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Josh Newman
Josh Newman (Democratic Party) was a member of the California State Senate, representing District 29. He assumed office on December 7, 2020. He left office on December 2, 2024.
Newman (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the California State Senate to represent District 37. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Newman is a former Democratic member of the California State Senate, representing District 29. He was recalled from the position on June 5, 2018. Ling Ling Chang (R) was selected as his replacement.
The effort to recall Newman was launched in April 2017 following the passage of SB 1, a bill that increased motor fuel taxes to pay for transportation projects. Newman supported SB 1. The recall was launched by former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio (R), who said Newman was targeted because of the slim margin in his 2016 victory. Several legal and legislative controversies arose from the recall effort.
Newman was first elected in 2016. He won by less than 2,500 votes, defeating Assemblywoman Ling-Ling Chang (R). Before Newman's election, District 29 had been represented by Republican Bob Huff since 2008.
Biography
Newman served in the U.S. Army. He earned a degree in history from Yale University. Newman's career experience includes working in public affairs and marketing, film and television production, and Internet media technology. He founded ArmedForce2Workforce.[1]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Newman was assigned to the following committees:
- Budget and Fiscal Review Committee
- Senate Education Committee, Chair
- Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee
- Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee
- Senate Transportation Committee
- Rules Committee
2021-2022
Newman was assigned to the following committees:
- Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee
- Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee
- Senate Transportation Committee
- Emergency Management Committee
- Budget and Fiscal Review Committee
- Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee
- Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| California committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Business, Professions, and Economic Development |
| • Health |
| • Human Services |
| • Insurance |
| • Veterans Affairs, Chair |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: California State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for California State Senate District 37
Steven S. Choi defeated incumbent Josh Newman in the general election for California State Senate District 37 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Steven S. Choi (R) | 50.7 | 232,345 |
 | Josh Newman (D) | 49.3 | 226,270 | |
| Total votes: 458,615 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 37
The following candidates ran in the primary for California State Senate District 37 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Josh Newman (D) | 30.1 | 67,109 |
| ✔ | | Steven S. Choi (R) | 21.7 | 48,364 |
 | Crystal Miles (R) | 14.0 | 31,132 | |
 | Guy Selleck (R) | 10.1 | 22,546 | |
 | Alex Mohajer (D) | 8.3 | 18,550 | |
 | Anthony Kuo (R) | 7.1 | 15,739 | |
| Leticia Correa (D) | 2.7 | 6,000 | ||
| Stephanie Le (D) | 2.0 | 4,532 | ||
| Gabrielle Ashbaugh (D) | 2.0 | 4,396 | ||
| Jenny Suarez (D) | 1.4 | 3,191 | ||
| Jacob Niles Creer (D) | 0.7 | 1,606 | ||
| Total votes: 223,165 | |||
| = 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Dave Min (D)
- Ali Kowsari (R)
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Newman in this election.
2020
See also: California State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for California State Senate District 29
Josh Newman defeated incumbent Ling Ling Chang in the general election for California State Senate District 29 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Josh Newman (D) | 51.3 | 214,456 |
 | Ling Ling Chang (R) | 48.7 | 203,762 | |
| Total votes: 418,218 | |||
| = 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 29
Incumbent Ling Ling Chang and Josh Newman defeated Joseph Cho in the primary for California State Senate District 29 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ling Ling Chang (R) | 47.4 | 98,687 |
| ✔ | | Josh Newman (D) | 33.5 | 69,732 |
 | Joseph Cho (D) | 19.1 | 39,643 | |
| Total votes: 208,062 | |||
| = 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
An election to decide whether Josh Newman (D) should be recalled from his position representing California State Senate District 29 was held on June 5, 2018.
The candidates running to replace Newman were Kevin Carr (D), Ling Ling Chang (R), Joseph Cho (D), Josh Ferguson (D), George C. Shen (R), and Bruce Whitaker (R).[2]
Because a majority of voters chose to recall Newman, the replacement candidate with the most votes, Ling Ling Chang, won the seat.
| Josh Newman recall, 2018 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Yes |
58.1% | 91,892 |
| No | 41.9% | 66,197 |
| Total Votes | 158,089 | |
| Source: California Secretary of State | ||
| Josh Newman recall (replacement candidate), 2018 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Kevin Carr | 8.6% | 12,713 | |
| Republican | Ling Ling Chang |
33.8% | 50,215 | |
| Democratic | Joseph Cho | 21.4% | 31,726 | |
| Democratic | Josh Ferguson | 11.9% | 17,745 | |
| Republican | George C. Shen | 5.0% | 7,442 | |
| Republican | Bruce Whitaker | 19.3% | 28,704 | |
| Total Votes | 148,545 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State | ||||
Endorsements
| Click here to see a list of Newman's endorsements in the recall election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Campaign finance
| Josh Newman campaign finance | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Filing deadline | Total Contributions | Total Expenditures | Total Cash on Hand |
| April 26, 2018 | $387,098 | $837,422 | $475,075 |
| January 31, 2018 | $283,510 | $314,712 | $771,414 |
| Total | $3,235,873 | $2,942,001 | $475,075 |
This chart contains campaign finance figures for Newman's recall committee and a separate committee established by Californians for Better Communities and the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California.
