Republicans will add two seats in the California State Assembly and one seat in the State Senate if current election results are finalized by the Secretary of State. These results would increase the number of Republicans to 20 in the State Assembly and 10 in the State Senate.
If current results hold, Republicans will flip two Democrat-held Assembly seats.
In the 36th Assembly district covering significant portions of Riverside and Imperial counties, pastor, business owner and 21-year U.S. Marine Corps veteran Jeff Gonzalez leads his Democrat opponent 51.7% to 48.3%. This 70% Latino district has a Republican registration of 28.7%, which Gonzalez is exceeding by 23 points!
In the 58th Assembly District, Leticia Castillo currently leads her Democrat opponent by just 641 votes. She would be an upset winner in this largely Riverside County district having spent just $78,000 on her race according to Cal Matters. Republican registration is 28%. Her top three issues were:
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- Protect Parental Rights
- Restore Public Safety
- Make Living Affordable
In order to gain seats, Assembly Republicans had to successfully defend several highly contested incumbents. Josh Hoover narrowly unseated a powerful Democrat incumbent in 2022. This time, his Sacramento area constituents have given him a lead of over 15,000 votes. Greg Wallis won his 2022 race by 85 votes in this Riverside and San Bernardino County district. He currently leads his Democrat opponent by over 5000 votes. In Orange and San Diego Counties, Laurie Davies appears to have survived a spirited challenge and is ahead by almost 6,000 votes.
In the California State Senate, former GOP Assemblyman Steven Choi leads incumbent Democrat Josh Newman by about 6,000 votes. Choi’s win flips the seat and adds the second vote to the Republican Senate Caucus in less than a year after Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil switched parties last August.
Again, Senate Republicans had to hold highly contested seats in order to increase their numbers. Former Assemblywoman Suzette Valladares has won the LA-San Bernardino County seat currently occupied by retiring GOP State Senator Scott Wilk. Also, Sen. Rosalicie Ochoa Bogh held her Inland Empire seat and currently leads her Democrat opponent by almost 10 percentage points.
These election results highlight the opportunities for Republicans in future election cycles as there are multiple districts similar in demographics and party registration to the ones won by Gonzalez and Castillo. Quality GOP candidates backed with resources, volunteers and party support can continue to increase our numbers and our voice in the California State Legislature.