Democrat Richard Pan is the winner of the 5th Assembly District contest, The Associated Press has projected.

Pan leads Republican Andy Pugno 49 percent to 46 percent, with 100 percent of precincts reporting. His margin is roughly 3,000 votes, though it is unclear how many ballots remain to be counted. Peace and Freedom candidate Elizabeth Martinez won roughly 5 percent of the vote.

The district, currently represented by termed-out GOP Assemblyman Roger Niello, has been in Republican control for decades. It is the only state legislative district to change from Republican to Democrat in this election. Democrats also picked up the 31st Assembly District seat. That seat was held by Independent Juan Arambula, a former registered Democrat who typically caucused with Democrats.

The heated contest attracted heavy spending from both political parties and outside groups. Unions spent more than $1 million to boost Pan, a pediatrician and medical professor at UC Davis. Gay marriage opponents reported spending to back Pugno, the author and lawyer representing the 2008 proposition banning same-sex marriage.

Republicans held on to the targeted 12th Senate District seat, with Ceres Mayor Anthony Cannella defeating Democratic Assemblywoman Anna Caballero by 5 points.

Cannella leads Caballero 52.9 percent to 47.1 percent -- roughly 6,000 votes -- in the latest vote counts posted to the secretary of state website.

His victory squashed Senate Democrats' hopes of winning a district that would bring them one seat closer to a two-thirds majority in the upper house.

Democrats hold a 20-point registration advantage in the Central Valley seat held by termed-out Republican Sen. Jeff Denham, making it one of the few state Senate seats in play this cycle.

Both political parties spent heavily in the district. Independent groups poured more than $2.3 million into the contest, with business-backed groups chipping in for a Cannella win and labor lining up behind Caballero.

California's first openly gay Assembly leader pushed today to defeat Republican candidate Andy Pugno, author and general counsel for the ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage and is under legal challenge.

But Speaker John A. Pérez denied that he is targeting Pugno because of the gay-rights issue or that defeating him in the 5th Assembly District would provide any extra degree of satisfaction.

"Every race we win is particularly sweet," Pérez said. "It's not personal."

In the homestretch of a four-day bus tour, Pérez and about a dozen other Assembly leaders stopped at the headquarters of Democratic candidate Richard Pan to thank several dozen of the candidate's supporters for get-out-the vote efforts.

Pugno and Pan are fighting for the Assembly seat of termed-out Fair Oaks Republican Roger Niello, who is running for the Senate seat vacated by the death of Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks.

The Sacramento area is home to some of the the state's hottest election battles this year, including the targeted Third Congressional District and Fifth Assembly District contests.

We'll get a sense of how close those races will be when the polls close at 8 p.m. But if the vote counts are close, an overlapping special election in Senate District 1 could delay the final results of those contests for weeks. The 10th Assembly District, which was decided by fewer than 500 votes in 2008, also includes parts of Sacramento County that could see vote count delays.

The Bee's Robert Lewis reports:

This year, the secretary of state's office is requiring counties to finish counting votes in the Senate District 1 race within 10 days of the election. That means if you live outside Senate District 1 and dropped off a mail ballot on Election Day, elections workers will put your ballot aside until they finish certifying results from the state Senate special election.

This could mean the results of some local races won't be official for weeks, and any updates from the elections office could be skewed depending on geography. Downtown Sacramento, for example, is not in Senate District 1. Therefore, unopened ballots from downtown voters will remain uncounted until the end.

Read more here.

The California Teachers Association, a Democratic Party pillar, is endorsing Republican Roger Niello in a fierce GOP infight for the 1st Senate District.

An independent-expenditure CTA mailer hit homes of CTA members in the eastern California district over the weekend. It urges voters to elect NIello. "It really speaks for itself," said Mike Mylinski, a CTA spokesman.

Niello, an assemblyman from Fair Oaks, is the only Republican running Tuesday for the state Legislature to receive a CTA endorsement. The special election in the 1st Senate District is the same day as the general election, but it is a primary race that includes three GOP candidates and a Democrat.

The only way one of the four candidates could win outright Tuesday is with more than 50 percent of the total vote. Absent that, the top GOP contender faces off against the Democrat on Jan. 4.

The CTA mailer calls on voters to elect Niello and praises him for "supporting excellence in education," including improved teacher training, career-tech education and up-to-date materials.

Niello said he didn't seek the CTA endorsement, but doesn't reject it. He said he's always willing to maintain good relations and talk to organizations he often disagrees with and look for common ground.

"I think the CTA is being very pragmatic," Niello said. "They know a Republican will win this race."

Niello was one of a handful of Republicans who voted for temporary tax increases as part of a budget deal last year to fill a huge deficit. He explained his vote by saying that the state faced chaos and crisis otherwise. He has been under fire from strict anti-tax conservatives ever since.

Niello faces Assemblyman Ted Gaines, R-Roseville; Barbara Alby, a former Republican assemblywoman; and Ken Cooley, a Democrat and mayor of Rancho Cordova.

Republicans hold an 11-point advantage over Democrats in the district.

This post was updated with comments from Niello at 5:19 p.m.

Republicans have filed complaints accusing the state Democratic Party and Secretary of State Debra Bowen of using "illegal campaign tactics" to influence voters to cast a ballot for late Sen. Jenny Oropeza in the 28th Senate District.

Democrat Oropeza died unexpectedly last month but remains as a candidate on the Nov. 2 ballot. The California Democratic Party recently sent Democratic and Decline-to-State voters in the district a letter from Secretary of State Debra Bowen outlining what would happen if Oropeza wins.

"Jenny Oropeza's name is on the ballot. You have the right to vote for her," the letter reads. "If you do, and she wins, there will be a special election called. You will then be able to thoughtfully consider who will represent you in the Senate for the next four years."

The letter, which was not sent on secretary of state letterhead, is titled "Election Information." The envelope is marked as "Important information from the secretary of state," but includes a disclosure that it was paid for by the Democratic Party.

In the final days of the election, the state Democratic and Republican parties are continuing to send cash into top state legislative battles. Both also used some dough boost down-ticket candidates running for statewide office.

The California Democratic Party has poured more than $250,000 into key races since Friday, including offensive targets Assembly District 5 and Senate District 12.

The state Republican Party didn't report any contributions over the weekend, but dropped $86,500 on Friday on a handful of state contests.

Use the tables below to view and sort the weekend contributions. Click on the links to see the full spreadsheets for the Democratic and Republican committees. Check back for spending updates throughout the day.

A Carmichael man is being held in Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of threatening Republican Barbara Alby, an acting member of the state Board of Equalization who's running in the 1st Senate District special election.

Sacramento Sheriff's Department booking records show that Daniel Meader Todd, 54, was arrested Oct. 21 and is next scheduled in court on Friday.

Todd faces two felony charges: threatening to commit a crime resulting in death or great bodily injury, and threatening the life of a government official.

He also faces a misdemeanor charge of making threatening phone calls.

California Highway Patrol Officer Mike McClellin of the department's dignitary protection section said he could not discuss the details of the threat or how Todd was identified.

Todd's bail has been set at $250,000.

Attacks are flying in the heated 5th Assembly District contest.