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.[10] Incumbent Bob Huff (R) did not seek re-election.
Josh Newman defeated Ling-Ling Chang in the California State Senate District 29 general election.[11][12]
| California State Senate, District 29 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Josh Newman |
50.39% | 160,230 | |
| Republican | Ling-Ling Chang | 49.61% | 157,732 | |
| Total Votes | 317,962 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State | ||||
Ling-Ling Chang and Josh Newman defeated Sukhee Kang in the California State Senate District 29 Blanket primary.[13][14]
| California State Senate, District 29 Blanket Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Ling-Ling Chang |
44.01% | 73,514 | |
| Democratic | Josh Newman |
29.19% | 48,754 | |
| Democratic | Sukhee Kang | 26.80% | 44,766 | |
| Total Votes | 167,034 | |||
Endorsements
In 2016, Newman's endorsements included the following:[15]
- State Controller Betty Yee
- State Treasurer John Chiang
- Board of Equalization Chair Fiona Ma
- State Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León
- State Senator Jim Beall
- State Senator Ed Hernandez
- State Senator Ricardo Lara
- State Senator Mark Leno
- State Senator Connie Leyva
- State Senator Tony Mendoza
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Josh Newman did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Josh Newman did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2016
In 2016, Newman issued the following statement regarding his bid for office:
| “ | I am, first and foremost, not a politician. Nor do I ever intend to become one. What I do aspire to is public service, of the kind I was proud to have contributed as a member of the United States Armed Forces, though this time in a different capacity: as the representative and advocate for the citizens in my state senate district. In a district as geographically expansive and demographically diverse as ours, no single person can be exactly in step with every constituent all the time.
What I can promise, though, is honesty, integrity, open-mindedness, and responsiveness, all the time. I’m not a party loyalist, and I don’t owe any lobby or special interest anything as I seek this office, so that what you see with me is what you’ll get: a smart, practical and principled person who knows exactly who he works for: you and the other residents of the 29th Senate District. [16] |
” |
| —Josh Newman, [1] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of California scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
In 2024, the California State Legislature was in session from January 3 to August 31. A special session in the Assembly was from August 31, 2024 to October 14, 2024 and another special session started on December 2, 2024.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the chamber.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to the interests of health care consumers.
- Legislators are scored on how they voted on taxpayer-related issues.
- Legislators are scored on issues related to sexual and reproductive health.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on issues related to sexual and reproductive health.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental policy.
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the California State Legislature was in session from January 1 to September 14.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the California State Legislature was in session from January 3 to August 31.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the California State Legislature was in session from December 7 to September 10.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the California State Legislature was in session from January 6 to August 31.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the California State Legislature was in session from January 3, 2018 through August 31, 2018.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the California State Legislature was in session from December 5, 2016 through September 15, 2017.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the California State Legislature was in session from January 4 through August 31. The formal session ended on August 31, but constitutionally the session adjourned sine die on November 30.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate California State Senate District 37 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Senate District 29, "Biography," accessed December 28, 2020
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates," accessed May 2, 2018
- ↑ Newman for Senate, "Endorsements," accessed January 15, 2018
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Washington Post, "How a recall vote in Orange County could shape the battle for the House," June 5, 2018
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Gov. Brown to host fundraiser for senator facing possible recall to show 'he's got his back' after tax vote, aide says," May 8, 2017
- ↑ The Orange County Register "Sen. Josh Newman recall gains traction," June 2, 2017
- ↑ The Sacramento Bee, "Teachers take on Republicans in gas tax recall fight," June 13, 2017
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Friends of Josh Newman Opposed to the Recall," accessed July 4, 2017
- ↑ California Secretary of State, OPPOSING THE RECALL OF SENATOR JOSH NEWMAN, SPONSORED BY CALIFORNIA ALLIANCE FOR JOBS AND THE STATE BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION TRADES COUNCIL OF CALIFORNIA; CALIFORNIANS FOR BETTER COMMUNITIES," accessed February 14, 2018
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Newman for Senate, "Endorsements," accessed September 28, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ling Ling Chang (R) |
California State Senate District 29 2020-2024 |
Succeeded by Eloise Gomez Reyes (D) |
| Preceded by - |
California State Senate District 29 2016-2018 |
Succeeded by - |
