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List of special elections to the California State Assembly

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Special elections to the California State Assembly are called by the Governor of California when a vacancy arises within the State Assembly. Special elections are conducted in two rounds. The first round is an open primary. The second round is cancelled if one of the candidates receives more than 50% of the vote in the first round. Prior to 2012, the top vote getter from each party in the first round would advance to the second round. Since the enactment of Proposition 14 in 2010 (which became effective 2012), the top two vote getters in the first round, regardless of party, advance to the second round.

Recall elections, the process by which voters petition for the removal of an elected official, are also included.

List of special elections

The dates listed are the second round unless a winner is determined in the primary round (when a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote).

More information District, Date ...
District Date Predecessor Winner
30 January 23, 1962 Ralph Brown (D) John Veneman (R)
8 November 5, 1962 Jimmy Hicks (D) Walter Powers (D)
49 May 9, 1967 Charles Edward Chapel (R) Robert G. Beverly (R)
30 May 20, 1969 John Veneman (R) Clare Berryhill (R)
34 June 17, 1969 Alan Pattee (R) Bob Wood (R)
48 November 16, 1971 David Roberti (D) Bill Brophy (R)
76 November 16, 1971 Pete Wilson (R) Bob Wilson (D)
49 June 6, 1972 Peter F. Schabarum (R) William H. Lancaster (R)
38 May 29, 1973 Carley V. Porter (D) Robert M. McLennan (R)
67 June 26, 1973 Larry Townsend (D) Paul Bannai (R)
80 June 26, 1973 John Stull (R) William A. Craven (R)
12 September 4, 1973 Robert T. Monagan (R) Douglas F. Carter (R)
14 September 4, 1973 Robert W. Crown (D) Bill Lockyer (D)
15 March 4, 1975 Carlos Bee (D) Floyd Mori (D)
4 December 2, 1975 Edwin L. Z'berg (D) Vic Fazio (D)
47 July 15, 1975 Bill Greene (D) Teresa Hughes (D)
46 June 2, 1977 Charles Warren (D) Mike Roos (D)
44 June 28, 1977 Alan Sieroty (D) Mel Levine (D)
55 June 3, 1986 Richard Alatorre (D) Richard Polanco (D)
56 May 12, 1987 Gloria Molina (D) Lucille Roybal-Allard (D)
16 April 12, 1988 Art Agnos (D) John Burton (D)
50 February 7, 1989 Curtis R. Tucker (D) Curtis R. Tucker Jr. (D)
76 October 3, 1989 Bill Bradley (R) Tricia Hunter (R)
27 January 30, 1990 Gary Condit (D) Sal Cannella (D)
78 June 5, 1990 Lucy Killea (D) Jeff Marston (R)
26 May 14, 1991 Patrick Johnston (D) Dean Andal (R)
46 July 30, 1991 Mike Roos (D) Barbara Friedman (D)
5 September 17, 1991 Tim Leslie (R) B. T. Collins (R)
67 September 17, 1991 John Lewis (R) Mickey Conroy (R)
31 February 21, 1993 Bruce Bronzan (D) Cruz Bustamante (D)
5 July 27, 1993 B. T. Collins (R) Barbara Alby (R)
27 November 2, 1993 Sam Farr (D) Bruce McPherson (R)
79 April 12, 1994 Steve Peace (D) Denise Moreno Ducheny (D)
43 May 3, 1994 Pat Nolan (R) Jim Rogan (R)
60 May 16, 1995 Paul Horcher (R) Gary Miller (R)
59 June 6, 1995 Dick Mountjoy (R) Bob Margett (R)
72 September 12, 1995 Ross Johnson (R) Dick Ackerman (R)
67 November 28, 1995 Doris Allen (R) Scott Baugh (R)
13 March 26, 1996 Willie Brown (D) Carole Migden (D)
46 January 13, 1998 Louis Caldera (D) Gil Cedillo (D)
16 March 30, 1999 Don Perata (D) Audie Bock (G)
49 April 3, 2001 Gloria Romero (D) Judy Chu (D)
65 April 3, 2001 Brett Granlund (R) /
Jan Leja (R)[a]		 Russ Bogh (R)
53 September 13, 2005 Mike Gordon (D) Ted Lieu (D)
39 May 15, 2007 Richard Alarcón (D) Felipe Fuentes (D)
55 February 5, 2008 Laura Richardson (D) Warren Furutani (D)
51 September 1, 2009 Curren Price (D) Steven Bradford (D)
72 January 12, 2010 Michael Duvall (R) Chris Norby (R)
43 June 8, 2010 Paul Krekorian (D) Mike Gatto (D)
4 May 3, 2011 Ted Gaines (R) Beth Gaines (R)
80 May 21, 2013 Ben Hueso (D) Lorena Gonzalez (D)
52 July 23, 2013 Norma Torres (D) Freddie Rodriguez (D)
45 November 19, 2013 Bob Blumenfield (D) Matt Dababneh (D)
54 December 3, 2013 Holly Mitchell (D) Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (D)
31 April 5, 2016 Henry Perea (D) Joaquin Arambula (D)
51 December 5, 2017 Jimmy Gomez (D) Wendy Carrillo (D)
54 April 3, 2018 Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (D) Sydney Kamlager (D)
39 June 5, 2018 Raul Bocanegra (D) Luz Rivas (D)
45 June 5, 2018 Matt Dababneh (D) Jesse Gabriel (D)
1 November 5, 2019 Brian Dahle (R) Megan Dahle (R)
79 April 6, 2021 Shirley Weber (D) Akilah Weber (D)
54 May 18, 2021 Sydney Kamlager (D) Isaac Bryan (D)
18 August 31, 2021 Rob Bonta (D) Mia Bonta (D)
49 February 15, 2022 Ed Chau (D) Mike Fong (D)
11 April 5, 2022 Jim Frazier (D) Lori Wilson (D)
17 April 19, 2022 David Chiu (D) Matt Haney (D)
62 June 7, 2022 Autumn Burke (D) Tina McKinnor (D)
80 June 7, 2022 Lorena Gonzalez (D) David Alvarez (D)
32 February 25, 2025 Vince Fong (R)[b] Stan Ellis (R)
63 August 26, 2025 Bill Essayli (R) Natasha Johnson
Close

