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California State Senate District 28
California State Senate District 28 is represented by Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D).
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 28
until December 1, 2024
Click a district to compare boundaries.
California State Senate District 28
starting December 2, 2024
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2022
- See also: California State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for California State Senate District 28
Lola Smallwood-Cuevas defeated Cheryl Turner in the general election for California State Senate District 28 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D) | 59.9 | 117,315 |
 | Cheryl Turner (D) | 40.1 | 78,453 | |
| Total votes: 195,768 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 28
Lola Smallwood-Cuevas and Cheryl Turner defeated Joe Lisuzzo, Kamilah Moore, and Jamaal Gulledge in the primary for California State Senate District 28 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D) | 44.8 | 63,211 |
| ✔ | | Cheryl Turner (D) | 30.3 | 42,728 |
 | Joe Lisuzzo (R) | 14.7 | 20,785 | |
| Kamilah Moore (D) | 6.5 | 9,162 | ||
 | Jamaal Gulledge (D) | 3.7 | 5,267 | |
| Total votes: 141,153 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Lisa Middleton (D)
2020
A special election for District 28 of the California State Senate took place on May 12, 2020. A primary was held on March 3, 2020. The filing deadline for candidates was January 9, 2020.[11][12]
Jeff Stone (R) resigned the seat on November 1, 2019, to take a position in the Donald Trump presidential administration as Western Regional director in the Department of Labor.[13]
General election
Special general election for California State Senate District 28
Melissa Melendez defeated Elizabeth Romero in the special general election for California State Senate District 28 on May 12, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Melissa Melendez (R) | 55.4 | 105,940 |
 | Elizabeth Romero (D) | 44.6 | 85,311 | |
| Total votes: 191,251 | |||
| = 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
Special nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 28
Melissa Melendez and Elizabeth Romero defeated Joy Silver, John Schwab Jr., and Anna Nevenic in the special primary for California State Senate District 28 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Melissa Melendez (R) | 40.5 | 86,052 |
| ✔ | | Elizabeth Romero (D) | 24.1 | 51,363 |
 | Joy Silver (D) | 20.8 | 44,316 | |
| John Schwab Jr. (R) | 11.5 | 24,536 | ||
 | Anna Nevenic (D) | 3.0 | 6,440 | |
| Total votes: 212,707 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2018
- See also: California State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for California State Senate District 28
Incumbent Jeff Stone defeated Joy Silver in the general election for California State Senate District 28 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jeff Stone (R) | 51.6 | 151,020 |
| Joy Silver (D) | 48.4 | 141,792 | |
| Total votes: 292,812 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = 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 28
Incumbent Jeff Stone and Joy Silver defeated Anna Nevenic in the primary for California State Senate District 28 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jeff Stone (R) | 56.0 | 89,426 |
| ✔ | | Joy Silver (D) | 34.7 | 55,312 |
| Anna Nevenic (D) | 9.3 | 14,826 | |
| Total votes: 159,564 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2014
- See also: California State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the California State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 3, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 7, 2014. Bonnie Garcia (R) and Jeff Stone (R) defeated Philip Drucker (D), Anna Nevenic (D), William "Bill" Carns (R) and Glenn A. Miller (R) in the blanket primary. Garcia was defeated by Stone in the general election.[14][15][16]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Jeff Stone |
53% | 81,698 | |
| Republican | Bonnie Garcia | 47% | 72,353 | |
| Total Votes | 154,051 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |
Jeff Stone |
21.9% | 20,807 | |
| Republican | Bonnie Garcia |
19.9% | 18,884 | |
| Republican | Glenn A. Miller | 19.4% | 18,435 | |
| Democratic | Philip Drucker | 18.6% | 17,635 | |
| Democratic | Anna Nevenic | 15.2% | 14,444 | |
| Republican | William Carns | 5.1% | 4,834 | |
| Total Votes | 95,039 | |||
2011
Ted Lieu defeated seven other opponents in a February 15 special election for Senate District 28. The special election was called in the wake of former State Senator Jenny Oropeza's death. As Lieu received more than 50 percent of the vote in the special election primary, the April 19 runoff was averted. The filing deadline for candidates was January 3, 2011.[17]
Campaign contributions
From 2000 to 2022, candidates for California State Senate District 28 raised a total of $8,687,273. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $289,576 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, California State Senate District 28 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2022 | $1,089,247 | 5 | $217,849 |
| 2018 | $1,916,301 | 3 | $638,767 |
| 2014 | $1,781,754 | 6 | $296,959 |
| 2012 | $919,759 | 1 | $919,759 |
| 2010 | $305,838 | 3 | $101,946 |
| 2008 | $306,306 | 1 | $306,306 |
| 2006 | $1,498,457 | 5 | $299,691 |
| 2004 | $218,776 | 1 | $218,776 |
| 2002 | $278,434 | 4 | $69,609 |
| 2000 | $372,401 | 1 | $372,401 |
| Total | $8,687,273 | 30 | $289,576 |
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, "Special Election Calendar - Special Primary Election March 3, 2020," accessed November 18, 2019
- ↑ CA.gov, "Governor Newsom Issues Proclamations Declaring Special Elections for 25th Congressional District and 28th Senate District," November 15, 2019
- ↑ Desert Sun,' "State Sen. Jeff Stone to join Trump's labor department, likely prompting special election," October 30, 2019
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official 2014 Primary election candidate list," accessed March 27, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed July 15, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed December 14, 2014
- ↑ LA Times, "Winners avoid runoffs in two special elections for California Senate," February 16, 2011"
