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California State Senate District 23
California State Senate District 23 is represented by Suzette Martinez Valladares (R).
As of the 2020 Census, California state senators represented an average of 989,419 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 933,550 residents.
About the office
Members of the California State Senate serve four-year terms with term limits.[1] The terms of the senators are staggered so that half the membership is elected every two years. The senators representing odd-numbered districts are elected in years evenly divisible by four. The senators from even-numbered districts are elected in the intervening even-numbered years. California legislators assume office the first Monday in the December following their election.[2]
Qualifications
According to Article IV of the California Constitution:[3]
| “ | A person is ineligible to be a member of the Legislature unless the person is an elector and has been a resident of the legislative district for one year, and a citizen of the United States and a resident of California for 3 years, immediately preceding the election, and service of the full term of office to which the person is seeking to be elected would not exceed the maximum years of service permitted by subdivision (a) of this section.[4] | ” |
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[5] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $128,215/year | $214/day |
Term limits
- See also: State legislatures with term limits
The California Legislature is one of 16 state legislatures with term limits. Since the passage of Prop 28 in 2012, legislators first elected on or after November 6, 2012, are limited to a maximum of 12 years. Prop 140, passed in 1990, affects any members elected prior to November 6, 2012, and limits them to a maximum of two four-year terms (eight years total).[6]
Vacancies
If there is a vacancy in the California State Legislature, the governor must call for a special election. The governor must call the election within 14 calendar days of the vacancy. No special election shall be held if the vacancy occurs after the nominating deadline has passed in the final year of the term of office.[7]
See sources: California Code, 1773 and California Cons. Art. IV, § 2
District map
As of February 2023, two sets of overlapping California State Senate maps are in effect because the state's adopted redistricting plan takes effect in two phases. Even-numbered districts use boundaries from the post-2020 census map, while odd-numbered districts use boundaries adopted after the 2010 census. As a result, an area may be represented by two Senators, or may not be represented by any Senator, during the 2023-24 legislative session. The state Senate map enacted after the 2020 census will fully take effect after the 2024 elections.
Redistricting
2020 redistricting cycle
The California Citizens Redistricting Commission voted 14-0 in favor of a new state Assembly and Senate district maps on December 20, 2021, and delivered those maps to the secretary of state on December 27, 2021.[8][9] These maps took effect for California's 2022 state legislative elections.
How does redistricting in California work? In California, a non-politician commission draws both congressional and state legislative district lines. Established in 2008 by ballot initiative, the commission comprises 14 members: five Democrats, five Republicans, and four belonging to neither party. A panel of state auditors selects the pool of nominees from which the commissioners are appointed. This pool comprises 20 Democrats, 20 Republicans, and 20 belonging to neither party. The majority and minority leaders of both chambers of the state legislature may each remove two members from each of the aforementioned groups. The first eight commission members are selected at random from the remaining nominees. These first eight comprise three Democrats, three Republicans, and two belonging to neither party. The first eight commissioners appoint the remaining six, which must include two Democrats, two Republicans, and two belonging to neither party.[10]
Commissioners must meet the following requirements in order to serve:[10]
- Members must have voted in at least two of the last three statewide elections.
- Members cannot have switched party affiliation for at least five years.
- "Neither commissioners nor immediate family may have been, within 10 years of appointment, a candidate for federal or state office or member of a party central committee; an officer, employee, or paid consultant to a federal or state candidate or party; a registered lobbyist or paid legislative staff; or a donor of more than $2,000 to an elected candidate."
- Members cannot be "staff, consultants or contractors for state or federal government" while serving as commissioners. The same prohibition applies to the family of commission members.
In order to approve a redistricting plan, nine of the commission's 14 members must vote for it. These nine must include three Democrats, three Republicans, and three belonging to neither party. Maps drawn by the commission may be overturned by public referendum. In the event that a map is overturned by the public, the California Supreme Court must appoint a group to draw a new map.[10]
The California Constitution requires that districts be contiguous. Further, the state constitution mandates that "to the extent possible, [districts] must ... preserve the geographic integrity of cities, counties, neighborhoods and communities of interest." Districts must also "encourage compactness." State Senate and Assembly districts should be nested within each other where possible.[10]
California State Senate District 23
until December 1, 2024
Click a district to compare boundaries.
