| Election Name: | 2018 California State Senate election |
| Country: | California |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2016 California State Senate election |
| Previous Year: | 2016 |
| Next Election: | 2020 California State Senate election |
| Next Year: | 2020 |
| Seats For Election: | 20 seats from even-numbered districts in the California State Senate |
| Majority Seats: | 21 |
| Leader1: | Toni Atkins |
| Party1: | California Democratic Party |
| Leaders Seat1: | 39th–San Diego |
| Last Election1: | 27 |
| Seats Before1: | 26 |
| Seats1: | 29 |
| Seat Change1: | 3 |
| Popular Vote1: | 3,562,527 |
| Percentage1: | 64.94% |
| Leader2: | Patricia Bates |
| Party2: | California Republican Party |
| Leaders Seat2: | 36th–Laguna Niguel |
| Last Election2: | 13 |
| Seats Before2: | 14 |
| Seats2: | 11 |
| Seat Change2: | 3 |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,742,012 |
| Percentage2: | 31.76% |
| Map Size: | 450px |
| President pro tempore | |
| Posttitle: | President pro tempore-designate |
| Before Election: | Toni Atkins |
| Before Party: | California Democratic Party |
| After Election: | Toni Atkins |
| After Party: | California Democratic Party |
The 2018 California State Senate elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018, with the primary election being held on June 5, 2018. Voters in the 20 even-numbered districts of the California State Senate elected their representatives. The elections coincided with the elections of other offices, including for governor and the California State Assembly.
The Democratic Party gained three seats: the 12th, 14th, and 34th districts. These victories provided the Democrats with 29 seats and restored the two-thirds supermajority that they lost after the recall of Democratic state senator Josh Newman in June 2018.
| 2018 California State Senate election Primary election — June 5, 2018 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | Percentage | Candidates | Advancing to general | Seats contesting | ||
| Democratic | 1,742,492 | 60.72% | 44 | 23 | 20 | ||
| Republican | 1,024,099 | 35.68% | 19 | 14 | 14 | ||
| No party preference | 52,485 | 1.83% | 3 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Libertarian | 50,838 | 1.77% | 4 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Totals | 2,869,914 | 100.00% | 70 | 39 | — | ||
| 2018 California State Senate election General election — November 6, 2018 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | Percentage | Not up | Contested | Before | After | +/– | ||
| Democratic | 3,562,527 | 64.94% | 15 | 11 | 26 | 29 | 3 | ||
| Republican | 1,742,012 | 31.76% | 5 | 9 | 14 | 11 | 3 | ||
| No party preference | 181,191 | 3.30% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Totals | 5,485,730 | 100.00% | 20 | 20 | 40 | 40 | — | ||
See also: California's 2nd State Senate district. The 2nd district stretches along the North Coast from the Oregon border in the north to the San Francisco Bay Area in the south. It includes all of Del Norte County, Humboldt County, Lake County, Marin County, Mendocino County, and Trinity County, as well as a majority of Sonoma County. The incumbent is Democrat Mike McGuire, who was elected with 70.0% of the vote in 2014.[1]
See also: California's 4th State Senate district. The 4th district encompasses the Sacramento Valley, mainly taking in rural farmland as well as Chico, and the Sacramento metropolitan area, including Carmichael, and parts of Rancho Cordova. The incumbent is Republican Jim Nielsen, who was reelected with 63.7% of the vote in 2014.[1]
See also: California's 6th State Senate district. The 6th district is located in the core of the Sacramento metropolitan area, including the state capital of Sacramento and surrounding suburbs. The incumbent is Democrat Richard Pan, who was elected with 53.8% of the vote in 2014.[1]
See also: California's 8th State Senate district. The 8th district stretches from the Sacramento suburbs to Death Valley. It encompasses most of the southern Sierra Nevada, Gold Country, and parts of the Central Valley, including parts of Fresno, Clovis, and Turlock. The incumbent is Republican Tom Berryhill, who is term-limited and cannot run for reelection.[6]
See also: California's 10th State Senate district. The 10th district is located in the southern coastal East Bay and parts of Silicon Valley, including Hayward and Milpitas. The incumbent is Democrat Bob Wieckowski, who was elected with 68.0% of the vote in 2014.[1]
See also: California's 12th State Senate district. The 12th district takes in the Salinas Valley and a swath of the Central Valley between Modesto and Fresno. The incumbent is Republican Anthony Cannella, who is term-limited and cannot run for reelection.
