Incumbents lead in federal and state races across the Central Coast after early vote counts in the June 2 primary, including Democrat Dawn Addis in the 30th Assembly District.
As of June 3, Addis had more than 37,000 of the votes counted across the district, which covers parts of Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Cruz counties. She’s trailed by Republican Shannon Kessler who had almost 27,000 votes and fellow Democrat Susannah Brown with about 6,200.
“Voting is what makes democracy work, and I’m truly grateful to everyone who has made their voice heard in this election,” Addis said in a statement, adding that she was honored to serve the Central Coast. “While I feel positive about where we are right now, I’m watching the returns, and I look forward to tracking results over the coming days.”
Addis will likely run against Kessler in the general election this November, with Brown falling out of the race.
Brown told New Times that as a millennial mom who doesn’t fit the typical political lens, the race was humbling, and she met so many people she wouldn’t have otherwise. Politics need more women and younger people to run for office, she said, adding that even if they aren’t successful the first time, people have to try again.
“Today, I had a lot of people calling and texting, including Shannon Kessler, and she was so kind and supportive,” Brown said on June 3. “That’s just fueling this sentiment inside of me that … this is just the beginning.”
Many of the people she spoke with during the campaign said that they were looking for a more moderate candidate who advocated for policies with locals in mind, who thought about things like local infrastructure, utility costs, and housing across the income spectrum.
“Maybe we need more condos, we need more walkable neighborhoods. We need more things that are for the lifestyle that we’re living these days, not just homeless or affordable housing or seniors,” she said. “What we don’t have in Sacramento is advocates for the working class.”
That morning, she said she also spoke with Sarah Bacon, the Democrat who challenged Salud Carbajal for his 24th District congressional seat alongside Republican Bob Smith and Democratic Socialist Helena Pasquarella. Bacon likely won’t advance to November as Carbajal and Smith are leading the race in the district, which covers Santa Barbara County and parts of Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties.
“We just kind of kept saying, what do we do next?” Brown said. “We have to bring our party more moderate. … A lot of people have been saying the same thing this morning.”
While Brown doesn’t know what that looks like, yet, she said she would keep showing up to meetings, being the squeaky wheel, and trying to help advocate for those who have the same thought as her—state representatives need to do something different.
Kessler expressed a similar sentiment in a statement she emailed to New Times.
“The results are encouraging and speak to the clear desire of residents for a change to one-party leadership in California,” Kessler wrote. “I am honored to have the opportunity to move forward toward the general election and offer Central Coast voters a chance to make this spectacular region affordable and more business friendly, while defending girls’ rights to fair and safe sports.”
Other state and federal races that touch San Luis Obispo County include the 37th state Assembly District and the 19th congressional District.
In November, incumbent liberal Gregg Hart, who has a commanding lead in the 37th District, will face off against his opponent, conservative Sari Domingues, who ran against him previously in 2024. The district stretches from Santa Barbara County into southern SLO County.
U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta faced six challengers in the race to retain his 19th District seat. The Democrat was leading the pack with 58 percent of the votes counted so far in the primary across the four counties that his district touches: SLO, Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara. In the general election, he will likely square off against Republican Peter Coe Verbica, who had almost 23 percent of the preliminary vote totals. ∆
This article appears in Pride 2026.
