California State Senate elections, 2012

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	California State Senate elections, 2012
	Majority control • Campaign contributions
	Qualifications • Term limits • Impact of Redistricting
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	List of candidates District 1 • District 3 • District 5 • District 7 • District 9 • District 11 • District 13 • District 15 • District 17 • District 19 • District 21 • District 23• District 25 • District 27 • District 29 • District 31 • District 33 • District 35 • District 37 • District 39
	California State Senate • 2012 California Assembly Elections

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Revision as of 13:44, 5 May 2012

Elections for the office of California State Senate will be held in California on November 6, 2012. State senate seats in the odd-numbered districts will be on the ballot in 2012. A total of 20 seats will be up for election.

The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was March 9, 2012. The primary election day will be June 5, 2012.

In 2010, senators from even-numbered districts were up for election. In 2012, voters in the 20 odd-numbered districts will go to the polls to elect senators.

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2012 and State legislative elections, 2012

Incumbents retiring

A total of 9 incumbents are not running for re-election in 2012. Those incumbents are:

Name:	Party:	Current office:
Alan Lowenthal	Democratic	U.S. House, California, District 47
Christine Kehoe	Democratic	California State Senate District 39
Elaine Alquist	Democratic	California State Senate District 13
Joe Simitian	Democratic	California State Senate District 11
Robert Dutton	Republican	California State Senate District 31
Sam Blakeslee	Republican	California State Senate District 15
Sharon Runner	Republican	California State Senate District 17
Tom Harman	Republican	California State Senate District 35
Tony Strickland	Republican	California State Senate District 19

Majority control

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 6 election, the Democratic Party holds the majority in the California State Senate:

California State Senate
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	25	26
	Republican Party	15	12
Total		40	40

Democrats seek supermajority

The 27th Senate District is expected to be a battleground in determining whether Democrats reach the coveted 2/3 majority. Fran Pavley (D) is expected to face Tony Strickland (R). Both senators are far from the political center. The new district, is considered to be somewhat even in political makeup.^[1]

Campaign contributions

See also: State-by-state comparison of donations to state senate campaigns

This chart shows how many candidates ran for state senate in California in past years and the cumulative amount of campaign contributions in state senate races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests. All figures come from Follow The Money.^[2]

Year	Number of candidates	Total contributions
2010	63	$23,000,670
2008	59	$35,169,351
2006	63	$30,011,241
2004	69	$32,887,100
2002	53	$22,148,467

In 2010, the candidates running for senate raised a total of $23,000,670 in campaign funds. Their top 10 contributors were: ^[3]

Donor	Amount
California Democratic Party	$2,591,242
California Republican Party	$1,249,852
AT$T	$240,088
Carol Liu for Senate	$227,997
California Association of Realtors	$195,600
Merced County Democratic Central Cmte	$190,000
Republican Party of Stanislaus County	$174,000
California Dental Association	$171,200
California State Council of Laborers	$166,835
California Professional Fire Fighters	$158,898

Qualifications

A candidate shall:

A. Be at least 30 years of age, a U.S. citizen for nine years, and a resident of California when elected. U.S. Const. Art. I, Â§3

B. Have a valid voter registration affidavit on file in the county of residence at the time nomination papers are obtained. Â§201

C. Satisfy the following registration requirements:

1. Be registered with the political party whose nomination he or she is seeking for not less than three months immediately prior to the time the declaration of candidacy is presented to the county elections official or, if eligible to register for less than three months, for as long as he or she has been eligible to register to vote in California. Â§8001(a)(1)

2. Not have been registered as affiliated with any other qualified political party within twelve months immediately prior to the filing of the declaration of candidacy. Â§8001(a)(2)^[4]

Impact of redistricting

See also: Redistricting in California

Redistricting in California in 2011 was undertaken by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission for the first time. California voters took the redistricting powers away from legislators through the ballot process in 2008 and 2010.

California state senators represent roughly 1 million citizens while assembly members have about 500,000 constituents.^[5] Those are the most citizens per legislator in the country.

Double representation

There is the possibility that some voters will be re-located either from an odd district to an even district, or vice versa. But even more specifically, there is the possibility that a senator elected in 2010 could run in 2012 in an even-numbered district. Should that happen, then the odd-district will be represented by a "custodian" -- selected by the Rules Committee.

