| District: | 36 |
| Chamber: | Senate |
| Population: | 938,083[1] |
| Population Year: | 2010 |
| Voting Age: | 708,785 |
| Citizen Voting Age: | 603,622 |
| Percent White: | 63.43 |
| Percent Black: | 2.48 |
| Percent Latino: | 23.75 |
| Percent Asian: | 8.33 |
| Percent Native American: | 0.64 |
| Percent Pacific Islander: | 0.55 |
| Percent Other Race: | 0.27 |
| Percent Remainder Of Multiracial: | 0.54 |
| Registered: | 576,535[2] |
| Democratic: | 33.74 |
| Republican: | 36.48 |
| Npp: | 24.05 |
California's 36th senatorial district is one of 40 California State Senate districts. It is currently represented by of .
The district includes most of coastal Orange County, including Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Emerald Bay, Laguna Beach, and Dana Point; San Clemente;the Little Saigon area of northwestern Orange County, including Garden Grove, Westminster, Fountain Valley, Midway City, Stanton, Cypress, Rossmoor, and Los Alamitos; and Artesia, Cerritos, and Hawaiian Gardens in southwestern Los Angeles County.
| Year | Office | Results |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Recall | align="right" Yes 52.2 – 47.8% |
| 2020 | President | Biden 53.2 – 44.6% |
| 2018 | Governor | Cox 51.2 – 48.8%[3] |
| Senator | Feinstein 53.8 – 46.2%[4] | |
| 2016 | President | Clinton 48.1 – 45.8%[5] |
| Senator | Harris 58.8 – 41.2%[6] | |
| 2014 | Governor | Kashkari 57.5 – 42.5% |
| 2012 | President | Romney 54.8 – 43.2% |
| Senator | Emken 55.8 – 44.2% |
| Senators | Party | Years served | Electoral history | Counties represented | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District established January 3, 1887 | ||||||
John Roth | Democratic | January 3, 1887 – January 5, 1891 | Elected in 1886. | Inyo, Kern, Tulare | ||
George S. Berry | Democratic | January 5, 1891 – January 7, 1895 | Elected in 1890. Redistricted to the 32nd and 34th districts. | |||
Cyrus M. Simpson | Republican | January 7, 1895 – January 5, 1903 | Elected in 1894. Re-elected in 1898. | Los Angeles | ||
Benjamin W. Hahn | Republican | January 5, 1903 – January 7, 1907 | Elected in 1902. Lost re-election. | |||
Charles W. Bell | Nonpatisan | January 7, 1907 – January 6, 1913 | Elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1910. Retired to become a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. | |||
| Republican | ||||||
William J. Carr | Independent | January 6, 1913 – January 8, 1923 | Elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1918. | |||
| Progressive | ||||||
| Republican | ||||||
A. Burlingame Johnson | Republican | January 8, 1923 – January 3, 1927 | Elected in 1922. | |||
Frank C. Weller | Republican | January 3, 1927 – January 5, 1931 | Elected in 1926. | |||
Ralph E. Swing | Republican | January 5, 1931 – January 8, 1951 | Redistricted from the 30th district and re-elected in 1930. Re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1946. | San Bernardino | ||
James E. Cunningham | Republican | January 8, 1951 – September 10, 1957 | Elected in 1850. Re-elected in 1854. Resigned. | |||
| Vacant | September 10, 1957 – December 31, 1957 | |||||
Raymond H. Gregory | Republican | December 31, 1957 – January 5, 1959 | Elected to finish Cunningham's term. Lost re-election. | |||
Stanford C. Shaw | Democratic | January 5, 1959 – January 7, 1963 | Elected in 1958. | |||
Eugene G. Nisbet | Democratic | January 7, 1963 – January 2, 1967 | Elected in 1962. Redistricted to the 20th district and lost re-election. | |||
Gordon Cologne | Republican | January 2, 1967 – March 2, 1972 | Redistricted from the 37th district and re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1970. Resigned to become a Justice of the California Courts of Appeal. | Riverside, San Bernardino | ||
| Vacant | March 2, 1972 – June 15, 1972 | |||||
W. Craig Biddle | Republican | June 15, 1972 – November 30, 1974 | Elected to finish Cologne's term. Redistricted to the 34th district and lost re-election. | |||
Dennis Carpenter | Republican | December 2, 1974 – November 30, 1978 | Redistricted from the 34th district and re-elected in 1974. | Orange, San Diego | ||
John G. Schmitz | Republican | December 4, 1978 – November 30, 1982 | Elected in 1978. Retired to run for U.S. Senate. | |||
Robert B. Presley | Democratic | December 6, 1982 – November 30, 1994 | Redistricted from the 34th district and re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1990. Retired to run for Board of Equalization. | Riverside | ||
Ray Haynes | Republican | December 5, 1994 – November 30, 2002 | Elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1998. Retired due to term limits and ran for State Assembly. | Riverside, San Diego | ||
Dennis Hollingsworth | Republican | December 2, 2002 – November 30, 2010 | Elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2006. Retired due to term limits. | |||
Joel Anderson | Republican | December 6, 2010 – November 30, 2014 | Elected in 2010. Redistricted to the 38th district. | |||
Patricia Bates | Republican | December 1, 2014 – December 7, 2022 | Elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2018. Retired due to term limits. | Orange, San Diego | ||
| Janet Nguyen | Republican | December 7, 2022 – present | Elected in 2022. Resigning after election to the Orange County Board of Supervisors. | Los Angeles, Orange | ||