| California's 18th State Senate district | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Current senator |
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| Population (2010) • Voting age • Citizen voting age | 928,725[1] 699,815[1] 471,813[1] | ||
| Demographics |
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| Registered voters | 503,382[2] | ||
| Registration | 53.43% Democratic 13.75% Republican 27.24% No party preference | ||
California's 18th senatorial district is one of 40 California State Senate districts. It is currently represented by Democrat Steve PadillaofChula Vista.
The district stretches along the Mexico–United States border and predominantly includes rural Imperial Valley and areas of California along the Colorado River, including Needles, Blythe, and Indio. However, most of the district's population is in southern San Diego County, including Imperial Beach, Otay Mesa, Chula Vista, National City, Lincoln Acres, Bonita, the Tijuana River Valley, and the southeastern side of San Diego.
| Year | Office | Results |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Recall |  No 75.2 – 24.8%
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| 2020 | President | Biden 73.7 – 24.3% |
| 2018 | Governor | Newsom 76.5 – 23.5% |
| Senator | Feinstein 57.9 – 42.1% | |
| 2016 | President | Clinton 75.9 – 18.8% |
| Senator | Harris 59.5 – 40.5% | |
| 2014 | Governor | Brown 71.6 – 28.4% |
| 2012 | President | Obama 73.9 – 23.5% |
| Senator | Feinstein 75.3 – 24.7% |
Due to redistricting, the 18th district has been moved around different parts of the state. The current iteration resulted from the 2011 redistricting by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.
| Senators | Party | Years served | Counties represented | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick Cox | Democratic | January 8, 1883 - January 3, 1887 | Sacramento | Served together with Routier.[3] |
| Joseph Routier | Republican | January 8, 1883 - January 3, 1887 | ||
| M. W. Dixon | Democratic | January 3, 1887 - January 5, 1891 | Alameda | |
| William Simpson | Republican | January 5, 1891 - January 7, 1895 | ||
| Hugh Toner | Democratic | January 7, 1895 - January 2, 1899 | San Francisco | |
| John A. Hoey | Republican | January 2, 1899 - January 5, 1903 | ||
| Harry Bunkers | Democratic | January 5, 1903 - February 27, 1905 | Expelled from the Senate for bribery.[4] | |
| Daniel J. Reily | Republican | January 7, 1907 - January 2, 1911 | ||
| Daniel P. Regan | January 2, 1911 - January 4, 1915 | |||
| Dominic Joseph Beban | Progressive | January 4, 1915 - February 29, 1916 | Died in office.[5] | |
| Victor J. Canepa | Independent | January 8, 1917 - January 5, 1931 | Change his party to Republican when he ran for his 2nd term. | |
| Republican | ||||
| Herbert C. Jones | January 5, 1931 - January 7, 1935 | Santa Clara | ||
| Sanborn Young | January 7, 1935 - January 2, 1939 | |||
| John D. Foley | Democratic | January 2, 1939 - January 4, 1943 | ||
| Byrl R. Salsman | Republican | January 4, 1943 - October 1, 1949 | Resigned from the Senate to become a Judge. | |
| John F. "Jack" Thompson | January 8, 1951 - January 7, 1963 | |||
| Clark L. Bradley | January 7, 1963 - January 2, 1967 | |||
| Walter W. Stiern | Democratic | January 2, 1967 - November 30, 1974 | Kern, Kings | |
| Omer Rains | December 2, 1974 - November 30, 1982 | Santa Barbara, Ventura | ||
| Gary K. Hart | December 6, 1982 - November 30, 1994 | Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Ventura | ||
| Jack O'Connell | December 5, 1994 – November 30, 2002 | San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura | ||
| Roy Ashburn | Republican | December 2, 2002 – November 30, 2010 | Inyo, Kern, San Bernardino, Tulare | |
| Jean Fuller | December 6, 2010 - November 30, 2014 | |||
| Robert Hertzberg | Democratic | December 1, 2014 – December 5, 2022 | Los Angeles | |
| Steve Padilla | Democratic | December 5, 2022 – present | Imperial, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego |
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Robert Hertzberg (incumbent) | 72,462 | 66.3 | |
| Republican | Rudy Melendez | 12,564 | 11.5 | |
| Democratic | Roger James Sayegh | 12,238 | 11.2 | |
| Republican | Brandon Saario | 12,048 | 11.0 | |
| Total votes | 109,312 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Robert Hertzberg (incumbent) | 195,623 | 78.1 | |
| Republican | Rudy Melendez | 54,888 | 21.9 | |
| Total votes | 250,511 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Robert Hertzberg | 35,338 | 63.1 | |
| Republican | Ricardo Antonio Benitez | 16,289 | 29.1 | |
| Green | John P. "Jack" Lindblad | 4,392 | 7.8 | |
| Total votes | 56,019 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Robert Hertzberg | 79,495 | 70.2 | |
| Republican | Ricardo Antonio Benitez | 33,794 | 29.8 | |
| Total votes | 113,289 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jean Fuller | 166,051 | 68.9 | |
| Democratic | Carter N. Pope | 75,229 | 31.1 | |
| Total votes | 241,280 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Roy Ashburn (incumbent) | 147,767 | 69.74 | |
| Democratic | Fred Davis | 59,187 | 27.93 | |
| Green | Matthew Rick | 4,923 | 2.32 | |
| Total votes | 211,877 | 100.00 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Roy Ashburn (incumbent) | 153,878 | 100.00 | |
| Invalid or blank votes | 20,830 | 11.92 | ||
| Total votes | 174,708 | 100.00 | ||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jack O'Connell (incumbent) | 169,818 | 66.87 | |
| Republican | Gordon Klemm | 79,872 | 31.45 | |
| Libertarian | Jack Ray | 4,276 | 1.68 | |
| Invalid or blank votes | 12,531 | 4.70 | ||
| Total votes | 266,497 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jack O'Connell | 158,161 | 59.04 | |
| Republican | Steve MacElvaine | 109,734 | 40.96 | |
| Invalid or blank votes | 11,965 | 4.28 | ||
| Total votes | 279,860 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
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California State Legislature districts
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