List of recall elections

A replacement assemblymember is only listed in cases in which the recall was successful.

More information District, Date ...
District Date Recall target Replacement
60 May 16, 1995 Paul Horcher (I) Gary Miller (R)
17 August 22, 1995 Michael Machado (D) Not applicable, recall failed
67 November 28, 1995 Doris Allen (R) Scott Baugh (R)
Close

Results

53rd district special election, 2005

More information Party, Candidate ...
53rd State Assembly district special election, 2005[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ted Lieu 25,285 59.94
Republican Mary Ford 8,108 19.22
Republican Paul Nowatka 4,928 11.68
Republican Greg Hill 2,109 5.00
Republican Paul Whitehead 912 2.16
Peace and Freedom James Smith 843 2.00
Valid ballots 42,185 99.49
Invalid or blank votes 216 0.51
Total votes 42,401 100.00
Turnout   17.69
Democratic hold
Close

39th district special election, 2007

More information Party, Candidate ...
California's 39th State Assembly district special election, 2007[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Felipe Fuentes 5,819 50.82
Republican Jose Bonilla 2,277 19.89
Democratic Felipe Siordia 1,457 12.72
Democratic Eric Rothenay 1,300 11.35
Democratic Margie Carranza 597 5.21
Valid ballots 11,450 99.29
Invalid or blank votes 82 0.71
Total votes 11,532 100.00
Turnout   10.24
Democratic hold
Close

55th district special election, 2008

Main article: California state elections, February 2008 § 55th State Assembly district special election
More information Party, Candidate ...
California's 55th State Assembly district special election, 2008[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Warren Furutani 48,419 69.80
American Independent Charlotte Gibson 10,785 15.55
Libertarian Herb Peters 10,168 14.66
Valid ballots 69,372 79.80
Invalid or blank votes 17,670 20.30
Total votes 87,042 100.00
Turnout   50.96
Democratic hold
Close

51st district special election, 2009

More information Party, Candidate ...
California's 51st State Assembly district special election, 2009[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Steven Bradford 7,580 52.89
Democratic Gloria Gray 2,794 19.50
Republican David Coffin 2,418 16.87
Democratic Robert Pullen-Miles 702 4.90
Democratic Thomas Cares 664 4.63
Democratic Mervin Evans 173 1.21
Total votes 14,331 100.00
Turnout   7.90
Democratic hold
Close

72nd district special election, 2010

More information Party, Candidate ...
California's 72nd State Assembly district special election, 2010[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Chris Norby 21,406 62.72
Democratic John MacMurray 10,622 31.12
Green Jane Rands 2,100 6.15
Total votes 34,128 100.00
Turnout   15.59
Republican hold
Close

