Josh Newman (politician)
American politician (born 1964)
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Joshua Botts Newman (born October 17, 1964) is an American politician who served in the California State Senate from 2016 to 2018, then again from 2020 to 2024. A Democrat, he represented the 29th Senate District, which encompasses parts of Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino counties.
Josh Newman | |
|---|---|
Newman in 2015 | |
| Member of the California State Senate from the 29th district | |
| In office December 7, 2020 – November 30, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Ling Ling Chang |
| Succeeded by | Eloise Reyes (redistricted) |
| In office December 5, 2016 – June 24, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Huff |
| Succeeded by | Ling Ling Chang |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 16, 1964 |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Darcy Lewis |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Profession | Educator |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
Years of service | 1986–1990 |
Newman was elected to the State Senate by a very narrow margin in November 2016, providing Democrats with a two-thirds supermajority of 27 seats. In June 2018, he was successfully recalled by the voters of the 29th Senate District, and replaced by his 2016 opponent, former Republican Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang. In November 2020, Newman once again defeated Chang to return to the State Senate. In 2024, Newman was defeated for reelection by former Assemblyman Steven Choi in an upset.
Prior to being elected to the State Senate, Newman was a veterans' advocate and executive director of a nonprofit for veterans.
Newman graduated from Yale University and served as an officer in the United States Army.
Career
2016 election
In Newman's first election, he defeated former Irvine Mayor Sukhee Kang in the primary, then narrowly defeated Republican state Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang to succeed term-limited Republican Bob Huff in the general election.[1]
2018 recall
In June 2018, Newman was recalled from office,[2][3] ostensibly for his affirmative vote on Senate Bill 1, which increased gas and diesel taxes and raised DMV registration fees in California.[4][5] The recall effort was heavily pushed by influential radio personalities John and Ken. He was replaced by Republican Ling Ling Chang, whom he had defeated in the 2016 election.[6]
2020 election
On March 4, 2019, Newman announced that he would be a candidate to return to the California State Senate in the 2020 elections.[7]
He came in second in the primary election, defeating Democratic challenger Joseph Cho. In the general election, he won office with 51.3% of the vote to retake the seat from Chang.[3]
2024 election
Following redistricting, Newman announced that he would run for the 37th Senate district, going up against fellow Democrat Dave Min.[8] Later, Senator Min announced that he would not seek re-election to the State Senate and would instead run for California's 47th congressional district. In the general election, Min would win the congressional seat, but Newman would end up narrowly losing the Senate seat to Republican former Assemblyman Steven Choi.
2026 Candidacy
Newman unsuccessfully attempted to mount an electoral comeback, running for Superintendent of Public Instruction, receiving single digits of the vote and failing to advance to the runoff.[9][10]
Personal life
Electoral history
2016
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Ling Ling Chang | 73,514 | 44.0 | |
| Democratic | Josh Newman | 48,754 | 29.2 | |
| Democratic | Sukhee Kang | 44,766 | 26.8 | |
| Total votes | 167,034 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Josh Newman | 160,230 | 50.4 | |
| Republican | Ling Ling Chang | 157,732 | 49.6 | |
| Total votes | 317,962 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||
2018 (Recall)
| Choice | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| For | 91,892 | 58.13 | |
| Against | 66,197 | 41.87 | |
| Total | 158,089 | 100.00 | |
2020
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Ling Ling Chang (incumbent) | 98,687 | 47.4 | |
| Democratic | Josh Newman | 69,732 | 33.5 | |
| Democratic | Joseph Cho | 39,643 | 19.1 | |
| Total votes | 208,062 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Josh Newman | 214,456 | 51.3 | |
| Republican | Ling Ling Chang (incumbent) | 203,762 | 48.7 | |
| Total votes | 418,218 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||
2024
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Josh Newman (incumbent) | 67,109 | 30.1 | |
| Republican | Steven Choi | 48,364 | 21.7 | |
| Republican | Crystal Miles | 31,132 | 14.0 | |
| Republican | Guy Selleck | 22,546 | 10.1 | |
| Democratic | Alex Mohajer | 18,550 | 8.3 | |
| Republican | Anthony C. Kuo | 15,739 | 7.1 | |
| Democratic | Leticia Correa | 6,000 | 2.7 | |
| Democratic | Stephanie Le | 4,532 | 2.0 | |
| Democratic | Gabrielle Ashbaugh | 4,396 | 2.0 | |
| Democratic | Jenny Suarez | 3,191 | 1.4 | |
| Democratic | Jacob Niles Creer | 1,606 | 0.7 | |
| Total votes | 223,165 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | Steven Choi | 232,345 | 50.7 | |
| Democratic | Josh Newman (incumbent) | 226,270 | 49.3 | |
| Total votes | 458,615 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||