The California Republican Party and the campaign of Republican nominee Andy Pugno have both unleashed ads slamming Democrat Richard Pan over his support of a concrete fish.

The Republican Party is running radio and television spots claiming that Pan is in favor of raising taxes and supported spending $50,000 on a salmon statue, a reference to the "Fishy Playscapes" attraction at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery. The educational exhibit was funded by the Sacramento First 5 Commission when Pan served on the commission.

"Richard Pan, higher taxes, wasteful spending. We can't afford Richard Pan," the narrator says.

The party reported spending $410,000 for production and air time on the "issue ads," which are not subject to independent expenditure disclosure requirements and coordination restrictions because they do not use words such as "vote for" or "reject" to urge a particular outcome in an election.

Pugno's campaign has launched an almost identical attack, blasting Pan on the hatchery attraction in a mail piece pictured above.

Pan spokesman Mike Roth wrote in an e-mail that the ad "goes to show that the last thing Andy Pugno and the CRP have on their minds is helping our kids and creating jobs."

"It says a lot about the Pugno campaign that seven days from the election the worst thing they have to say about Richard Pan is that he supported using tobacco money to help build an educational exhibit for kids," he said. "Pugno is our own best advertisement, his slimy tactics smack of the partisanship and extremism AD 5 voters are sick and tired of."

Pan, a pediatrician, and Pugno are battling over the 5th Assembly District, a seat that has long been held by Republicans. Democrats, who hope to seize on a razor-thin registration gap, are aggressively fighting for the seat. The state Democratic Party has contributed nearly $1 million to Pan's campaign, and labor-funded independent committees have spent hundreds of thousands more supporting Pan and opposing Pugno.

In addition to the issue advocacy buy, the California Republican Party has contributed more than $360,000 directly to Pugno's campaign. An anti-gay marriage group has also spent roughly $112,000 on a television ad to back Pugno, the author and legal counsel of Proposition 8, the 2008 initiative banning gay marriage.

The Pan campaign alleged late last week that the Republican Party was illegally reserving television advertising rates reserved for candidates to air its issue spot. Kevin Spillane, a spokesman for the Assembly Republicans' political arm, said while the Pugno campaign and the CRP used the same media buyer, the ads were placed and paid for separately.

Watch the ad below:

Post updated at 12:24 with a comment from the Pan campaign.

If money talks, the California Republican Party is heralding GOP Assembly candidates Abram Wilson and Andy Pugno rather than Jack Sieglock in the final days of campaigning for key Sacramento-area seats.

Wilson has received $393,811 from party coffers since Oct. 1, compared to $195,700 for Pugno and only $20,900 for Sieglock, state records show.

Kevin Spillane, political director for the Assembly Republican Caucus, said none of the three candidates has been cut off from party money as campaigning for the Nov. 2 election hits the homestretch.

"It's just a question of constantly reassessing our cash flow and what we can put in," Spillane said. "We're doing that on an hour-by-hour basis as money is coming in."

Wilson, Pugno and Sieglock all are running in hotly contested races:

• Wilson, San Ramon mayor, is butting heads with Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, in a rematch of their 2008 race in District 15 seat, which stretches from Danville to Elk Grove.

• Pugno, an attorney, is running against Richard Pan, community physician and educator, for the District 5 seat covering portions of suburban Sacramento County and parts of Placer County.

• Sieglock, a businessman, is squaring off against Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, D-El Dorado Hills, after narrowly losing to her in 2008 for the District 10 seat representing Amador and parts of El Dorado, Sacramento and San Joaquin counties.

Of the three Republican candidates, Pugno has attracted the most money in independent expenditures from interest groups -- $114,128, much of it from the National Organization for Marriage.

Democrat Pan led all candidates in the three races in independent expenditures supporting his candidacy, $275,575. He also will benefit from $535,825 spent by groups to oppose his opponent, Pugno.

* Revised at 6:30 p.m. to correct independent expenditure totals.

The name of Sen. Jenny Oropeza, who died last night, will remain on the Nov. 2 ballot as a candidate for re-election to the 28th Senate District, election officials said this morning

The 53-year-old Long Beach Democrat died 12 days before the election. Her name is already on the ballot -- some of which have already been cast by absentee voters -- and state law prevents calling a special election to fill a vacant office within 68 days of an election.

Oropeza was expected to win re-election in the district, where Democrats have a 20-plus point registration advantage. The other candidates running for the seat are Republican John Stammreich, an aerospace contracts manager, and Libertarian David Ruskin, a physician.

If Oropeza wins, a special election will be called after members are sworn in for the new term in early December, according to the secretary of state's office.

"If Sen. Oropeza receives a majority of the votes cast on Nov. 2, then she will be considered elected and then the office will be vacant at the beginning of the term at which she was elected," said Nicole Winger, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Debra Bowen.

The special primary would not occur until after the new year. Because the election will be called in December, it is unclear whether the race would be the state's first primary under the new voter-approved "top two" system, which takes effect Jan. 1.

In the wake of a pension deal Democratic leaders struck with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, California's prison guards' union has dropped $215,000 to oppose Assemblywoman Anna Caballero's quest for the state Senate.

Caballero, D-Salinas, is facing Ceres Mayor Anthony Cannella, a Republican, for the 12th Senate District, probably the most contested seat in a Legislature dominated by uncompetitive seats. The race is the top concern for both Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, and his GOP counterpart, Senate Republican leader Bob Dutton of Rancho Cucamonga. If Caballero wins, Democrats would likely have 26 seats in the upper house, one short of the two-thirds majority now needed to pass a budget or raise taxes.

The California Correctional Peace Officers Association has backed Democrat Jerry Brown for governor, but is still stinging from the end-of-session deal between Democratic legislators and Schwarzenegger that essentially authorized the governor to continue furloughs for members of the guards' union until they agree to a new labor contract. At the CCPOA's urging, Dutton and most Republicans opposed the deal, forcing a middle-of-the-night maneuver to pass it with a majority vote. Caballero voted against the deal.

The CCPOA's independent expenditure for a "media buy" to oppose Caballero was reported today. The race has attracted nearly $1.75 million in independent expenditures, including nearly $1 million from business-backed groups on behalf of Cannella and about $400,000 from organized labor for Caballero.

Three Republicans and a Democrat will debate Thursday evening as they head toward a Nov. 2 special election to replace the late Sen. Dave Cox, a longtime GOP legislator who died in July.

The event to meet and hear from the candidates for California's huge Senate District 1 begins at 6:30 p.m. in El Dorado Hills at the Four Seasons Lodge at 3186 Four Seasons Drive. The forum is sponsored by the Four Seasons Civic League.

The actual debate will start at 7 p.m. with three-minute presentations by the candidates followed by questions from the audience. A representative from the El Dorado League of Women Voters League will moderate.

GOP voter registration has the edge in the district, which is the largest in the state. It stretches along the eastern spine of the state from the Sacramento suburbs north to the Oregon border and south to Mono County.

The Nov. 2 special election takes place the same day as the upcoming general election. But the rules are different. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote on Nov. 2, a runoff election with each party's top vote-getter will be held Jan. 4.

The candidates are Barbara Alby, a Folsom Republican and former legislator; Ken Cooley, a Democrat and mayor of Rancho Cordova; Assemblyman Ted Gaines, R-Roseville; and Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks.