43rd district special election, 2010

Main article: California state elections, June 2010 § 43rd State Assembly district special election
More information Party, Candidate ...
California's 43rd State Assembly district special election, 2010[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mike Gatto 23,733 58.58
Republican Sunder Ramani 16,778 41.42
Total votes 40,511 100.00
Turnout   20.14
Democratic hold
Close

4th district special election, 2011

More information Party, Candidate ...
California's 4th State Assembly district special election, 2011[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Beth Gaines 41,144 55.58
Democratic Dennis Campanale 32,878 44.42
Total votes 74,022 100.00
Turnout   25.68
Republican hold
Close

80th district special election, 2013

More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 80th State Assembly district special election, 2013
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Ben Hueso
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Lorena Gonzalez 18,125 71.2
Democratic Steve Castaneda 6,646 26.1
Libertarian Kaiden Degas (write-in) 548 2.2
Republican Lincoln Pickard (write-in) 140 0.5
Total votes 25,459 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

52nd district special election, 2013

More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 52nd State Assembly district special election, 2013
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Norma Torres
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
No party preference Paul S. Leon 4,219 24.9
Democratic Freddie Rodriguez 3,758 22.2
Republican Dorothy F. Pineda 2,453 14.5
Democratic Jason A. Rothman 1,545 9.1
Democratic Tom Haughey 1,482 8.7
Democratic Danielle Soto 1,259 7.4
Democratic Doris Louise Wallace 887 5.2
Democratic Paul Vincent Avila 752 4.4
Democratic Manuel Saucedo 597 3.5
Total votes 16,952 100.0
General election
Democratic Freddie Rodriguez 7,630 51.3
No party preference Paul S. Leon 7,230 48.7
Total votes 14,860 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

45th district special election, 2013

More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 45th State Assembly district special election, 2013
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Bob Blumenfield
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Matt Dababneh 6,088 24.7
Republican Susan Shelley 5,205 21.1
Democratic Jeff Ebenstein 3,407 13.8
Republican Chris Kolski 3,141 12.7
Democratic Andra Hoffman 2,477 10.0
Democratic Damian Carroll 1,680 6.8
Democratic Elizabeth Badger 679 2.8
Democratic Dennis De Young 673 2.7
Republican Armineh Chelebian 624 2.5
No party preference Eric Lewis 432 1.8
Democratic Dan McCrory 262 1.1
Total votes 24,668 100.0
General election
Democratic Matt Dababneh 14,984 50.6
Republican Susan Shelley 14,655 49.4
Total votes 29,639 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

54th district special election, 2013

More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 54th State Assembly district special election, 2013
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Holly Mitchell
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sebastian Ridley-Thomas 13,992 60.2
Democratic Christopher R. Armenta 8,270 35.6
Democratic John Jake 931 4.0
No party preference Morry Waksberg (write-in) 31 0.1
Total votes 23,224 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

31st district special election, 2016

More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 31st State Assembly district special election, 2016
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Henry Perea
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joaquin Arambula 19,621 53.8
Republican Clint Olivier 14,708 40.3
Democratic Ted Miller 2,152 5.9
Total votes 36,481 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

51st district special election, 2017

More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 51st State Assembly district special election, 2017
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Jimmy Gomez
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Wendy Carrillo 5,058 22.2
Democratic Luis López 4,243 18.6
Democratic Mike Fong 3,675 16.1
Democratic Gabriel Sandoval 2,370 10.4
Democratic Ron Birnbaum 2,213 9.7
Democratic Alex De Ocampo 1,803 7.9
Democratic David Vela 1,075 4.7
Democratic Mark Vargas 1,022 4.5
Libertarian Andrew S. Aguero 405 1.8
No party preference Patrick Koppula 328 1.4
Democratic Barbara Torres 284 1.2
Peace and Freedom John Prysner 232 1.0
Democratic Mario Olmos 122 0.5
Total votes 22,830 100.0
General election
Democratic Wendy Carrillo 11,100 53.5
Democratic Luis López 9,631 46.5
Total votes 20,731 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

