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Dave Cortese (California)

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Dave Cortese
Democratic Party
California State Senate District 15
Tenure
2020 - Present
Term ends
2028
Years in position
5
Predecessor: James Beall Jr. (D)
Prior offices:
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors District 3
Years in office: 2009 - 2020
Successor: Otto Lee (Nonpartisan)
San Jose City Council District 8
Years in office: 2001 - 2008
East Side Union High School District board of trustees At-large
Years in office: 1992 - 2000
Compensation
Base salary
$132,703/year
Per diem
$236/day
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 5, 2024
Education
High school
Bellarmine College Prep
Bachelor's
University of California, Davis
Law
Lincoln University Law School
Personal
Profession
Businessman/attorney
Contact
Official website
Official Facebook
Official X
Official Instagram
Official YouTube
Campaign website
Campaign Facebook
Campaign X
Campaign Instagram
Personal Facebook
Personal LinkedIn

Dave Cortese (Democratic Party) is a member of the California State Senate, representing District 15. He assumed office on December 7, 2020. His current term ends on December 4, 2028.

Cortese (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the California State Senate to represent District 15. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Cortese completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Dave Cortese graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory. Cortese earned a B.S. in political science from the University of California at Davis and a J.D. from Lincoln University Law School. His career experience includes working as an attorney and owning a business. Cortese served as a trustee with the East Side Union High School District.[1][2][3]


Committee assignments

2025-2026

Cortese was assigned to the following committees:

2023-2024

Cortese was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Cortese was assigned to the following committees:

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 15

Incumbent Dave Cortese defeated Robert P. Howell in the general election for California State Senate District 15 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Dave Cortese
Dave Cortese (D) Candidate Connection
 
68.6
 
260,719
Image of Robert P. Howell
Robert P. Howell (R)
 
31.4
 
119,310

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 380,029
Candidate Connection = 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 15

Incumbent Dave Cortese and Robert P. Howell defeated Tony Loaiza in the primary for California State Senate District 15 on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Dave Cortese
Dave Cortese (D) Candidate Connection
 
69.0
 
124,539
✔
Image of Robert P. Howell
Robert P. Howell (R)
 
19.0
 
34,205
Image of Tony Loaiza
Tony Loaiza (R) Candidate Connection
 
12.0
 
21,643

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 180,387
Candidate Connection = 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.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

To view Cortese's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Cortese in this election.

2020

See also: California State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for California State Senate District 15

Dave Cortese defeated Ann Ravel in the general election for California State Senate District 15 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Dave Cortese
Dave Cortese (D) Candidate Connection
 
54.8
 
212,207
Image of Ann Ravel
Ann Ravel (D)
 
45.2
 
175,203

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 387,410
Candidate Connection = 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 15

The following candidates ran in the primary for California State Senate District 15 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Dave Cortese
Dave Cortese (D) Candidate Connection
 
33.9
 
79,507
✔
Image of Ann Ravel
Ann Ravel (D)
 
22.1
 
51,752
Image of Nora Campos
Nora Campos (D)
 
16.9
 
39,683
Image of Robert P. Howell
Robert P. Howell (R)
 
10.2
 
23,840
Image of Johnny Khamis
Johnny Khamis (Independent)
 
10.1
 
23,747
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Ken Del Valle (R)
 
6.1
 
14,280
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Tim Gildersleeve (Independent)
 
0.7
 
1,635

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 234,444
Candidate Connection = 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.

Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!

Endorsements

A complete list of Cortese's endorsements can be found on his campaign website here.

2014

See also: San Jose, California mayoral election, 2014

The city of San Jose, California held elections for mayor on November 4, 2014. A primary election took place on June 3, 2014. Dave Cortese and Sam Liccardo advanced past Pierluigi Oliverio, Bill Chew, Timothy Harrison, Rose Herrera, Michael Alfred Alvarado and Madison Nguyen in the primary. Liccardo defeated Cortese in the general election.[4][5][6]

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Dave Cortese completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cortese's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

I grew up on an orchard in Santa Clara Valley where I met people from all walks of life and learned the value and honor of hard work. I was the general manager of our family business and know how to create and maintain good paying jobs. I am attorney and ran my own law practice for several years. My public service career began as a trustee on the East Side Union High School District Board. I went on to serve on the San Jose City Council, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, and now in the State Senate. As your state senator, I’ve authored several bills to increase affordable housing and audit homelessness programs to make them more effective. I’ve written legislation to enhance community safety by getting illegal guns off the street, increase police staffing and accountability, protect young people from fentanyl and ensure that all of our students receive equal school funding. I’m fighting to protect our community from wildfires, safeguard workers from wage oppression and I’m helping to lead California’s efforts to protect the environment through Senate bills related to water conservation, climate restoration, and wildlife preservation. I will continue to bring my experience in the private sector and in local government into my service in the senate.
  • 1) With rents and housing prices skyrocketing in Santa Clara County, we must expand the availability and access to affordable housing. In 2016, I co-chaired the Measure A bond campaign which raised nearly $1 billion to provide affordable housing for some of our most vulnerable residents in Santa Clara County. By using tax credits and financing incentives, that money has been leveraged 3:1 against private, municipal and non-profit housing investment. Those funds built approximately 6000 units of affordable housing—over 15% more than expected.
  • These skyrocketing housing prices have also pushed record numbers of people into homelessness over the past 20 years. Since the passing of Measure A in 2016, we have housed approximately 17,000 people. I will continue to work collaboratively with local and statewide leaders to generate revenue to build more housing, to create policies to streamline the process and to provide incentives for building housing that is affordable, with a goal of preventing people from becoming homeless.
  • Public safety is one of the primary responsibilities of government. I will continue to work closely with police and fire agencies to make sure our residents are safe.
I am personally passionate about policies in the areas of public safety, behavioral health, justice reform, education, and creating middle income opportunities for the poor.
I look up to my grandfather who was a very hardworking, self-made man. When I was in my early twenties he told me, “You are working for your children now, and their children.” I didn’t understand at the time because I didn’t have children. But today I have taken his message to heart. I am working for the next generation and the generation after that. All children—not just my own.
Former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Tip O'Neill wrote a book called, "All Politics is Local," which I read as a young man. This book had a big impact on me because it made me realize the importance of staying engaged and listening to constituents.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2020