Gay marriage opponents are rallying behind Republican Andy Pugno's campaign in the 5th Assembly District.

The National Organization for Marriage's political action committee launched a 30-second spot today attacking Democrat Richard Pan for supporting abortion rights and same-sex marriage. The ad also targets Pan's labor support, saying his backers want "more regulations and higher taxes that kill jobs."

NOM has been a strong supporter of Pugno, the author and legal counsel for Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot initiative banning same-sex marriage. Proponents are currently seeking an appeal of a federal judge's decision to overturn the law.

Social issues have so far played a central role in the heated Assembly contest, where Democrats are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to try to win control of the longtime Republican district. The spots run so far would suggest that the definition of "extreme" lies in the eyes of the beholder. The Pan campaign has been airing ads hitting Pugno for pro-life views, claiming he is too extreme for the district. The new ad from NOM goes after what the group sees as Pan's "extremest views."

Brian Brown, NOM president and treasurer of the group's California PAC, said in a statement that the ad was a response to "attempts by (Pugno's) opponents to smear him based on his stance on family values issues."

"Andy Pugno identifies with (voters') values and their rights and will fight for them as assemblyman," he said.

Pan adviser Josh Pulliam said the NOM ad "says a lot more about Pugno than it dos about Pan especially how it shamelessly exploits children with lies" by making the claim that same-sex marriage, if legal, would be "taught to second graders"

Pan and Pugno are battling to replace Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, who is termed out of the seat.

This post was updated at 5:14 with a comment from the Pan campaign.

Republican Assembly candidate Andy Pugno's position on abortion is under attack in a second wave of television spots in the heated 5th Assembly District race.

Pugno's opponent, Democrat Richard Pan, released a new spot today casting the Folsom attorney as an extreme right-wing politician.

Like the first television ad launched by the Pan campaign, the 30-second spot claims that Pugno has "worked for years" to ban abortion, even in cases where the pregnancy is a result of incest or rape.

Pugno says he is "100 percent pro-life" without exception. He has ties to pro-life organizations, but does not appear to have actively worked to outlaw abortion.

Click here to view the new ad.

Democrat Richard Pan is seeking to make abortion an issue in the 5th Assembly District race, airing television ads attacking Republican candidate Andy Pugno on the topic.

The 30-second ad seeks to paint Pugno, the Folsom attorney who wrote and defended Proposition 8, as too extreme for the district. The ad claims Pugno opposes legalized abortion in the case of incest or rape. It also says Pugno opposes stem-cell research.

"The last thing the state Assembly needs is another politician who divides people to push an extreme agenda," one woman says in the spot.

Pugno consultant Matt Rexroad attacked the spot for using "bogus" citations to make its claims. He said the candidate, who is pro-life, has not to his knowledge publicly stated positions on those exceptions for abortion restrictions or stem cell research.

"On many of those issues, I've known Andy Pugno for 20 years and I don't know his positions on those issues," he said.

Rexroad said the Pan campaign was being "hypocritical" for framing Pugno as divisive when it's pushing abortion as an issue in the contest.

"We're talking about jobs and the economy, which we think are the issues that people care about right now," he said, adding that some volunteers have contacted the Pugno campaign as a result of the ad.

The Pan campaign responded by pointing to a fundraising appeal in which Pugno accuses them of "desperately trying to paint me as an 'extremist' simply because of my Pro-Life beliefs." That e-mail to supporters includes a link to the ad but does not refute any of its claims.

Republicans have a small registration advantage in the district, which has been held by the GOP since 1978. Assembly Democrats are targeting the seat as a potential pick up this cycle. The state Democratic Party contributed $125,000 to Pan's campaign late last month, bringing its total investment in the race to more than $145,000.

Pan and Pugno are running to replace termed-out Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks. Peace and Freedom candidate Elizabeth Martinez, an area college student, is also on the ballot.

View the ad, which began airing in the Sacramento media market last Thursday, here:

This post was updated at 3:42 p.m. with a response from the Pan campaign.

A tough Republican internal battle is brewing between two top contenders vying on Nov. 2 for a seat in the California state Senate.

Each campaign is armed with a poll to tout.

But Niello's campaign is also declaring that its internal polling shows Niello can prevail.

A decisive question, both sides agree, is how much voters care about Niello's vote last year for a tax increase as part of a budget package -- a decision that drew wrath from conservative quarters.

PHOTO CREDIT: Ted Gaines, above left, and Roger Niello, below right. Brian Baer, Sacramento Bee file 2008

A familiar face says he is jumping in the fray in a Southern California state legislative race.

Perennial public office hopeful Mervin Evans has announced that he plans to run as a write-in candidate in the race to replace termed-out former Assembly Speaker Karen Bass in the 47th Assembly District.

The Los Angeles Democrat, currently a partner in a credit repair consulting firm, has explored or entered candidacies in dozens of local, statewide and federal contests in California over the past two decades. He has never won.

In the 2010 cycle, Evans has at one point announced his intention to run in primaries for controller, lieutenant governor, treasurer, U.S. Senate, the 33rd Congressional District and the 48th Assembly District, according to JoinCalifornia.com, a website that tracks California campaigns. Earlier this summer, Evans' own website indicated he would run for U.S. Senate in Hawaii.

"He had said he was going to move to Hawaii and then he changed his mind," Evans spokeswoman Lynette Bigelow explained.

Evans will likely have to make a move if he wants to run for the 47th District -- he is currently registered to vote at an address in the 46th Assembly District, where Assembly Speaker John A. Perez is running unopposed.

Evans said in a statement that he is entering the field because there are "far too many 'child molester' types roaming the State of California."

To address that concern, he says he will push for "The Evans California Child Protect Act," a proposed initiative to crack down on sexual predators who target children. The initiative, which he has called for in the past, would also impose a 25-cent tax on containers of beer, malted beverages, wine and liquor to create a trust fund for victims of sex crimes.

Other campaign causes championed by the colorful candidate in the past include protecting Second Amendment rights and fighting bear poaching.

Photo courtesy of the Evans campaign.

The Republican nominee in the 12th Senate District slug fest is getting major support from his party.

The California Republican Party reported yesterday a contribution of $100,000 to Ceres Mayor Anthony Cannella's state Senate campaign.

Cannella and Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, are battling for the seat vacated by termed-out GOP Sen. Jeff Denham.

The SD 12 contest is expected to be one of the most heavily targeted (and expensive) state legislative races of the cycle. Democrats, who have an 18-point voter registration advantage in the district, are fighting to snatch the seat from GOP control, a victory that would bring them within one vote of a coveted two-thirds majority.

PHOTO CREDIT: The Cannella campaign website.

Republican Rep. Tom McClintock today endorsed Assemblyman Ted Gaines in what shapes up as a hard-fought contest with Assemblyman Roger Niello for a state Senate seat in the Sacramento suburbs.

The two are vying for the 1st Senate District seat that fell vacant with the death of Republican Dave Cox died. They will go head-to-head in a special primary election coincident with the state's general election on Nov. 2 and former Assemblywoman Barbara Alby may join the contest.

The top Republican vote-getter will face the top Democrat, most likely Rancho Cordova Mayor Ken Cooley, on Jan. 4. The district has a decided Republican voter registration advantage so the GOP winner in November will be the favorite.