54th district special election, 2018

More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 54th State Assembly district special election, 2018
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Sebastian Ridley-Thomas
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sydney Kamlager 22,605 69.0
Democratic Tepring Michelle Piquado 4,673 14.3
Republican Glen Ratcliff 3,826 11.7
Democratic Grayson A. Pangilinan 1,182 3.6
Democratic Steve Dunwoody (write-in) 495 1.5
Total votes 32,781 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

39th district special election, 2018

More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 39th State Assembly district special election, 2018
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Raul Bocanegra
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Luz Rivas 8,222 42.9
Republican Ricardo Antonio Benitez 3,862 20.1
Democratic Antonio Sanchez 3,802 19.8
Democratic Patty López 1,907 9.9
Democratic Yolie Anguiano 922 4.8
Democratic Patrea Patrick 467 2.4
Total votes 19,182 100.0
General election
Democratic Luz Rivas 31,851 70.8
Republican Ricardo Antonio Benitez 13,165 29.2
Total votes 45,016 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

45th district special election, 2018

More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 45th State Assembly district special election, 2018
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Matt Dababneh
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jesse Gabriel 10,632 32.7
Republican Justin M. Clark 8,172 25.1
Democratic Tricia Robbins Kasson 5,507 16.9
Democratic Ankur Patel 3,698 11.4
No party preference Dennis Zine 2,491 7.7
Democratic David Brin 752 2.3
Democratic Raymond J. Bishop 685 2.1
Democratic Jeff Bornstein 590 1.8
Democratic C.R. Cochrane (write-in) 7 0.0
Total votes 32,534 100.0
General election
Democratic Jesse Gabriel 46,168 65.7
Republican Justin M. Clark 24,109 34.3
Total votes 70,277 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

1st district special election, 2019

More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 1st State Assembly district special election, 2019
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Brian Dahle[9][10]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Elizabeth Betancourt 27,786 39.1
Republican Megan Dahle 25,669 36.2
Republican Patrick Henry Jones 12,298 17.3
Republican Joe Turner 3,943 5.6
Republican Lane Rickard 1,305 1.8
Total votes 71,001 100.0
General election
Republican Megan Dahle 59,991 57.3
Democratic Elizabeth Betancourt 44,618 42.7
Total votes 104,609 100.0
Republican hold
Close

79th district special election, 2021

More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 79th State Assembly district special election, 2021
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Shirley Weber[11]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Akilah Weber 33,197 52.0
Republican Marco Contreras 21,359 33.4
Democratic Leticia Munguia 5,263 8.2
Democratic Shane Suzanne Parmely 3,241 5.1
Democratic Aeiramique Glass Blake 818 1.3
Total votes 63,878 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

54th district special election, 2021

More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 54th State Assembly district special election, 2021
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Sydney Kamlager[12][13]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Isaac Bryan 21,472 50.8
Democratic Heather Hutt 10,538 24.9
Democratic Cheryl C. Turner 4,072 9.6
Democratic Dallas Fowler 3,235 7.6
No party preference Bernard Senter 1,667 3.9
Democratic Samuel Robert Morales 1,304 3.1
Total votes 42,288 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

18th district special election, 2021

Quick facts California's 18th State Assembly district, Candidate ...
2021 California's 10th State Assembly district special election
← 2020
August 31, 2021
2022 →
California's 18th State Assembly district
 
Candidate Mia Bonta Janani Ramachandran
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 43,460 33,012
Percentage 56.8% 43.2%
Assemblymember before election

Rob Bonta
Democratic

 Elected Assemblymember

Mia Bonta
Democratic

Close
More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 18th State Assembly district special election, 2021
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Rob Bonta[14][15]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mia Bonta 22,558 38.2
Democratic Janani Ramachandran 14,036 23.7
Democratic Malia Vella 10,053 17.0
Republican Stephen Slauson 5,725 9.7
Democratic Victor Aguilar 3,938 6.7
Democratic James Aguilar 1,039 1.8
Democratic Eugene Canson 1,029 1.7
No party preference Joel Britton 750 1.3
Total votes 59,128 100.0
General election
Democratic Mia Bonta 43,762 56.9
Democratic Janani Ramachandran 33,181 43.1
Total votes 76,943 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

49th district special election, 2022

More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 49th State Assembly district special election, 2022
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Ed Chau
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mike Fong 27,763 67.0
Republican Burton Brink 13,703 33.0
Total votes 41,466 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

17th district special election, 2022

Main article: 2022 California's 17th State Assembly district special election
Quick facts California's 17th State Assembly district, Candidate ...
2022 California's 17th State Assembly district special election
← 2020
April 19, 2022
2022 →
California's 17th State Assembly district
 