Meanwhile, if a senator in an odd-district (elected in 2008) is moved into an even-district, then the voters of that district will have two senators -- the new senator, and the old one elected in 2010. For example:

If Alex Padilla of District 20 is moved into the 21st District, then he will continue to serve until 2014 as he was elected to a 4-year term. Voters of the new 21st District will still elect a new senator in the fall of 2012. Voters of the new District 20 will be served by the "custodian" -- likely to be a neighboring senator.^[6]

"Because state senatorial districts hold staggered elections, redistricting allows some Californians to cast two votes for a state senator within a four-year election cycle: once in their old senatorial district, and once again, just two years later, in their new senatorial district. Meanwhile others do not vote for a state senator at any point within the same four-year timeframe. Redistricting therefore creates the exact harm it intends to prevent: in service of the ideal of “one person, one vote,” California gives some voters two votes and others no vote at all. During the current cycle, an estimated 3.97 million Californians will be temporarily disenfranchised on account of redistricting; another 3.9 million will be double-enfranchised."^[7]

Term limits

Joe Simitian has represented District 11 in the California State Senate since 2004. He will be ineligible to run for reelection in 2012.

See also State legislatures with term limits and Impact of term limits on state senate elections in 2012

The California State Senate has been a term-limited state senate since California voters approved Proposition 140 in 1990. Under the terms of Proposition 140, California's senators can serve no more than two 4-year terms in the state senate. This is a lifetime limit, as is the case in five other states with state senatorial term limits.

There are 40 California State Senators. In 2012, 7 who are current members, 17.5% of the total senate seats, will be ineligible to run for the senate again in November. Of them, 4 are Democratic and 3 are Republican.

In addition to the 7 state senators who are leaving office because of California's term limits, 21 state representatives are also termed-out.

The state senators who are term-limited in 2012 are:

Democrats (4):

Republicans (3):

List of candidates

Note: Until the filing deadline passes and the state releases a candidate list, names are added to this page on the basis of news references, candidate submissions, or email contact with Ballotpedia's editors. Once an official list is released, the list below will be fully populated. For more information about Ballotpedia's election coverage plan, click here. If you are aware of a candidate we've missed, please send an email to: Geoff Pallay.

District 1

June 5 primary candidates:

Julie Griffith-Flatter
Les Baugh
Ted Gaines Incumbent Gaines first assumed office in 2011.
Bogdan Ambrozewicz

November 6 General election candidates:

District 3

Note: Incumbent Mark Leno (D) is seeking re-election in District 11 due to redistricting.

June 5 primary candidates:

Lois Wolk District 5 incumbent Wolk first assumed office in 2008.

November 6 General election candidates:

District 5

Note: Incumbent Lois Wolk (D) is seeking re-election in District 3 due to redistricting.

June 5 primary candidates:

Cathleen Galgiani Galgiani has represented Assembly District 17 since 2006.
Bill Berryhill Berryhill has represented Assembly District 26 since 2008.
Leroy Ornellas

November 6 General election candidates:

District 7

June 5 primary candidates:

Mark Desaulnier Incumbent Desaulnier first assumed office in 2008.
Mark P. Meuser

November 6 General election candidates:

District 9

June 5 primary candidates:

Loni Hancock Incumbent Hancock first assumed office in 2008.

November 6 General election candidates:

District 11

Note: Incumbent Joe Simitian (D) was unable to run for re-election due to term limits.

June 5 primary candidates:

Mark Leno District 3 incumbent Leno first assumed office in 2008.
Harmeet Dhillon

November 6 General election candidates:

District 13

Note: Incumbent Elaine Alquist (D) was unable to run for re-election due to term limits.

June 5 primary candidates:

Christopher Kent Chiang
Gerald Hill Hill has represented Assembly District 19 since 2008.
Sally Lieber
John H. Webster

November 6 General election candidates:

District 15

Note: Incumbent Sam Blakeslee (R) is not running for re-election.

June 5 primary candidates:

James Beall Jr. Beall has represented Assembly District 24 since 2006.
Joe Coto

November 6 General election candidates:

District 17

Note: Incumbent Sharon Runner (R) is not running for re-election.

June 5 primary candidates:

Bill Monning Monning has represented Assembly District 27 since 2008.
Larry Beaman

November 6 General election candidates:

District 19

Note: Incumbent Tony Strickland (R) is running for election to California's 26th congressional district.

June 5 primary candidates:

November 6 General election candidates:

District 21

Note: Incumbent Carol Liu (D) is seeking re-election in District 25 due to redistricting.