In a statement, McClintock hailed Gaines as "the one candidate who voters can trust to never raise their taxes."

The stakes were high, with President Barack Obama and Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman getting involved.

But in the end, state Senate Democratic leader Darrell Steinberg said today, his party's defeat in a key Central Coast Senate election Tuesday boiled down to one thing: timing.

"I think the die was cast with the special election date being set in the middle of summer rather than November," Steinberg said after Democrat John Laird lost to Republican Sam Blakeslee.

Laird, a former Santa Cruz area assemblyman, agreed. He disputed the GOP version of Blakeslee's victory in the 15th Senate District as a no-new-taxes and cut-spending-only mandate.

"The low turnout of an August election was just too high a hurdle," said Laird, who called Blakeslee, a San Luis Obispo assemblyman, at midnight to congratulate him. With all precincts partially or fully reporting, Blakeslee topped Laird 49 percent to 44 percent.

Democrat Richard Pan and Republican Andy Pugno are running neck and neck in the heated 5th Assembly District race, according to a recent internal poll released by the Pan campaign.

The poll of 400 likely voters in the district shows Pugno, an attorney known for his work on Proposition 8, initially leading Pan, a UC Davis pediatrician, 44 percent to 40 percent, with 15 percent undecided.

But Pan pulled ahead by 10 points after respondents were given positive and negative messages about the two candidates (49 percent to 39 percent). After hearing just positive messages, the matchup produced close results, but with Pan leading 47 percent to 44 percent.

"While the race starts very close, our survey shows Dr. Pan is well positioned for victory in November," Democratic pollster Ben Tulchin, whose firm Tulchin Research conducted the poll, said in a statement.

Pugno campaign consultant Matt Rexroad dismissed the poll as "irresponsible" for not including the third candidate on the ballot -- Peace and Freedom Party nominee Elizabeth Martinez. He pointed to the Pugno campaign's own pre-primary polling back in April that showed Pugno in the lead by about 20 percentage points, with Martinez winning nearly 10 percent of the vote.

"(The Pan poll) is all very interesting, but that's not what the ballot is," he said. "They can hang their hat on that all they want to, but (a two-way hypothetical match-up) is just not a predictor of the election, that's fallacy."

Martinez, a college student, wound up winning just 69 votes in the June 8 primary out of a total of more than 77,000 votes cast in the Assembly race. Third-party candidates typically fare better in general elections, which unlike most minor party primaries are open to all voters.

Assemblyman Ted Gaines announced today that he is running in the special election for the 1st Senate District seat.

The Roseville Republican, who is wrapping up his second term in the Assembly, pledged to continue to oppose tax increases if elected to the Senate.

"Since my election to the Assembly in 2006, I have worked hard to bring common sense conservative principles to the State Capitol," he said. "I will not support any tax increase on the people or businesses of California and I will never compromise my principles just to 'get a deal done' or move the process along."

Gaines is seeking to replace GOP Sen. Dave Cox, who died last month at age 72. Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, is also expected to run for the seat.

A special primary election will be held with the Nov. 2 general election. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, the top vote-getter from each party will compete in a runoff on Jan. 4.

The 1st Senate District encompasses 12 counties, including Amador, El Dorado and parts of Nevada, Placer and Sacramento counties. Gaines' press release states that about 34 percent of the district's likely voters live in the 4th Assembly District, which he currently represents.

PHOTO CREDIT: Assemblyman Ted Gaines chats with Assemblywoman Mimi Walters before speaking to the California Republican Assembly, a statewide organization of conservative Republicans on Nov. 10, 2007. Florence Low, Sacramento Bee.

Democrat John Laird has hope that President Barack Obama can help him win in the 15th Senate District special election.

His campaign has sent a mailer to Democratic voters districtwide touting Obama's endorsement. The piece will also be sent to decline-to-state voters later this week.

The mailer, which the campaign said has the "White House stamp of approval," features a quote from Obama saying a vote for Laird will "stop Republican inaction in Sacramento."

"Republicans in Congress have tried to block almost every major change I've proposed to fix our economy, create jobs, and reform health care. Republicans in Sacramento are doing the same," Obama says.

The mailer marks the first time Obama has endorsed and campaigned for a candidate in a non-congressional California race, Laird campaign spokesman Steve Maviglio said.

Laird, a former assemblyman, is running against Republican Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee in the Aug. 17 run-off to replace Lt. Gov Abel Maldonado. Blakeslee led Laird by seven percentage points in the special primary on June 22, despite Democrats' six-point registration advantage in the district.

Maviglio said the mailer is designed to boost Democratic absentee ballots to counter the traditional Republican turnout advantage for special elections, where the majority of votes are expected to be cast by mail.

"We need to get every one of those (Democratic ballots) in the mail. This should jump-start Democrats who have the ballots remaining on their desk," he said.

Blakeslee campaign consultant Kevin Spillane called the mailer a sign that the Democratic establishment is on the defensive, "circling the wagons ... trying to motivate disillusioned and unmotivated Democratic voters."

"Voters are angry and they want more change, but the fundamental problems for Democrats in this seat remains John Laird's record for raising taxes and killing jobs. Not even the president can help him there," Spillane said.

A special primary election to succeed the late Sen. Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks, will be blended into the Nov. 2 general election in California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced today.

Republican and Democratic voters will get a choice among candidates running for a party nomination. But if one candidate from the total field of those running in the primary should win 50 percent plus one of all votes cast, then that candidate will succeed Cox outright.

If no candidate wins more than 50 percent, then a runoff election with each party's top vote getter will be held Jan. 4..

Cox, who represented the 1st Senate district, died July 13 after a long battle with prostate cancer.

Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, has expressed interest in the seat. Cox transferred $7,800 in campaign funds to Niello shortly before Cox died.

Assemblyman Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, has also shown interest in running for the seat, which runs from the Sacramento suburbs up to the eastern Oregon border.

Calling it his "victory speech," Juan Vargas has released a statement declaring that it's time to move past the hard-fought Democratic primary with Mary Salas and "begin the fight to reform California government."

Vargas and Salas finished in a virtual dead heat last month in bidding for the San Diego Senate seat of termed-out Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny.

Vargas noted that Salas, a Chula Vista assemblywoman, conceded defeat Wednesday night. Their 40th Senate District primary proved to be one of the Democratic Party's most contentious in California.

The following is Vargas' statement as he looks toward the Nov. 2 election, when he will face Republican Brian Hendry in a district that tilts decidedly Democratic:

Assemblywoman Mary Salas has ended the ballot recount and conceded defeat to Juan Vargas in a fiercely contested Democratic primary for a San Diego County Senate seat, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported today.

The two finished in a virtual dead heat, separated by only 22 votes, in the June 8 primary election for the seat of termed-out Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, D-San Diego.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and various labor unions supported Salas against a coalition of business groups that supported Vargas as a more moderate, business-friendly Democrat.

Salas, of Chula Vista, has served four years in the Assembly. Vargas was termed out of the Assembly in 2006 and has run unsuccessfully for the congressional seat of Bob Filner, D-Chula Vista.

