristie Bruce-Lane by six percentage points in the 40th Senate District as of Friday. Elliott campaign spokesperson Lindsay Bubar said in a statement that Elliott was encouraged by the results. Blakespear’s $3 million war chest dwarfed Republican opponent Laura Bessett’s 15 times over.
Republicans Face Losses in Inland Empire Assembly Districts
Meanwhile, Republican Assemblymember Laurie Davies was virtually tied with Democrat Sergio Farias in votes counted as of Friday in an Orange and San Diego County district that neither party identified as a target. When all votes are finalized, Democrats could capture a 64-16 majority in the Assembly and a 32-8 majority in the Senate, their largest in recent memory, according to longtime Sacramento lobbyist Chris Micheli. That projected 32-seat Senate hold mirrors the party’s numbers from 2024 and 2018, while the 64 projected Assembly seats are expected to break the 2022 record of 62.
Voters Punish Republican Party over Inflation and Gas Prices
Voters expressed deep frustration with inflation and high gas prices on Tuesday, blaming President Donald Trump and punishing the Republican Party. Acosta described the political climate, saying it was a bad night for Republicans nationwide and especially in California, where voters associated the party directly with Donald Trump.
That dynamic helped boost turnout to around 60 percent, which former Republican political consultant Mason Herron noted was not far off from a presidential race. Voters with no party affiliation make up about a quarter of registered voters in the county, and many of them peeled away from the GOP in large numbers.
The last time California saw a similarly sweeping rebuke of a state party was in 1994 during the Republican Revolution, when Gov. Pete Wilson won re-election and voters approved Proposition 187, leading Democrats to drop to a 41-39 minority in the Assembly.
Defeat of Voter ID Ballot Measure Prop 39
The political damage for conservatives extended to ballot initiatives, as a GOP-backed measure requiring government-issued ID to vote failed by wide margins. Critics, including Democratic U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and Gov.-elect Xavier Becerra, argued the rules amounted to voter suppression. Sonoma State University political scientist David McCuan pointed out that a 60-40 split is generally considered a landslide in partisan ballot measures.
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