From Assembly to Congress, Democratic Party state leaders representing the Central Coast appear to be holding onto their seats, according to preliminary results of the general election.
In the 30th District, which spans parts of San Luis Obispo, Monterey, and Santa Cruz counties, incumbent Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) comfortably led with 64.4 percent of the district’s vote share as of Nov. 8. Her conservative opponent Monterey County resident Dalila Epperson had 35.6 percent of the district’s tallied votes, which is four points higher than what she secured in her primary run.
Gregg Hart was holding onto his seat in the 37th Assembly District, with 61 percent of the initial vote counts, while his opponent, Sari Domingues, was holding onto 49 percent. The district encompasses Santa Barbara County and a small slice of southern SLO County.
Taking 61.8 percent, 63.3 percent, and 61.9 percent of votes counted so far from parts of SLO, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties, respectively, the 24th District’s incumbent Congressman Salud Carbajal soared above opponent Thomas Cole with 62.7 percent of the district’s initial share.
While Carbajal is poised to serve his fifth term in Congress, he expressed his disappointment at the the presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
“I was elected alongside Donald Trump eight years ago and served on the front lines of fighting back against his extremist policies from my seat in Congress,” Carbajal said in a statement. “I know how much is at stake if we do not fight every single day to deny the vision that Donald Trump and his Project 2025 have laid out for our country.”
The 19th District also stands to retain Congressman Jimmy Panetta, who received 70.5 percent of tallied votes from parts of SLO, Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara counties compared to opponent Jason Michael Anderson’s share of 29.5 percent. However, Atascadero native Anderson made inroads locally, inching ahead of Panetta in SLO County with 51.8 percent of preliminary votes while the incumbent stood at 48.2 percent, as of Nov. 8.
In the newly redrawn state Senate District 17—no longer including Santa Clara County and southern SLO County but encompassing Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito counties and the northern parts of SLO County—Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) maintained his influence with 66.7 percent of the district’s early vote share. Opponent Tony Virrueta received 33.3 percent across the district. Δ
This article appears in Nov 14-24, 2024.