After two days of recounting, former Assemblyman Juan Vargas is maintaining his paper-thin lead over Assemblywoman Mary Salas for the Democratic nomination in the 40th Senate District, which covers the state's southernmost region in San Diego, Riverside and Imperial counties.

Vargas had a 22-vote lead over Salas in the final electronic tally of the June 8 election. She sought a recount in San Diego and Riverside county portions of the district. The first two days of precinct-by-precinct manual recounting produced a handful of vote changes but no net difference.

Although the duel is between two Democrats, it pitted Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, who backs Salas, and his union allies against a coalition of business groups that support Vargas as a more moderate, business-friendly Democrat. The district has an overwhelming Democratic voter registration so the eventual nominee is certain to succeed Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, the Senate's top budget negotiator, who is being forced out of the Legislature by term limits.

Both counties are posting daily updates. San Diego's, covering just the second day of recounting, can be found here. Riverside's, a running total, is available here.

Michael Rubio, the Democratic nominee in the 16th Senate District, has moved into the district after learning weeks ago his home actually fell several hundred feet outside the district lines, the Bakersfield Californian reported Friday.

Kern County election officials had mistakenly included Rubio's original residence in the 16th District for years. The address was actually in the neighboring 18th Senate District.

Rubio and Republican Tim Thiesen are vying for the seat being vacated by termed-out Democratic Sen. Dean Florez.

A politician to the very end, state Sen. Dave Cox transferred $7,800 in campaign funds to a potential GOP successor shortly before he died, state records show.

Assemblyman Roger Niello's campaign coffers for a Senate run received two donations Tuesday from Taxpayers for Dave Cox. Each was for $3,900, the maximum allowable per primary and general election.

Niello, R-Fair Oaks, and GOP Assemblyman Ted Gaines of Roseville are expected to contend for Cox's seat representing the 1st Senate District, which stretches from Sacramento suburbs to the Oregon border.

Niello will be termed out of the Assembly this year, and Gaines in 2012. Both had opened campaign committees in anticipation of vying for Cox's seat when the veteran lawmaker was scheduled to be termed out in 2012.

Cox also contributed Tuesday to one of this year's hottest Senate races, donating $3,900 to Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, in his fight with former Democratic Assemblyman John Laird of Santa Cruz for the 15th District seat left vacant by Abel Maldonado's appointment as lieutenant governor.

Cox, R-Fair Oaks, lost a 13-year battle with prostate cancer Tuesday. His death will require Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to call a special election to fill the final two years of his term.

By law, Schwarzenegger has 14 days from the date of the vacancy to call a special election, which must be held on a Tuesday within 112 to 126 days of his proclamation - or up to 180 days if he opts to consolidate it with a statewide or district election.

Click here for an obituary in today's Bee.

Assemblywoman Mary Salas has requested a recount in at least two counties in the 40th Senate District Democratic primary, according to Capitol Weekly.

Salas, who trails former Assemblyman Juan Vargas by 22 votes, will have to foot the bill for the recount in San Diego and Riverside counties.

UPDATE 8:06 p.m. The Salas campaign released the following statement:

"The voters have a right to make sure their votes were counted accurately, and 22 votes are well within the margin of error. The people of the 40th Senate District deserve the right to have their votes counted correctly and the best way to do that is with a manual recount. Even though the county election officials do a great job, with this many votes there are often small mistakes that could make the difference in a race as close as this one."

Ahead by 22 votes, former Assemblyman Juan Vargas has declared victory over Assemblywoman Mary Salas in the 40th Senate District Democratic primary.

Salas, who led in early returns, had declared victory in the days following the election. But with the final outstanding votes counted, Vargas is ahead 24,282 votes to 24,260 votes, according to county returns.

"It's been a long road, but we've reached the finish line tonight," he said in a statement.

The final boost came from a count of more than 12,500 Riverside County ballots that had inadvertently been left at a post office on Election Day. A Riverside judge ordered last week that the county include those ballots in its final results. The county has until Thursday to certify the results.

The Salas campaign was not immediately available to comment on the results or whether she will request a vote recount once the results are certified.

The battle for the 40th District nomination was one of the most expensive and closely watched races of the June primary. Salas, of Chula Vista, was backed by Democratic leaders in Sacramento, including Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, while Vargas received support from insurance industry groups. The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees also reported spending to boost his bid.

The winner takes on Republican Brian Hendry to fill the seat held by Democratic Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, who is termed out.

IMAGE: Then-Assemblyman Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, in 2003.
CREDIT: John Decker/Sacramento Bee.

A Riverside Superior Court judge today ruled that the county must count the more than 12,500 June primary ballots that went uncounted because of a communication flub, according to the Riverside-Press Enterprise.

The batch of sorted vote-by-mail ballots had not been picked up from a county post office when the polls closed at 8 p.m. on June 8. Riverside's Duane Gang reports:

"Voting is a right that many have sacrificed lives and liberty to protect," Judge Mac R. Fisher said. ...

In his ruling from the bench, Fisher said there is no dispute that the ballots arrived at a Postal Service facility in time.

"Under these set of facts, the court will not disenfranchise 12,563 voters," Fisher said.

Those ballots will likely make a difference in several close races, including the 40th Senate District Democratic primary between former Assemblyman Juan Vargas and Assemblywoman Mary Salas.

The county could finish counting the ballots as soon as Saturday. Election results must be certified.

Click here to read the full Press-Enterprise piece.

A Riverside County judge has set a hearing for July 9 to determine the fate of more than 12,500 primary ballots that went uncounted in the county.

Jim Miller reports in the Press-Enterprise that the judge also ordered Registrar of Voters Barbara Dunmore to hold off on certifying the results until the case is settled.

If counted, some of those ballots will likely determine the outcome of the 40th Senate District Democratic primary. Former Assemblyman Juan Vargas was leading Assemblywoman Mary Salas late this morning by just 12 votes, according to the secretary of state's website.

The Riverside County Democratic Party, the plaintiff in the suit, is represented by a law firm that often represents Democrats, including Salas supporter Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, according to Miller. Read his story in full here.

Former Assemblyman Juan Vargas has pulled ahead of Assemblywoman Mary Salas for the first time in the 40th Senate District Democratic primary.

Updated results from San Diego County this afternoon gave Vargas a six-vote edge district wide. According to totals reported by all three counties in the district, Vargas leads with 24,079 votes to Salas' 24,073. San Diego County has roughly 750 ballots to count countywide, though not all of those will be from this district or race.

The fate of 12,500 ballots that were not counted in Riverside County is also unclear.

Independent groups poured millions into the state Senate battle. Salas, of Chula Vista, had the support of Democratic leaders in Sacramento, including Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, while Vargas received heavy backing from the insurance industry and business groups.

The two are battling to run in November for the seat held by termed-out Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, D-San Diego. Democrats have a strong registration advantage in the district.

See the updates from Riverside, San Diego and Imperial counties here, here and here.

Earlier today, the conservative blog FlashReport.org reported that Michael Rubio, the Democratic nominee for the 16th Senate District, actually lives a few hundred feet outside the district lines, which could make him ineligible to run.

As Fresno Bee colleague E.J. Schultz reports here, Rubio says he's always voted in the 16th District, and the county election officials now say the mistake was theirs.

