Races to decide California Democrat Supermajority

Nationally, Republicans have already taken the majority in the United States Senate and now the question is whether the Republican wave will hit California. In California, the GOP is attempting to block a Democratic supermajority in the state Legislature. To do so the GOP must net a single seat in the Senate, or two in the Assembly, to stop a supermajority from forming in both houses of the Legislature.

STATE SENATE:

There are two majorly competitive state Senate races of note: one in Orange County that Republicans hope to pick up and one in King County Republicans must hold.

In Orange County District 34 puts Republican Janet Nguyen against former Democrat Assemblyman Jose Solorio.

So far, only absentee ballot results are in but based on expected turnout Nguyen has a commanding lead that may prove insurmountable:

According to the Orange County Registrar of Voters Nguyen has 62.8% of the absentee vote to 37.2% of the vote held by Solorio.

In King County, District 14, between Republican Andy Vidak and Democrat Luis Chavez, is turning out to be extremely competitive. Though Vidak won his primary race against Chavez by a margin of 62 percent to 38 percent, money has been flowing in from outside groups in an attempt to turn the race.

As of now, only absentee ballots are in and the race is incredibly tight. Vidak has 52% of the votes in and Chavez has 47.8 percent of the vote.

One surprise tonight is possibly Senate District 32. It was thought to be a safe Democrat seat but in recent days polls have shown it tight. As of now Republican Mario Guerra has 55.3% of the vote to Democrat Tony Mendoza’s 44.7% of the votes so far counted.

STATE ASSEMBLY:

In the Assembly, Republicans best chances to stave off a super majority are Assembly Districts 36 and 65. Democrat Assemblyman Steve Fox is opposed by Republican Tom Lackey in AD-36 and Democrat Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva is opposed by Republican Young Kim in AD-65.

As of now both Republicans are leading in the polls. Check our blog for up-to-date numbers.

Other competitive Assembly races include:

• District 16, the race between Republican Catharine Baker and Democrat Tim Sbranti for the seat vacated by termed-out Democrat Joan Buchanan will go down to the wire. The Sbranti campaign has significantly outspent Baker and the district has a seven point registration advantage for democrats. Still, Baker has kept it competitive.
• District 66, incumbent Democrat Al Muratsuchi should be able to hold against Republican challenger David Hadley.
• District 40, Democrat Kathleen Henry is facing Republican Marc Steinorth for the seat being vacated by Republican incumbent Mike Morrell. Republicans need to hold this seat to stave off a supermajority.
• District 65, incumbent Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva is facing Republican Young Kim. Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva won by 4 points in 2012. The race will be really close, and they probably won’t be able to call a winner for a few days.

More semi-competitive races, but still worthy of mention:

• District 8, incumbent Democrat Ken Cooley will need to fend off Republican challenger Douglas Haaland in the general election. Cooley won by 9 points in 2012 and finished over 10 points ahead of Haaland in the June primary.
• District 32, incumbent Democrat Rudy Salas is facing Republican Pedro Rios. These two faced one another in the 2012 election, and Salas won by almost 6 points.
• District 42, Democrat Karalee Hargrove will face Republican Chad Mayes in the general election for the seat being vacated by Republican incumbent Brian Nestande. Republicans need to hold this seat to stave off a supermajority.
• In District 44, Democrat Jacqui Irwin is facing Republican Rob McCoy in the general election for the seat being vacated by Republican incumbent Jeff Gorell. Republicans need to hold this seat to stave off a supermajority.