Democrats Poised To Regain Supermajority In California Legislature

Governor-elect Gavin Newsom will likely have an even more Democratic Legislature to work with once he takes office in early January because of a surprise result in an overlooked state Senate seat.

Democrats were widely expected to hold onto their two-thirds supermajority in the Assembly. And they did. They even expanded it by at least a couple of members.

The question was always going to be the Senate, where they needed to flip one Republican seat.

All eyes were on District 12, an open northern Central Valley district that stretches from the Modesto area to Salinas, currently held by termed-out Republican Sen. Anthony Cannella of Ceres. Democratic Asm. Anna Caballero holds a narrow lead in that race over Republican Madera County Supervisor Rob Poythress.

But the surprise came in a district further south in the Central Valley, District 14, where Democratic challenger Melissa Hurtado appears to have defeated Republican Senator Andy Vidak of Hanford.

That means Democrats will regain the Senate supermajority they lost in a recall election earlier this year.