In a statement, the office said the precinct where he lives -- Precinct 595 -- "was created and incorrectly placed by the Elections Office in the 16th State Senate District."

"Supervisor Rubio acted in good faith, on information provided by the Elections Office,
when he filed as a candidate for the 16th Senate District. We have advised the Secretary of State of this error."

Meanwhile, the Secretary of State says it doesn't have the legal authority to remove a candidate from a ballot, Schultz reports.

Click here for the full story.

Assemblywoman Alyson Huber saw firsthand Tuesday night what polls consistently have shown: Voters are not very happy with the Legislature and the state's budget crisis these days.

Nobody, not even Huber, praised legislative accomplishments during a town hall meeting at Sacramento's Rio Americano High School that displayed key issues likely to emerge as she campaigns for re-election in balloting Nov. 2.

Huber and Republican Jack Sieglock, a former Lodi councilman and San Joaquin County supervisor, will square off for the 10th District Assembly seat in a rematch of a 2008 race so tight that its outcome was decided by the counting of absentee and provisional ballots.

The El Dorado Hills Democrat criticized the hyperpartisan tone of state politics -- "we have to get past the political name-calling" -- and she cited the Capitol's failure to fix problems ranging from chronic budget deficits to soaring pension obligations.

"The Legislature itself has done some things that are questionable," she said, citing the eligibility of legislative employees for lifetime health benefits after five or 10 years of employment, depending upon age and years of service.

By Jim Sanders

Republican Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee, shown in the photo to the right, appears to have beaten Democrat John Laird in a hotly contested Senate primary election but narrowly failed to secure the majority vote necessary to capture the seat outright.

With all precincts counted, Blakeslee led Laird by a margin of 49.7 percent to 41.2 percent, with independent candidate Jim Fitzgerald garnering 6.1 percent and Libertarian Mark Hinkle about 3 percent.

If the vote totals hold up once all contested, provisional or other ballots are counted, all four candidates would square off Aug. 17 in an general election for the seat formerly held by Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, a Republican from Santa Maria. The winner would hold the seat until 2012.

Tuesday night's precinct counts showed Blakeslee winning in San Luis Obispo County with 58 percent of the vote; Santa Barbara County, 62 percent; and Santa Clara, 47 percent.

Laird, a Santa Cruz resident, won Santa Cruz County with 56 percent of the vote, and in Monterey County, 55 percent.

The 15th District Senate race was being closely watched statewide because if Laird had captured the seat, Senate Democrats would be just one vote short of the two-thirds majority necessary to approve budgets and pass tax proposals. Independent groups spent more than $1 million to boost Blakeslee or Laird.

IMAGE: Bee file photo. Credit: Hector Amezcua.

It's not unusual to hear a politician blowing his or her own horn. But a vuvuzela?

Two Democratic lawmakers are hoping to tap into World Cup fever to rally cash for their re-election bids, with early morning fundraisers to watch tomorrow's match between U.S.A .and Algeria.

Assemblyman Bill Monning of Carmel has invited backers to watch the match during a 7 a.m. Irish breakfast at DeVere's Irish Pub. Contribution levels coincide with key positions in the clubs, including $500 "striker" and $3,900 "coach," according to an invitation.

Meanwhile, Sen. Lois Wolk of Davis has invited supporters and soccer fans to gather at Gallagher's Irish Pub at 7:30 a.m. Donors will drop $1,000 to $2,500 to watch the contest with Wolk, a retired soccer commissioner for the American Youth Soccer Organization.

It's not the first time lawmakers have sold World Cup access to fill their campaign coffers. In 2006, then-Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez sold packages to join him at three Berlin World Cup matches to benefit a package of ballot measures. The cost? $25,000 a pop, plus airfare.

IMAGE: Slovenia's Marco Suler, left, and the USA's Jozy Alditore (17) battle for the ball during a Group C match at the 2010 FIFA World Cup at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, Friday, June 18, 2010. The match ended in a 2-2 draw. (Christophe Guibbaud/ Cameleon/ Abaca Press/ MCT)

The Democratic primary in the 9th Assembly District remains in a dead heat, with longtime Sacramento Supervisor Roger Dickinson leading City Councilman Kevin McCarty by 225 votes.

Sacramento County reported this afternoon that Dickinson's total has grown to 13,500 votes. McCarty has won 13,275 votes so far, out of the 38,142 ballots counted.

The two local officials have been locked in a virtual tie since initial returns were reported on election night. The day after the election, Dickinson led by just 33 votes.

Sacramento County election officials reported this afternoon that there are 12,000 absentee and 4,000 provisional ballots left to count countywide. Not all are from voters in the 9th Assembly District Democratic primary.

Dickinson and McCarty were two of five Democrats seeking to replace Democratic Assemblyman Dave Jones, who is termed out and running for insurance commissioner. Democrats' registration advantage in the district virtually guarantees that the victor of the primary will win in November.

Newly elected Assemblyman Mike Gatto was sworn into office by Speaker John A. Pérez today.

The Los Angeles Democrat, a former aide to U.S. Rep Brad Sherman, will represent the 43rd Assembly District, including all or parts of Burbank, Glendale, North Hollywood and Los Angeles.

Gatto takes the seat left vacant by Paul Krekorian's election to the Los Angeles City Council last December. Watch a video of Gatto's swearing-in ceremony here.

Gatto, in a written statement, said he was "deeply honored" to take the Assembly seat, adding, "I look forward to hitting the ground running and working with my colleagues to address the state's most pressing problems."

The 35-year-old Gatto was accompanied at the Capitol by his wife, Danielle, and by his baby daughter, Elliana. His mother and father were among onlookers in the Assembly gallery.

Gatto won the seat in a special election, beating Republican Sunder Ramani by a margin of 59 percent to 41 percent. The two will square off again in November's general election.

Gatto's swearing in Thursday gives the Assembly 50 Democrats, 28 Republicans, one independent and one vacant seat in the 63rd Assembly District.

Republican Bill Emmerson of Hemet, who represented AD 63, was sworn in yesterday after easily winning a special election Tuesday to fill the 37th Senate District seat left open when John Benoit was appointed to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.

Emmerson's move to the Senate gives the upper house 25 Democrats, 14 Republicans and one vacant seat in 15th Senate District, which Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado last represented.

Das Williams derailed Susan Jordan's bid to replace her husband, Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, in the 35th Assembly Distirct.

Williams, a Santa Barbara city councilman and former legislative aide, defeated Jordan with 61.4% percent of the vote in the nasty Democratic primary battle.

Offshore drilling was a major issue in the environmentalist-heavy district. Jordan blasted Williams for his support of the Tranquillon Ridge proposal to allow oil drilling off the Santa Barbara coast, sending attack mailers that the Daily Sound described as featuring "oil-soaked dead birds and an exploding oil rig next to Williams' picture."

Williams fired back, slamming Jordan for attending a high-dollar international junket in mailers that reportedly included a photoshopped picture of Jordan with a drink in her hand.

While Jordan shares her husband's environmental bona fides, Williams' bid got support from the California Teachers Association and another Democrat who formerly held the seat: Hannah-Beth Jackson, his former boss.

Williams faces the Republican nominee, former Santa Barbara County Supervisor Mike Stoker, in the general election to represent the heavily Democratic distirct, which includes Santa Barbara and parts of Ventura County.