Candidate Matt Haney David Campos
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 48,762 29,422
Percentage 62.4% 37.6%
Assemblymember before election

David Chiu
Democratic

 Elected Assemblymember

Matt Haney
Democratic

Close
More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 17th State Assembly district special election, 2022
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of David Chiu
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Matt Haney 34,174 36.4
Democratic David Campos 33,448 35.7
Democratic Bilal Mahmood 20,895 22.3
Democratic Thea Selby 5,261 5.6
Total votes 93,778 100.0
General election
Democratic Matt Haney 48,762 62.4
Democratic David Campos 29,422 37.6
Total votes 78,184 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

11th district special election, 2022

Quick facts California's 11th State Assembly district, Candidate ...
2022 California's 11th State Assembly district special election
← 2020
April 5, 2022
2022 →
California's 11th State Assembly district
 
Candidate Lori Wilson Erik Elness (write-in)
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 30,243 1,975
Percentage 93.9% 6.1%
Assemblymember before election

Jim Frazier
Democratic

 Elected Assemblymember

Lori Wilson
Democratic

Close
More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 11th State Assembly district special election, 2022
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Jim Frazier[16]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Lori Wilson 30,243 93.9
Republican Erik Elness (write-in) 1,975 6.1
Total votes 32,218 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

62nd district special election, 2022

Quick facts Nominee, Party ...
2022 California's 62nd State Assembly district special election
← 2020
June 7, 2022
2022
(general) →
 
Nominee Tina McKinnor Robert Pullen-Miles
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 31,222 28,246
Percentage 52.5% 47.5%
Assemblymember before election

Autumn Burke
Democratic

 Elected Assemblymember

Tina McKinnor
Democratic

Close
More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 62nd State Assembly district special election, 2022
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Autumn Burke[17][18]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Robert Pullen-Miles 11,213 39.0
Democratic Tina McKinnor 9,945 34.6
Democratic Angie Reyes English 3,794 13.2
Democratic Nico Ruderman 3,777 13.1
Total votes 28,729 100.0
General election
Democratic Tina McKinnor 31,348 52.5
Democratic Robert Pullen-Miles 28,359 47.5
Total votes 59,707 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

80th district special election, 2022

Quick facts Nominee, Party ...
2022 California's 80th State Assembly district special election
← 2020
June 7, 2022
2022
(general) →
 
Nominee David Alvarez Georgette Gómez
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 26,482 22,297
Percentage 54.3% 45.7%
Assemblymember before election

Lorena Gonzalez
Democratic

 Elected Assemblymember

David Alvarez
Democratic

Close
More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 80th State Assembly district special election, 2025
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Lorena Gonzalez[19][20]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Georgette Gómez 15,300 38.2
Democratic David Alvarez 15,132 37.8
Republican Lincoln Pickard 9,625 24.0
Total votes 40,353 100.0
General election
Democratic David Alvarez 26,482 54.3
Democratic Georgette Gómez 22,297 45.7
Total votes 48,779 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

32nd district special election, 2025

More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 32nd State Assembly district special election[21]
Vacancy resulting from Vince Fong's refusal to take the seat after winning reelection[22]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Stan Ellis 39,410 64.6
Democratic Chris Cruz-Boone 17,474 28.7
Republican Holli Willibey 2,665 4.4
Libertarian William Brown Jr. 1,427 2.3
Total votes 60,976 100.0
Republican hold
Close

63rd district special election, 2025

More information Primary election, Party ...
California's 63rd State Assembly district special election, 2025
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Bill Essayli[23][24]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Natasha Johnson 26,735 46.2
Democratic Chris Shoults 25,557 44.1
Republican Vincent Romo 4,881 8.4
Libertarian Zachary T. Consalvo 756 1.3
American Independent Maricar Payad (write-in) 1 0.0
Total votes 57,930 100.0
General election
Republican Natasha Johnson 34,866 53.5
Democratic Chris Shoults 30,332 46.5
Total votes 65,198 100.0
Republican hold
Close

Notes

  1. [a]
    Granlund represented the district 1994 – 2000. Leja won the election to succees Granlund (who was termed out), but did not take the seat as part of a plea agreement with the office of the California Attorney General who charged her with campaign financing violations.[1]
  2. [b]
    At the start of the session, the seat was vacant. Fong was the last person to represent the district, and resigned in the previous session

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