The race for the District 6 California state senate seat — which represents Sacramento, Elk Grove and West Sacramento — is heating up as longtime Sacramento city councilmember Angelique Ashby officially launched her campaign.
Ashby made her public announcement Wednesday after filing to run for the seat last year.
Ashby has represented Natomas since 2010 and has been one of two longest-standing members of the council In 2016, the now-vice mayor lost to Darrell Steinberg in the race to become mayor of Sacramento. If elected to the state senate, she will be the first woman to hold the seat in two decades.
“This moment is very surreal for me, because I know that my path to getting here was anything but average,” Ashby said. “California needs people with diverse backgrounds to lead, this is a new day.”
Ashby, a Democrat, has secured the endorsement of incumbent Senator Dr. Richard Pan, who, by next year, will have served in the California state assembly and senate for 12 years and has reached the maximum time an elected person can serve in the legislature.
Other candidates running for the senate seat:
- Eric Guerra, Sacramento City Councilmember: A democrat who has represented parts of southeastern Sacramento since 2015, Guerra is the first Latino politician to serve on the Sacramento City Council since 1999. He announced his campaign to run earlier this year. Unlike Ashby, Guerra would not have to give up his council seat to run for Senate because he was reelected in 2020.
- Dr. Tecoy Porter, Pastor: Porter is a long-time Sacramento activist and founder of the local chapter of the civil rights nonprofit organization National Action Network. He’s also a pastor at Genesis Church in South Sacramento. Porter announced his campaign to run on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday to “follow in the footsteps of other historic pastors.”
- Dave Jones, former California Insurance Commissioner: Jones, also a Democrat, has served in public office off and on for several years. He was previously a Sacramento City Councilmember, a state assemblyman, and the state’s insurance commissioner. He previously ran for the state’s attorney general in 2018, but failed to receive enough votes in the primary. Jones has focused on environmental issues and climate change in the past. He announced his run last week.
During her time on the City Council, Ashby secured funding for a pool and aquatic center in Natomas and brought health care insurer Centene to her district as well.
Ashby has also received criticism from activists and organizers looking for police reform, after her city council campaign received endorsement from a local police union when she ran for mayor.
Ashby must give up her city council seat to run for senate, as her current seat is up for re-election next year.
Follow us for more stories like this
CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.
Donate Today