June 5 primary candidates:

Star Moffatt
Stephen Knight Knight has represented Assembly District 36 since 2008.

November 6 General election candidates:

District 23

Note: Incumbent Fran Pavley (D) is seeking re-election in District 27 due to redistricting.

June 5 primary candidates:

Melissa Ruth O'Donnell
Bill Emmerson District 37 incumbent Emmerson first assumed office in 2010.

November 6 General election candidates:

District 25

Note: Incumbent Roderick "Rod" Wright (D) is seeking re-election in District 35 due to redistricting.

June 5 primary candidates:

Ameenah Fuller
Carol Liu District 21 incumbent Liu first assumed office in 2008.
Gilbert Gonzales

November 6 General election candidates:

District 27

Note: Incumbent Alan Lowenthal (D) was unable to run for re-election due to term limits and is instead running for election to California's 47th congressional district.

June 5 primary candidates:

Fran Pavley District 23 incumbent Pavley first assumed office in 2008.
Todd Zink

November 6 General election candidates:

District 29

June 5 primary candidates:

Greg Diamond
Robert "Bob" Huff Incumbent Huff first assumed office in 2008.

November 6 General election candidates:

District 31

Note: Incumbent Robert Dutton (R) was unable to run for re-election due to term limits and is instead running for election to California's 31st congressional district.

June 5 primary candidates:

Steve Clute
Richard Roth
Jeff Miller Miller has represented Assembly District 71 since 2008.

November 6 General election candidates:

District 33

Note: Incumbent Mimi Walters (R) is seeking re-election in District 37 due to redistricting.

June 5 primary candidates:

Ricardo Lara Lara has represented Assembly District 50 since 2010. ^[1]

November 6 General election candidates:

District 35

Note: Incumbent Tom Harman (R) was unable to run for re-election due to term limits.

June 5 primary candidates:

Paul Butterfield
Roderick "Rod" Wright District 25 incumbent Wright first assumed office in 2008.
Charlotte Svolos

November 6 General election candidates:

District 37

Note: Incumbent Bill Emmerson (R) is seeking re-election in District 23 due to redistricting.

June 5 primary candidates:

Steve Young
Mimi Walters District 33 incumbent Walters first assumed office in 2008.

November 6 General election candidates:

District 39

Note: Incumbent Christine Kehoe (D) was unable to run for re-election due to term limits.

June 5 primary candidates:

Martin Block Block has represented Assembly District 78 since 2008.
Patrick Marsh
George Plescia

November 6 General election candidates:

External links

List of candidates who submitted signatures to appear on ballot

References

↑ Wave Newspapers "Four candidates are unopposed in June 5 primary election," March 15, 2012

[0] Wave Newspapers "Four candidates are unopposed in June 5 primary election," March 15, 2012