California State Senate District 23
starting December 2, 2024
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2024
See also: California State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for California State Senate District 23
Suzette Martinez Valladares defeated Kipp Mueller in the general election for California State Senate District 23 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Suzette Martinez Valladares (R) | 52.4 | 190,957 |
 | Kipp Mueller (D)  | 47.6 | 173,695 | |
| Total votes: 364,652 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 23
Suzette Martinez Valladares and Kipp Mueller defeated James Hamburger, Blanca Azucena Gomez, and Ollie M. McCaulley in the primary for California State Senate District 23 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Suzette Martinez Valladares (R) | 32.8 | 50,937 |
| ✔ | | Kipp Mueller (D) | 29.4 | 45,754 |
 | James Hamburger (R) | 23.8 | 37,075 | |
 | Blanca Azucena Gomez (D) | 9.2 | 14,257 | |
 | Ollie M. McCaulley (D) | 4.8 | 7,439 | |
| Total votes: 155,462 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2020
- See also: California State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for California State Senate District 23
Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh defeated Abigail Rosales-Medina in the general election for California State Senate District 23 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R) | 52.5 | 224,945 |
 | Abigail Rosales-Medina (D) | 47.5 | 203,403 | |
| Total votes: 428,348 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 23
Abigail Rosales-Medina and Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh defeated Lloyd White, Kris Goodfellow, and Cristina Puraci in the primary for California State Senate District 23 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Abigail Rosales-Medina (D) | 28.1 | 59,881 |
| ✔ | | Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R) | 24.8 | 52,820 |
 | Lloyd White (R) | 21.7 | 46,267 | |
 | Kris Goodfellow (D) | 17.4 | 37,153 | |
 | Cristina Puraci (R) | 8.0 | 17,028 | |
| Total votes: 213,149 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
- See also: California State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the California State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election was held on June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was February 25, 2016, for candidates filing with signatures. The deadline for candidates using a filing fee to qualify was March 11, 2016.[11]
Incumbent Mike Morrell defeated Ronald J. O'Donnell in the California State Senate District 23 general election.[12][13]
| California State Senate, District 23 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Mike Morrell Incumbent |
56.59% | 184,470 | |
| Democratic | Ronald J. O'Donnell | 43.41% | 141,533 | |
| Total Votes | 326,003 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Mike Morrell and Ronald J. O'Donnell defeated Mark Westwood in the California State Senate District 23 Blanket primary.[14][15]
| California State Senate, District 23 Blanket Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Mike Morrell Incumbent |
54.79% | 93,484 | |
| Democratic | Ronald J. O'Donnell |
29.80% | 50,850 | |
| Democratic | Mark Westwood | 15.41% | 26,300 | |
| Total Votes | 170,634 | |||
2014
Mike Morrell (R) defeated Ameenah Fuller (D), Ronald J. O'Donnell (D), Crystal Ruiz (R) and Jeff Hewitt (L) in the special election, which took place on March 25.[16][17]
The seat was vacant following William Emmerson's (R) resignation on December 1, 2013, when he stated his passion for the position had waned.[18]
A special election for the position of California State Senate District 23 was called for March 25, with a runoff if necessary on June 3. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 31.[19]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike Morrell |
62.6% | 43,447 | |
| Democratic | Ronald J. O'Donnell | 15.2% | 10,531 | |
| Democratic | Ameenah Fuller | 9.7% | 6,705 | |
| Libertarian | Jeff Hewitt | 6.5% | 4,479 | |
| Republican | Crystal Ruiz | 6% | 4,187 | |
| Total Votes | 69,349 | |||
2012
- See also: California State Senate elections, 2012
Elections for the office of California State Senate consisted of a primary election on June 5, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 9, 2012. Incumbent Bill Emmerson (R) and Melissa Ruth O'Donnell (D) advanced unopposed past the June 5 blanket primary. Emmerson then defeated O'Donnell in the general election.[20] [21]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bill Emmerson Incumbent |
56.3% | 159,045 | |
| Democratic | Melissa Ruth O'Donnell | 43.7% | 123,518 | |
| Total Votes | 282,563 | |||
Campaign contributions
From 2000 to 2024, candidates for California State Senate District 23 raised a total of $18,006,470. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $600,216 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, California State Senate District 23 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2024 | $8,778,407 | 5 | $1,755,681 |
| 2020 | $2,951,062 | 5 | $590,212 |
| 2016 | $716,575 | 3 | $238,858 |
| 2012 | $709,387 | 2 | $354,694 |
| 2010 | $337,217 | 1 | $337,217 |
| 2008 | $1,833,288 | 5 | $366,658 |
| 2006 | $2,808 | 1 | $2,808 |
| 2004 | $876,025 | 3 | $292,008 |
| 2002 | $552,902 | 1 | $552,902 |
| 2000 | $1,248,798 | 4 | $312,200 |
| Total | $18,006,470 | 30 | $600,216 |
See also
- California State Legislature
- California State Senate
- California State Assembly
- California state legislative districts
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ California State Constitution, accessed December 16, 2013
- ↑ California Constitution, "Article 4, Section 2. (a)(3)," accessed November 1, 2021
- ↑ California Legislature, "Qualifications for State Legislature," accessed May 21, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ California Legislative Information, "Article IV Legislative (Sec. 1 - Sec. 28)," accessed February 9, 2021
- ↑ California Legislative Information, "California Code," accessed February 9, 2021 (Statute, 1773-California Government Code)
- ↑ Politico, "California’s new congressional map boosts Democrats," Dec. 21, 2021
- ↑ Lake County News, "California Citizens Redistricting Commission delivers maps to California Secretary of State," Dec. 28, 2021
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 All About Redistricting, "California," accessed April 21, 2015
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Key Dates and Deadlines," accessed April 18, 2017
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates for the November 8, 2016, General Election," accessed September 7, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "2016 General Election results," accessed December 23, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates for Voter-Nominated Offices," accessed April 4, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Statement of Vote," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official candidate list," accessed February 5, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official special election results," accessed April 16, 2014
- ↑ latimes.com, "Special election for state Senate seat set for March 25," December 5, 2013
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "State Senate District 23* - Special Election," accessed December 9, 2013
- ↑ " California Secretary of State, "2012 General Election," November 7, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "2012 General Primary,” November 7, 2013
