2024 Election Was Major Success for California GOP as State Senate Leaders Celebrate Major Gains

In a statement on Friday, Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-San Diego) announced that with all state Senate races now called, the 2024 election was a major success, with the number of GOP held state Senate seats climbing from 8 only a year ago to 10.

Overall, the entire election has been seen as an overall success for the GOP in and outside of California. Nationally, Donald Trump was elected President, with party members also having a majority in both the Senate and House. Statewide, Trump, U.S. Senate candidate Steve Garvey and other Republicans had the highest GOP vote percentages for their respective positions in decades in the state. While a few House races were lost, they also managed to flip Assembly seats for the first time in a Presidential election year since 1992 and pass numerous favored Propositions such as the tougher on crime Prop 36.  For Trump, he also managed to get majority totals back in numerous counties that went for Biden in 2020, including many Central California counties and Orange County.

As for the state Senate, it was largely expected that the number of GOP held seats would be held to single digits. However, the surge of GOP leaning voters helped Republicans not only stay ahead of Democrats in close races, but they also flipped a major race too. According to Jones, the biggest victory of the night belonged to former Assemblyman Dr. Steven Choi (R-Irvine), who ousted incumbent Democrat Senator Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) with over a 6,200 vote margin in the Orange County-centric 37th Senate District. Newman, who had previously been recalled in 2018 over his gas tax vote yet be reelected back in in 2020, now hold another dubious distinction: He is now the first incumbent Democrat in 44 years to have lost to a Republican candidate in a Presidential election year. The last time the GOP flipped a state Senate seat in a presidential year had been Republican John T. Doolittle defeated Democrat State Senator Albert S. Rodda in 1980.

In his statement on Friday, Jones also highlighted three other races where the GOP maintained better than expected, including:

District 1: Current Republican Assemblywoman Megan Dahle (R-Bieber) was elected to replace outgoing Senator Brian Dahle (R-Bieber).

District 19: Current Republican Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa) was re-elected with nearly a 35,000 vote margin.

District 23: Former Republican Assemblywoman Suzette Valladares (R-Santa Clarita) was elected to replace outgoing Senator Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita) with nearly a 17,000 vote margin.

“This election, Californians sent a clear message that they are fed up with the Democrat supermajority’s failures on critical issues including affordability, homelessness, and crime,” said Jones on Friday. “As Californians reject our state’s current failed Democrat leadership, they are shifting right. Senate Republicans are growing in numbers and we are thrilled to enter 2025 with 10 members in our caucus, up from 8 members just one year ago.

“Not only did Senate Republicans hold two targeted seats that favored Democrats, we also flipped Orange County, marking the first time in 44 YEARS that Senate Republicans unseated a Democrat incumbent in a Presidential General Election. We warmly welcome our new Senators Suzette Valladares, Megan Dahle, and Dr. Steven Choi, and welcome back Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh to the Republican Caucus. We are excited to have them join us in the fight to Fix California.”

GOP victories

Senator Jones also highlighted other GOP victories across the state.

“Prop 36 passed by a landslide in California, ushering in a new era where crime is illegal and criminals are held accountable. Additionally, voters rejected Proposition 5 by a wide margin, standing firm against Sacramento Democrats’ attempt to raise property taxes. These victories underscore just how out of touch Gavin Newsom and Sacramento Democrats are with the challenges everyday Californians face. Not only did they put Prop 5 on the ballot and oppose Prop 36, but they actively sought to interfere in a fair election and remove Prop 36 from the ballot altogether.

“Voters also threw out liberal District Attorneys in Alameda County (Pamela Price) and Los Angeles County (George Gascon), and unseated left-wing San Francisco Mayor London Breed. These overwhelming results should serve as a stark wake up call in dealing with the skyrocketing crime and affordability crises, and the need for stronger, more effective leadership. Despite the best efforts of Democrat politicians to stop us, Senate Republicans and California voters are FIXING CALIFORNIA.”

While there still are a few elections still needed to be decided in the state, many Republicans and observers held the same sentiments of the election.

“This election was like a bucket of cold water to the faces of Democrats,” said Riverside County pollster Carlos Rivas to the Globe on Friday. “The state Senate was just one part of it. Going from 8 seats to 10 seats doesn’t sound like a huge gain within a year, especially with 40 seats in total. But it is a start. Orange County flipped back, and now they are only a few seats away from taking away the super majority.

“That’s probably the next goal. Target seats closest to flipping, look at the districts that saw the highest percentages of change, then focus in those areas to get back four seats in the coming few years. Especially here in the Inland Empire. 14 seats would be by no means a majority, but erasing the supermajority is a big goal. Getting back up to ten seats in 2024, like I said, is a good first step.

“And look at what Senator Jones said. Lawmakers like him don’t release statements like that, especially when not all the races have been called yet, unless they were really excited by how the election went.”

Final races are expected to be decided soon.