Republicans Stan Ellis and Tony Strickland Elected to California State Legislature
Two special elections were called after incumbents in the State Assembly and State Senate were elected to other offices.
On February 25, 2025, special elections occurred in California to fill two vacancies in the state legislature - one in the State Assembly and one in the State Senate. These were the first special elections in the California legislature this year. These vacancies were both created when incumbents successfully won elections to higher offices in 2024.
In California, all candidates regardless of political party compete on the same nonpartisan ballot. A candidate needs to secure a 50%+1 majority to win. Otherwise, the top two finishers would advance to a runoff - scheduled for April 29.
In California State Assembly District 32, Republican incumbent Vince Fong resigned in June 2024 after winning the special election to succeed former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the U.S. House of Representatives. Nevertheless, his name remained on the November ballot for his assembly seat. He won re-election 59.1-40.9 against fellow Republican Ken Weir but never returned to the state legislature after moving to the U.S. Congress. He served District 32 from December 2016 to June 2024.
Assembly District 32 resides in the southwestern Central Valley taking in parts of Kern and Tulare Counties. It covers Exeter, Ridgecrest, Tehachapi, Maricopa and Taft as well as parts of Bakersfield and Visalia.
California State Assembly (60 Democrats, 20 Republicans):
For District 32, Republican Stan Ellis won with 64.7% (38,626) against Democrat Chris Cruz-Boone with 28.6% (17,057), Republican Holli Willibey with 4.4% (2,620), and Libertarian William Brown with 2.3% (1,384). 59,687 votes counted.
In California State Senate District 36, Republican incumbent Janet Nguyen resigned following her successful campaign to return to the Orange County Board of Supervisors. She represented District 36 from December 2022 to November 2024. Throughout her career, Nguyen has moved back and forth from local, state and county government. She was elected to her Senate term 56.9-43.1 against Democrat Kim Carr in 2022.
Senate District 36 covers communities of coastal Orange County and parts of southwestern Los Angeles County. It features Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Emerald Bay, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, San Clemente, Garden Grove, Westminster, Fountain Valley, Midway City, Stanton, Cypress, Rossmoor, Los Alamitos, Artesia, Cerritos, and Hawaiian Gardens.
California State Senate (30 Democrats, 10 Republicans):
For District 36, Republican Tony Strickland won with 51.3% (80,946) against Democrat Jimmy Pham with 27.7% (43,683), Democrat Julie Diep with 14.3% (22,614), and Republican John Briscoe with 6.7% (10,554). 157,797 votes counted.
Partisan control of both chambers of the California legislature was not on the line with these special elections. Regardless of who won, Democrats were guaranteed to maintain supermajority control. All 80 seats of the State Assembly and 20 seats of the State Senate will be up for regular terms in November 2026. That includes both seats covered by these special elections. The State Assembly has two-year terms while the State Senate has four-year terms.