| District: | 3 |
| Chamber: | Senate |
| Population: | 928,167[1] |
| Population Year: | 2010 |
| Voting Age: | 716,049 |
| Citizen Voting Age: | 612,229 |
| Percent White: | 51.52 |
| Percent Black: | 8.01 |
| Percent Latino: | 24.98 |
| Percent Asian: | 12.48 |
| Percent Native American: | 1.00 |
| Percent Pacific Islander: | 0.64 |
| Percent Other Race: | 0.32 |
| Percent Remainder Of Multiracial: | 1.04 |
| Registered: | 556,418[2] |
| Democratic: | 50.35 |
| Republican: | 21.10 |
| Npp: | 22.84 |
California's 3rd senatorial district is one of 40 California State Senate districts. It is currently represented by of .
The district includes eastern California Wine Country and University of California, Davis, and consists of Napa, Yolo, and Solano Counties.
| Year | Office | Results |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Recall | align="right" No 67.7 – 32.3% |
| 2020 | President | Biden 68.1 – 29.5% |
| 2018 | Governor[3] | Newsom 65.5 – 34.5% |
| Senator[4] | Feinstein 53.9 – 46.1% | |
| 2016 | President | Clinton 65.3 – 28.0% |
| Senator | Harris 68.3 – 31.7% | |
| 2014 | Governor | Brown 68.0 – 32.0% |
| 2012 | President | Obama 65.4 – 32.0% |
| Senator | Feinstein 68.0 – 32.0% |
| Senator | Party | Years served | Electoral history | Counties represented | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District established January 6, 1851 | |||||
| Pablo de la Guerra | Whig | January 6, 1851 – January 5, 1852 | Redistricted from the San Luis Obispo district and re-elected in 1850. Re-elected in 1853. Redistricted to the 2nd district. | San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara | |
| Antonio M. de la Guerra | Democratic | January 5, 1852 – January 3, 1853 | Elected in 1851 Re-elected in 1852. | ||
| Pablo de la Guerra | Whig | January 3, 1853 – January 2, 1854 | Elected in 1853. Redistricted to the 2nd district. | ||
| January 2, 1854 – January 1, 1855 | |||||
| Delos R. Ashley | Know Nothing | January 1, 1855 – January 5, 1857 | Elected in 1855. | Monterey, Santa Cruz | |
D. S. Gregory | Democratic | January 5, 1857 – January 3, 1859 | Elected in 1857. | ||
John H. Watson | Democratic | January 3, 1859 – January 7, 1861 | Elected in 1859. | ||
Romualdo Pacheco | Union Democratic | January 7, 1861 – December 7, 1863 | Elected in 1861. Retired to become California State Treasurer. | San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara | |
Juan Y. Cot | Union | December 7, 1863 – December 4, 1865 | Elected in 1863. | ||
Patrick W. Murphy | Democratic | December 4, 1865 – January 7, 1869 | Elected in 1865. Re-elected in 1887. | ||
Romualdo Pacheco | Republican | January 7, 1869 – December 8, 1871 | Elected in 1868. Resigned to become Lieutenant Governor of California. | ||
James Van Ness | Democratic | December 8, 1871 – December 8, 1871 | Elected to finish Pacheco's term. | ||
William J. Graves | Democratic | December 1, 1873 – December 3, 1877 | Elected in 1873. Re-elected in 1875. | San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura | |
Warren Chase | Workingmen's | January 5, 1880 – January 8, 1883 | Elected in 1879. Resigned to run for U.S. House of Representatives. | ||
| George Steele | Republican | January 8, 1883 – February 23, 1883 | Elected to finish Chase's term. Unseated after his opponent contested election.[5] | ||
| J. Marion Brooks | Democratic | February 23, 1883 – January 5, 1885 | Elected after successful contest. | ||
| George Steele | Republican | January 5, 1885 – January 3, 1887 | Elected in 1884. Redistricted to the 37th district. | ||
W. H. Patterson | Republican | January 3, 1887 – January 7, 1889 | Elected in 1886. | Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Sierra | |
M. H. Mead | Democratic | January 7, 1889 – January 2, 1893 | Elected in 1888. | ||
| Tirey L. Ford | January 2, 1893 – January 4, 1897 | Elected in 1982. | Nevada, Plumas, Sierra | ||
William F. Prisk | Democratic | January 4, 1897 – January 1, 1901 | Elected in 1896. Retired. | ||
John R. Tyrrell | Republican | January 1, 1901 – January 2, 1905 | Elected in 1900. | ||
| John B. Irish | Republican | January 2, 1905 – January 4, 1909 | Elected in 1904. | Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Placer | |
| E. S. Birdsall | Republican | January 4, 1909 – January 8, 1917 | Elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1912. | ||
| Thomas Ingram | Republican | January 8, 1917 – August 4, 1928 | Elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1924. | Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Placer, El Dorado | |
Bert A. Cassidy | Republican | January 7, 1929 – January 2, 1933 | Elected in 1928. | ||
| Harry A. Perry | Republican | January 2, 1933 – January 4, 1937 | Elected in 1932. | Humboldt | |
| Irwin T. Quinn | Democratic | January 4, 1937 – January 3, 1949 | Elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1944. | ||
| Michael J. Burns | Republican | January 3, 1949 – May 1, 1949 | Elected in 1948. Died. | ||
| Vacant | May 1, 1949 – November 21, 1949 | ||||
| Arthur W. Way | Republican | November 21, 1949 – January 7, 1957 | Elected to finish Burns's term. Re-elected in 1952. Lost renomination. | ||
| Carl L. Christensen | Democratic | January 7, 1957 – January 2, 1967 | Elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1964. | ||
| Stephen P. Teale | Democratic | January 2, 1967 – January 8, 1973 | Redistricted from the 26th district and re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. | Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sierra, Stanislaus, Tuolumne | |
| Clare Berryhill | January 8, 1973 – November 30, 1976 | Elected in 1972. | |||
| Albert S. Rodda | Democratic | December 6, 1976 – November 30, 1980 | Redistricted from the 5th district and re-elected in 1976. Retired. | Sacramento | |
| John Doolittle | Republican | December 1, 1980 – November 30, 1984 | Elected in 1980. Redistricted to the 1st district. | ||
| Milton Marks | Democratic | December 3, 1984 – November 30, 1996 | Redistricted from the 5th district and re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1992. Termed out. | Marin, San Francisco | |
| Marin, San Francisco, Sonoma | |||||
| John Burton | Democratic | December 2, 1996 – November 30, 2004 | Elected in 1996. Re-elected in 2000. Termed out. | ||
| Carole Migden | Democratic | December 6, 2004 – November 30, 2008 | Elected in 2004. Lost renomination. | ||
| Mark Leno | Democratic | December 1, 2008 – November 30, 2012 | Elected in 2008. Redistricted to the 11th district. | ||
| Lois Wolk | Democratic | December 3, 2012 – November 30, 2016 | Redistricted from the 5th district and re-elected in 2012. Termed out. | Contra Costa, Napa, Sacramento, Solano, Sonoma, Yolo | |
| Bill Dodd | Democratic | December 5, 2016 – present | Elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2020. Retiring at the end of term due to term limits. | ||