Candidate Connection

Dave Cortese completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cortese's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

I grew up working in the orchards, raised in a family that's been active in our community for 100 years. I learned in business and in government, our decisions matter. I'm running for State Senate to make good decisions that help our local community.

Affordable Housing-I co-chaired the campaign to raise $950 million for new affordable housing, and will continue pushing to make housing affordable for our children, seniors, and working families. Homelessness-I launched 22 new housing developments for the homeless, built pathways into housing for homeless veterans, and improved mental health programs. In Sacramento, I'll advocate for a statewide approach to addressing homelessness-this is not a city by city problem. Transportation-I secured critical funding to bring BART to San Jose and improve highway interchanges. I will continue working to increase access to safe, reliable, and fast transportation that reduces commute times. Climate Change-I helped protect over 48,000 acres of open space from development and led the County to commit to 100% renewable energy. I will fight to protect California against federal efforts to roll back critical environmental protections. It takes passion and experience to get things done, that's why I'm the only candidate endorsed by the California Democratic Party and I've earned the support of teachers, nurses, firefighters and neighborhood leaders. I respectfully ask for your vote.

  • Housing /Homelessness--The lack of housing, and in particular affordable housing, is creating a serious social justice issue where we have record-numbers of mentally ill adults along with students and working families living in cars or tents or moving from couch to couch. This is unacceptable and in the richest region in the state, we can do better. I co-chaired the successful Measure A campaign in 2016 to raise $950M to build permanent supportive housing and I'm pleased to say we have 22 of those projects fully funded this year.
  • Public Safety -- Public safety is the first responsibility of any governmental body. This includes ensuring that our public safety personnel are appropriately staffed, trained, and equipped to effectively do the job. We must also look at public safety through the lens of social justice. Oppressive immigration policies and harsh sentencing practices can have a detrimental long-term effect on public safety and can increase costs to taxpayers.
  • Climate Restoration--Climate scientists are telling us that we have just 12 years before we do irreparable damage to our global environment. We need aggressive and immediate actions to turn this around, shifting our dependency on fossil fuels to renewable sources. By 2020 all Santa Clara County Government operations will be 100% renewable, proving that it is doable. In 2017, I created, in partnership with Vice President Al Gore and the Climate Reality Project, the Counties Climate Coalition, a nationwide organization of county governments committed to 100 % renewable energy in their operations, in addition to upholding the goals set out in the Paris Climate Agreement.
I learned long ago that the only reason to be in the business of public service is to help people. I have had the good fortune to be able to help many people through my role as an elected official over the years, whether it's individual constituents who call the office with a problem or through policies or programs which help groups of people like immigrant families, challenged youth, veterans, or people without homes. I would like the opportunity to expand my capacity to help people from the 2 million people in Santa Clara County to the 40 million people in the State of California.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2014

Cortese's campaign website highlighted the following issues:[7]

  • Economy and business
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Fiscal responsibility
  • Homelessness
  • Housing
  • Parks
  • Public safety

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.

Dave Cortese campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024California State Senate District 15Won general$1,868,126 $365,453
2020California State Senate District 15Won general$1,987,510 N/A**
Grand total$3,855,636 $365,453
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Election Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards, State legislative scorecards in California

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 scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2025.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2024.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2023.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2022.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2021.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2020.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2019.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2018.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2017.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2016.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2015.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2014.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2013.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2012.

See also

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External links

Candidate

California State Senate District 15
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    Officeholder

    California State Senate District 15
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Dave Cortese for Senate 2020, "About Dave Cortese," accessed December 27, 2020
    2. ↑ Senator Dave Cortese, "Biography," accessed December 27, 2020
    3. ↑ Cortese for Mayor, "About Dave Cortese, Candidate for Mayor of San Jose," accessed October 11, 2017
    4. ↑ City of San Jose "June 3, 2014 Primary Election," accessed April 7, 2014
    5. ↑ San Jose Mercury News, "San Jose mayor's race: Dave Cortese vs. Sam Liccardo in November," June 3, 2014
    6. ↑ Santa Clara County, "2014 Unofficial Election Results," accessed November 4, 2014
    7. ↑ Cortese for Mayor, "Issues," accessed October 11, 2017

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    James Beall Jr. (D)     		California State Senate District 15
    2020-Present    		 Succeeded by
    -
    Preceded by
    -     		Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors District 3
    2009-2020    		 Succeeded by
    Otto Lee
    Preceded by
    -     		San Jose City Council District 8
    2001-2008    		 Succeeded by
    -
    Preceded by
    -     		East Side Union High School District board of trustees At-large
    1992-2000    		 Succeeded by
    -


    Current members of the California State Senate
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    Minority Leader:Brian Jones
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    Ben Allen (D)
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