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 ::''See also: [[California State Assembly elections, 2012]] and [[State legislative elections, 2012]]''
+==Incumbents retiring==
+{{State leg incumbent retired list|Chamber=State Senate|State=California|Year=2012}}
 ==Majority control==
@@ Line 102: / Line 105: @@
 Meanwhile, if a senator in an odd-district (elected in 2008) is moved into an even-district, then the voters of that district will have two senators -- the new senator, and the old one elected in 2010. For example:
 *If [[Alex Padilla]] of District 20 is moved into the 21st District, then he will continue to serve until 2014 as he was elected to a 4-year term. Voters of the new 21st District will still elect a new senator in the fall of 2012. Voters of the new District 20 will be served by the "custodian" -- likely to be a neighboring senator.<ref>[http://www.dailynews.com/opinions/ci_18346248 ''Los Angeles Daily News'' "Brendan Huffman and Bradley Hertz: The darker side of redistricting — delayd," June 25, 2011]</ref>
+<blockquote>"Because state senatorial districts hold staggered elections, redistricting allows some Californians to cast two votes for a state senator within a four-year election cycle: once in their old senatorial district, and once again, just two years later, in their new senatorial district. Meanwhile others do not vote for a state senator at any point within the same four-year timeframe. Redistricting therefore creates the exact harm it intends to prevent: in service of the ideal of “one person, one vote,” California gives some voters two votes and others no vote at all. During the current cycle, an estimated 3.97 million Californians will be temporarily disenfranchised on account of redistricting; another 3.9 million will be double-enfranchised."<ref>[http://www.yalelawjournal.org/images/pdfs/1086.pdf ''Yale Law Journal,'' "One Person, No Vote: Staggered Elections, Redistricting, and Disenfranchisement"]</ref></blockquote>
 ==Term limits==
@@ Line 109: / Line 114: @@
 The [[California State Senate]] has been a term-limited state senate since California voters approved [[California Term Limits, Proposition 140 (1990)|Proposition 140 in 1990]].  Under the terms of Proposition 140, California's senators can serve no more than two 4-year terms in the state senate.  This is a lifetime limit, as is the case in five other states with state senatorial term limits.
-There are 40 [[California State Senator]]s.  In 2012, 9 who are [[:Category:Current members of state senates|current members]], 22.5% of the total senate seats, will be ineligible to run for the senate again in November. Of them, 5 are [[Democratic]] and 4 are [[Republican]].
+There are 40 [[California State Senator]]s.  In 2012, 7 who are [[:Category:Current members of state senates|current members]], 17.5% of the total senate seats, will be ineligible to run for the senate again in November. Of them, 4 are [[Democratic]] and 3 are [[Republican]].
-In addition to the 9 state senators who are leaving office because of California's term limits, [[Impact of term limits on state representative elections in 2012#California|21 state representatives are also termed-out]].
+In addition to the 7 state senators who are leaving office because of California's term limits, [[Impact of term limits on state representative elections in 2012#California|21 state representatives are also termed-out]].
 The state senators who are term-limited in 2012 are:
-'''Democrats (5):'''
+'''Democrats (4):'''
 {{colbegin|3}}
 <dpl>
@@ Line 128: / Line 133: @@
 {{colend}}
-'''Republicans (4):'''
+'''Republicans (3):'''
 {{colbegin|3}}
 <dpl>
@@ Line 141: / Line 146: @@
 ==List of candidates==
+{{Candidate list note}}
 ===District 1===
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Julie Griffith-Flatter]]
+:*{{reddot}} [[Les Baugh]]
+:*{{reddot}} [[Ted Gaines]] Incumbent Gaines first assumed office in 2011.
+:*{{greydot}} [[Bogdan Ambrozewicz]]
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
 ===District 3===
+'''Note:''' Incumbent [[Mark Leno]] (D) is seeking re-election in District 11 due to redistricting.
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
-*{{bluedot}} [[Lois Wolk]] Wolk currently represents the 5th Senate District.
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Lois Wolk]] District 5 incumbent Wolk first assumed office in 2008.
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
 ===District 5===
+'''Note:''' Incumbent [[Lois Wolk]] (D) is seeking re-election in District 3 due to redistricting.
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
-*{{reddot}} [[Leroy Ornellas]]
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Cathleen Galgiani]] Galgiani has represented [[California State Assembly|Assembly]] District 17 since 2006.
+:*{{reddot}} [[Bill Berryhill]] Berryhill has represented [[California State Assembly|Assembly]] District 26 since 2008.
+:*{{reddot}} [[Leroy Ornellas]]
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
@@ Line 168: / Line 175: @@
 ===District 7===
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Mark Desaulnier]] Incumbent Desaulnier first assumed office in 2008.
+:*{{reddot}} [[Mark P. Meuser]]
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
 ===District 9===
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Loni Hancock]] Incumbent Hancock first assumed office in 2008.
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
 ===District 11===
+'''Note:''' Incumbent [[Joe Simitian]] (D) was unable to run for re-election due to term limits.
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Mark Leno]] District 3 incumbent Leno first assumed office in 2008.
+:*{{reddot}} [[Harmeet Dhillon]]
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
 ===District 13===
+'''Note:''' Incumbent [[Elaine Alquist]] (D) was unable to run for re-election due to term limits.
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Christopher Kent Chiang]]
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Gerald Hill]] Hill has represented [[California State Assembly|Assembly]] District 19 since 2008.
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Sally Lieber]]
+:*{{yellowdot}} [[John H. Webster]]