Nava, who is termed out, lost a six-way race for the Democratic attorney general nomination.

UPDATE 8:25 a.m.: With 100 percent precincts reporting, Salas is up 336 votes, 50.6 percent to 49.4 percent. Provisional, damanged and vote-by-mail ballots turned in on election day still need to be counted.

With 93 percent of precincts reporting, the brutal battle in the 40th Senate District Democratic primary is caught in a dead heat.

Assemblywoman Mary Salas currently leads her more moderate rival, former Assemblyman Juan Vargas, by 259 votes, 50.5 percent to 49.5 percent.

Salas, of Chula Vista, had the support of Democratic leaders in Sacramento, including Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, while Vargas received heavy backing from the insurance industry and business groups.

Vargas was boosted by $1.5 million in independent spending from the insurance and business industries. Outside groups spent about $900,000 to oppose Salas.

The two are sparring for the seat being vacated by termed-out Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheney, D-San Diego.

In another closely watched Democratic primary, party favorite Bob Wieckowski, a member of the Fremont City Council, leads Garrett Yee, a Ohlone College Trustee and employee of the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, by 4.4 percentage points with all precincts reporting.

Wieckowski leads 52.2- 47.8 percent.

Insurance industry committees contributed heavily to Yee, who has been registered as a Decline-to-State and Republican in the past. Committees funded by insurance groups also spent more than $300,000 in independent expenditures to support his bid.

Wieckowski, backed by labor and tribal gaming groups, won the endorsement of the seat's current member, termed-out Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont.

The November ballot will pit a fundraiser for a powerful Sacramento interest group against a political newcomer borne from the Tea Party in the Democratic 53rd Assembly District.

Betsy Butler beat out seven opponents to win the Democratic nod in Tuesday's primary, securing 26.7 percent of the vote with all precincts reporting.

Butler, who worked in the political arm of the Consumer Attorneys of California, which represents trial lawyers, was targeted with a more than $600,000 attack campaign from independent expenditures funded by insurance companies and other business interests.

James Lau, director of the California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, trailed with 17.8 percent of the vote. He had been supported by independent expenditures from medical malpractice insurance and doctors' groups.

Butler will face Republican Nathan Mintz,a 26-year-old political newcomer active in the local Tea Party, and Green Party candidate Lisa Ann Green November in the race to replace termed-out Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance. Mintz, an engineer, and Green ran unopposed in their primaries.

Score one for Team Florez.

Former Shafter City Councilmember Fran Florez defeated Kern County Supervisor Pete Parra 56 percent to 43 percent in Tuesday's Democratic primary in the 30th Assembly District.

This race was the latest battleground for the longstanding feud between the two Central Valley political clans, who have sparred publicly for years.

Florez, mother of state Sen. Dean Florez, lost a 2008 bid to replace Parra's daughter, termed-out Assemblywoman Nicole Parra. The blood is so bad between the two politically active families that the Nicole Parra, a Democrat, backed Republican Danny Gilmore's candidacy.

Gilmore, of Hanford, announced last year that he would not run for a second term, and Democrats are hoping to pick up the seat. Florez will face David Valadao, a Hanford dairy owner, in November.

Fresno Bee colleague E.J. Schultz has more on the AD30 race and other Central Valley legislative contests here.

Democrat Michael "Mickey" Harrington held a strong lead over rival Christina Billeci early this morning in Assembly District 3.

The winner of the Democratic primary will challenge GOP incumbent Dan Logue in the November contest for the seat.

With 183 of 374 precincts reporting, Harrington held 54 percent of the vote to Billeci's 46 percent.

California Democratic Party members backed Billeci, a Marysville City Council member, over Harrington, who lost to Logue in the November 2008 general election by more than 11 percentage points.

Logue, who was unopposed, reported spending $71,713, more than the two Democrats combined.

Republicans hold a nearly six-point registration advantage over Democrats among voters in the district.

Incumbent Jim Nielsen beat GOP rival Charlie Schaupp in their party's primary fight for Assembly District 2.

With 312 of 394 precincts reporting, Nielsen had 55 percent to Schaupp's 45 percent. There were no official Democratic candidates running in the primary in this safely Republican seat.

Nielsen, a state Senate Republican leader in the 1980s, and Schaupp, an Esparto farmer and retired Marine, last faced off two years ago, when Nielsen took 45 percent of the votes to Schaupp's 23 percent in a more crowded GOP primary.

This time, Schaupp hit the incumbent for taking per diem payments even though his home isn't far from the Capitol.

Republicans dominate Democrats among the district's voters, 46 percent to 31 percent.

Nielsen reported $130,020 in the bank as of May 22. Schaupp had about $2,348 cash on hand.

Incumbent Ted Gaines defeated GOP challenger Joseph C. Kammerer in early returns, and will face Democrat Dennis J. Campanale in November.

Gaines had 86 percent of the vote to Kammerer's 14 percent with 95 percent of the ballots counted.

Retired Roseville fire chief Campanale, Antelope manufacturing supervisor Kammerer and Sacramento grocery store manager Daniel D. Frederick all ran low-key campaigns, leaving Gaines to build up his war chest for the general election.

Only Gaines filed financial disclosures before the primary, reporting $330,307 in the bank late last month.

Republicans hold an advantage of more than 12 percentage points over Democrats among the district's voters.

Doug La Malfa beat GOP rival Rick Keene Tuesday in the 4th Senate District and will face Democrat Lathe Gill, a Crescent City lawyer, in the general election.

With 398 of 742 precincts reporting, La Malfa had garnered 59 percent of the vote to Keene's 41 percent.

The two former legislators, both termed out in 2008, battled for the chance to run in November for this safely Republican Senate seat, now held by termed-out Sen. Sam Aanestad, who was running for lieutenant governor.

Richvale rice farmer La Malfa, who represented Assembly District 2, and Chico businessman and lawyer Keene, who represented neighboring Assembly District 3, kept the campaign civil until a few weeks ago, when both anti-tax conservatives started sending out attack mailers.

By May 22, each had already spent well over $500,000 this year on his campaign. La Malfa drew the endorsement of GOP Rep. Wally Herger while Keene got the nod from GOP Rep. Tom McClintock.

Two years ago, both La Malfa and Herger backed former Rep. Doug Ose in his unsuccessful run against McClintock.

Sacramento physician Richard Pan has won the Democratic primary and Folsom attorney Andy Pugno the GOP nod in the 5th Assembly District.

With 91 percent of the vote counted, Pan's had 44 percent of the vote in the four-way Democratic contest. Pugno had 43 percent of the vote in a six-way Republican race.

The chance that Democrats could pick up the 5th Assembly District for the first time since 1978 drew big money from outside groups.

Pugno, who defended Proposition 8's ban on gay marriage as a member of its legal team, was among the better-known GOP candidates.

Among Democrats, Pan had the support of the California Medical Association.

Larry Miles, who is trailing Pan with 26 percent, was the target of smear mailers that appeared to be the work of deep-pocketed EdVoice, which advocates for charter schools.

Democratic incumbent Mariko Yamada and Republican political consultant Michelle P. Connor, unchallenged in their primaries, will face each other in November.

