Democrats battle for state Senate flips
SACRAMENTO — Democrats could further expand their control of the California Legislature by flipping as many as four Republicanheld districts in the state Senate.
The four races, all in Southern California, were too close to call Wednesday, with fewer than 1,000 votes separating the candidates in one of them. But the Democratic challengers were wellpositioned as elections officials continued to count latearriving ballots that traditionally skew liberal, raising the possibility that Democrats could hold a 337 majority in the Senate next session.
Two of the seats are largely based in Orange County, once a conservative stronghold that has become the state’s biggest political battleground. In the 37th Senate District, Democrat Dave Min led Sen. John Moorlach, RCosta Mesa ( Orange County), 52% to 48%. Democrat Josh Newsom, who won the 29th Senate District in 2016 and then was recalled two years ago, was beating Sen. LingLing Chang, RDiamond Bar, by a similar margin.
In the 21st Senate District, which includes parts of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, Sen. Scott Wilk, RSanta Clarita ( Los Angeles County), was holding off Democrat Kipp Mueller by 1,427 votes. And the open 23rd Senate District, which crosses Riverside and San Bernardino counties, was nearly tied, with Democrat Abigail Medina up by 612 votes over Republican Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh.
Hundreds of thousands of votes have yet to be counted, meaning all these races will be tight for days, said Paul Mitchell, vice president of Political Data Inc., which tracks ballot returns. But those outstanding votes are probably mail ballots submitted in the final days of the campaign, which have leaned Democratic in recent years.
The Democratic candidates have “withstood the worst of it,” Mitchell said.
Democratic challengers were wellpositioned ... raising the possibility that Democrats could hold a 337 majority in the Senate.
Santa Clara County was also still processing votes Wednesday in the 15th Senate District, where Democrats Dave Cortese and Ann Ravel faced off in a contentious intraparty campaign that attracted more outside spending than any other legislative race this year.
Cortese, a county supervisor, led attorney Ravel, 54% to 46%, with the county elections office reporting that it had counted 62% of the expected total vote.
The balance of power in the Assembly, where Democrats also hold an overwhelming majority, appeared unlikely to shift much.
Democratic candidates were on track Wednesday to win 60 of the 80 seats. But they trailed in all five Republicanheld districts that Democrats targeted this year.
They are also slated to lose one suburban Los Angeles County seat previously held by a Democrat after two Republicans advanced from the crowded primary field.