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
 ===District 15===
+'''Note:''' Incumbent [[Sam Blakeslee]] (R) is not running for re-election.
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
+:*{{bluedot}} [[James Beall Jr.]] Beall has represented [[California State Assembly|Assembly]] District 24 since 2006.
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Joe Coto]]
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
 ===District 17===
+'''Note:''' Incumbent [[Sharon Runner]] (R) is not running for re-election.
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Bill Monning]] Monning has represented [[California State Assembly|Assembly]] District 27 since 2008.
+:*{{reddot}} [[Larry Beaman]]
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
 ===District 19===
+'''Note:''' Incumbent [[Tony Strickland]] (R) is running for election to [[California's 26th congressional district elections, 2012|California's 26th congressional district]].
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Jason Hodge]]
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Hannah-Beth Jackson]]
+:*{{reddot}} [[Mike Stoker]]
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
 ===District 21===
+'''Note:''' Incumbent [[Carol Liu]] (D) is seeking re-election in District 25 due to redistricting.
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Star Moffatt]]
+:*{{reddot}} [[Stephen Knight]] Knight has represented [[California State Assembly|Assembly]] District 36 since 2008.
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
 ===District 23===
+'''Note:''' Incumbent [[Fran Pavley]] (D) is seeking re-election in District 27 due to redistricting.
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Melissa Ruth O'Donnell]]
+:*{{reddot}} [[Bill Emmerson]] District 37 incumbent Emmerson first assumed office in 2010.
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
 ===District 25===
+'''Note:''' Incumbent [[Roderick "Rod" Wright]] (D) is seeking re-election in District 35 due to redistricting.
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Ameenah Fuller]]
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Carol Liu]] District 21 incumbent Liu first assumed office in 2008.
+:*{{reddot}} [[Gilbert Gonzales]]
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
 ===District 27===
+'''Note:''' Incumbent [[Alan Lowenthal]] (D) was unable to run for re-election due to term limits and is instead running for election to [[California's 47th congressional district elections, 2012|California's 47th congressional district]].
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Fran Pavley]] District 23 incumbent Pavley first assumed office in 2008.
+:*{{reddot}} [[Todd Zink]]
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
 ===District 29===
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Greg Diamond]]
+:*{{reddot}} [[Robert "Bob" Huff]] Incumbent Huff first assumed office in 2008.
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
 ===District 31===
+'''Note:''' Incumbent [[Robert Dutton]] (R) was unable to run for re-election due to term limits and is instead running for election to [[California's 31st congressional district elections, 2012|California's 31st congressional district]].
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Steve Clute]]
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Richard Roth]]
+:*{{reddot}} [[Jeff Miller (California)|Jeff Miller]] Miller has represented [[California State Assembly|Assembly]] District 71 since 2008.
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
 ===District 33===
+'''Note:''' Incumbent [[Mimi Walters]] (R) is seeking re-election in District 37 due to redistricting.
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Ricardo Lara]] Lara has represented [[California State Assembly|Assembly]] District 50 since 2010. <ref>[http://wavenewspapers.com/news/local/east_edition/article_3710e0aa-6ed1-11e1-a713-0019bb30f31a.html ''Wave Newspapers'' "Four candidates are unopposed in June 5 primary election," March 15, 2012]</ref>
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
 ===District 35===
+'''Note:''' Incumbent [[Tom Harman]] (R) was unable to run for re-election due to term limits.
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Paul Butterfield]]
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Roderick "Rod" Wright]] District 25 incumbent Wright first assumed office in 2008.
+:*{{reddot}} [[Charlotte Svolos]]
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
 ===District 37===
+'''Note:''' Incumbent [[Bill Emmerson]] (R) is seeking re-election in District 23 due to redistricting.
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Steve Young]]
+:*{{reddot}} [[Mimi Walters]] District 33 incumbent Walters first assumed office in 2008.
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
 ===District 39===
+'''Note:''' Incumbent [[Christine Kehoe]] (D) was unable to run for re-election due to term limits.
 :<u>'''June 5 primary candidates:'''</u>
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Martin Block]] Block has represented [[California State Assembly|Assembly]] District 78 since 2008.
+:*{{bluedot}} [[Patrick Marsh]]
+:*{{reddot}} [[George Plescia]]
 <u>'''''November 6 General election candidates:'''''</u>
@@ Line 254: / Line 300: @@
 *[[State legislative elections, 2012]]
+==External links==
+*[http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/2012-elections/june-primary/pdf/notice-to-candidates-state-senate-2012.pdf List of candidates who submitted signatures to appear on ballot]
 ==References==
 {{reflist}}

California State Senate elections, 2012

Revision as of 13:44, 5 May 2012

Incumbents retiring

Majority control

Democrats seek supermajority

Campaign contributions

Qualifications

Impact of redistricting

Double representation

Term limits

List of candidates

District 1

District 3

District 5

District 7

District 9

District 11

District 13

District 15

District 17

District 19

District 21

District 23

District 25

District 27

District 29

District 31

District 33

District 35

District 37

District 39

See also

External links

References

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