See also: California's 14th State Senate district. The 14th district takes in parts of the southern Central Valley. It takes in heavily Latino portions of Fresno and Bakersfield, along with Delano, Hanford, and Porterville. The incumbent is Republican Andy Vidak, who was reelected with 54.1% of the vote in 2014.[1]
See also: California's 16th State Senate district. The 16th district consists of the southeastern Central Valley and the High Desert. Much of the population is in the western parts of the district in the Central Valley, anchored by Bakersfield and Visalia, while the desert regions in the eastern half consist of scattered settlements, such as Barstow and Yucca Valley. The incumbent is Republican minority Senate leader Jean Fuller, who is term-limited and cannot run for reelection.
See also: California's 18th State Senate district. The 18th district consists of the eastern San Fernando Valley, including parts of Burbank, as well as the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Northridge, Sherman Oaks, and Van Nuys. The incumbent is Democrat Robert Hertzberg, who was elected with 70.2% of the vote in 2014.[1]
See also: California's 20th State Senate district. The 20th district encompasses parts of the Inland Empire, including Chino, Fontana, Ontario, and parts of San Bernardino. The incumbent is Democrat Connie Leyva, who was elected with 62.4% of the vote in 2014.[1]
See also: California's 22nd State Senate district. The 22nd district is located in the southern coastal encompasses the San Gabriel Valley and parts of the foothills. The incumbent is Democrat Ed Hernandez, who is term-limited and cannot run for reelection.
See also: California's 24th State Senate district. The 24th district encompasses central Los Angeles and its immediate environs, including East Los Angeles, Eagle Rock, and Koreatown. The incumbent is Democrat State Senate President pro tempore Kevin de León, who is term-limited and cannot run for reelection.
See also: California's 26th State Senate district. The 26th district is centered around the South Bay and Westside regions. The incumbent is Democrat Ben Allen, who was elected with 60.3% of the vote in 2014.[1]
See also: California's 28th State Senate district. The 28th district is located in eastern Riverside County, including Cathedral City, Murrieta, Palm Springs, and Temecula. The incumbent is Republican Jeff Stone, who was elected with 53.0% of the vote in 2014.[1]
See also: California's 30th State Senate district. The 30th district is located in Los Angeles County including Culver City, Ladera Heights, Westmont and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Crenshaw, Downtown, and Florence. The incumbent is Democrat Holly Mitchell, who was reelected with 68.8% of the vote in 2014.[1]
See also: California's 32nd State Senate district. The 32nd district takes in the Gateway Cities region in southeastern Los Angeles County, as well as Buena Park. The incumbent is Democrat Tony Mendoza, who was elected with 52.3% of the vote in 2014,[1] resigned following sexual assault allegations. However, he decided to run for election again following his resignation.[23]
Note that the primary was held the same day as the special election to fill a vacancy in the seat. Although most of the candidates in the two contests were the same, the results were very different. Rita Topalian finished first in both races, but different candidates finished in second place. Vanessa Delgado finished in 2nd place in the special election, but 3rd place in the regularly scheduled primary election. She received a similar number of votes in both races, but candidate Bob Archuleta received about 54% more votes in the regularly scheduled election than he did in the special election. The different results have been attributed to the different order in which the candidates were listed on the ballot.[24]
See also: California's 34th State Senate district. The 34th district is centered around western Orange County, including parts of Anaheim, as well as Garden Grove and Santa Ana. The district also takes in coastal areas, including parts of Huntington Beach and Long Beach. The incumbent is Republican Janet Nguyen, who was elected with 58.1% of the vote in 2014.[1]
General election results by county.
Blue represents counties won by Umberg. Red represents counties won by Nguyen.| County | Nguyen (R) | Umberg (D) | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | data-sort-type=number | Votes | |
| Los Angeles | 13,848 | 45.0% | 16,939 | 55.0% | 30,787 | |
| Orange | 118,125 | 50.0% | 118,123 | 50.0% | 236,248 | |
| Totals | 131,973 | 49.4% | 135,062 | 50.6% | 267,035 | |
See also: California's 36th State Senate district. The 36th district encompasses southern Orange County and the North County region of San Diego County. The incumbent is Republican Patricia Bates, who was elected with 65.7% of the vote in 2014.[1]
See also: California's 38th State Senate district. The 38th district encompasses the East County and inland region of San Diego County. The incumbent is Republican Joel Anderson, who is term-limited and cannot run for reelection.
See also: California's 40th State Senate district. The 40th district runs along the entire border between California and Mexico, taking in rural Imperial County as well as the South Bay region of San Diego County. The incumbent is Democrat Ben Hueso, who was reelected with 54.9% of the vote in 2014.[1]