Yamada is seeking a second term in the district, where Democrats hold an advantage of nearly 21 percentage points over Republicans.

The incumbent lists AFSCME California, the California Association of Highway Patrolmen and the California Federation of Teachers among the groups endorsing her.

Connor, who lives in Vacaville, didn't file a financial disclosure form before the primary and had no endorsements or events listed on her campaign website.

Incumbent Joan Buchanan and GOP challenger Abram Wilson will face each other in November for the second time in the 15th Assembly District.

Buchanan beat Wilson in 2008 by six percentage points to succeed termed-out Republican Assemblyman Guy Houston in this oddly shaped district, which sprawls from Contra Costa County to Sacramento County's Galt and Elk Grove.

Democrats now hold a registration advantage of more than five points over Republicans, whose share of the district's voters has slipped eight points since 2002.

Buchanan has raised more in contributions since Jan. 1 than Wilson has - $272,471 to his $160,012. Neither candidate has accepted campaign spending limits.

The race is apt to focus on public money: Buchanan touts her co-authorship of a bipartisan bill that would require the state to adopt performance-based budgets, while the San Ramon mayor points to his fiscal record in his current elected office.

UPDATE 4:31 a.m.: Dickinson's lead has widened to 33 votes with all precincts reporting.

Only 21 votes are separating longtime Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson and Sacramento City Councilman Kevin McCarty late tonight in the Democratic primary fight for Assembly District 9.

With 250 of 302 precincts reporting, McCarty had garnered 6,928 votes, or 34.2%, while Dickinson had 6,907 votes, or 34.1% of the total.

Whoever winds up winning the Democratic nomination in the Sacramento County district will face Rick Redding, unopposed in the GOP primary, in the November election.

McCarty, Dickinson, Sacramento CIty Councilwoman Lauren Hammond, and labor leader Chris Garland disagreed little on the issues, leaving Democratic primary voters to choose based on the candidates' records and campaign tactics.

The California Faculty Association backed Garland, its political director, and underwrote hit pieces against McCarty.

Dickinson reported the most cash on hand on May 22 of the Democrats, $166,119. McCarty had $75,681 in the bank; Hammond, $29,227; and Garland, $17,819.

Democrats hold a 35-point registration advantage in the district.

Tuesday's balloting set up a fall rematch between incumbent Alyson Huber and GOP rival Jack Sieglock in the 10th Assembly District.

Huber and Sieglock's battle in November 2008 was so close that Sieglock attended freshman orientation before Huber won the contest by fewer than 500 votes.

Huber benefited from more than $1.3 million in "independent expenditures" by special interests during that campaign.

Democrats and Republicans have again targeted the seat in this district, where Democrats hold a slight advantage over Republicans among voters.

Huber, an El Dorado Hills lawyer, reported more than $145,000 cash on hand as of May 22. Sieglock, a former San Joaquin County supervisor, reported more than $180,000.

Neither candidate has accepted spending limits for the campaign.

Sieglock, who has signed the conservative "no new taxes" pledge, is sure to attack Huber for her budget votes on taxes.

The Democratic incumbent in the 6th Senate District, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, will face Republican challenger Marcel Weiland in November.

Steinberg is seeking his second term in this safely Democratic district. He reported receiving $223,107 in campaign contributions this year through May 22, spending $226,479 during the same period.

His Senate 2010 campaign account had almost $1.2 million in the bank on the latest report.

Longtime Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson and Sacramento City Councilman Kevin McCarty are virtually tied in early returns in the Democratic primary fight for Assembly District 9.

The Secretary of State's website reported that Dickinson had 34.1 percent of the vote, while McCarty had 34.3 percent in early returns.

The Democratic nominee will face Rick Redding, unopposed in the GOP primary, in the November election.

Dickinson, McCarty, Sacramento CIty Counilwoman Lauren Hammond, and labor leader Chris Garland disagreed little on the issues, leaving Democratic primary voters to choose based on the candidates' records and campaign tactics.

The California Faculty Association backed Garland, its political director, and underwrote hit pieces against McCarty.

Dickinson reported the most cash on hand on May 22 of the Democrats, $166,119. McCarty had $75,681 in the bank; Hammond, $29,227; and Garland, $17,819.

Democrats hold a 35-point registration advantage in the district.
Photo caption: Michele Melendez, a campaign worker for Kevin McCarty, struggles with balloons as she walks from McCarty's campaign headquarters to El Patron restaurant, site of his election night party, in Sacramento on Tuesday. McCarty is running in the Democratic primary for California Assembly District 9. Photo by Robert Durell

Sacramento physician Richard Pan is edging out rival Democrats while Folsom attorney Andy Pugno has a handy lead among Republicans in early returns tonight in the 5th Assembly District.

The Secretary of State reported that Pan's share of the Democratic primary vote is 43 percent while Pugno is pulling in 43 percent in the GOP primary.

The chance that Democrats could pick up the 5th Assembly District for the first time since 1978 drew big money from outside groups.

Pugno, who defended Proposition 8's ban on gay marriage as a member of its legal team, was among the better-known GOP candidates.

Among Democrats, Pan had the support of the California Medical Association.

Larry Miles, who is trailing Pan, was the target of smear mailers that appeared to be the work of deep-pocketed EdVoice, which advocates for charter schools.

It's not every election -- this decade at least -- that a competitive legislative seat pops up.

But the chance that the 5th Assembly District could switch from Republican hands has drawn interest from both parties.

Democrats think changing voter registration in the district, which includes Fair Oaks, Granite Bay, the cities of Citrus Heights and Folsom, and part of Sacramento, give them a shot at wresting it from the GOP come Nov. 2. Republican lawmaker Roger Niello is termed out at the end of the year.

Today's primary features six Republicans and three Democrats.

On the GOP side Proposition 8 chief counsel Andrew Pugno, legislative aide Craig DeLuz, and attorney Suzanne Jones lead a field that also includes school board president Mike Edwards, writer Chad Vander Veen and businessman and former teacher Donald Thompson.

The Democratic tilt includes school board member Larry Miles, physician Richard Pan and lobbyist Matt Gray.

Officially, winners in today's legislative primaries will have to win again on Nov. 2 in order to be sworn in as lawmakers in early December.

But in a couple hotly contested primaries in the Sacramento area, today's winners will have a huge advantage over their general election opponents because voter registration is overwhelmingly tilted toward their party.

* In the 4th Senate District, whoever emerges from the Republican battle between former assemblymen Doug LaMalfa and Rick Keene is in position to take the seat being vacated by Sen. Sam Aanestad, who is termed out.

Republicans outnumber Democrats in the district, which stretches from Marysville to Crescent City, 44 percent to 32 percent.
The Republican nominee will face Democrat Lathe Gill, a Crescent City lawyer, in the general election.

* In the 9th Assembly District, which is centered in Sacramento and votes solidly Democratic, three current public officials and a labor leader are the leading candidates for the Democratic nomination.

Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson, California Faculty Association leader Chris Garland and Sacramento City Councilmen Lauren Hammond and Kevin McCarty are vying to replace Dave Jones.

Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, isn't happy to see his face and words gracing last-minute mailers in the race to replace him in the state Assembly.

Jones, who is termed out and running for insurance commissioner, has been used in mailers sent by two of the five Democrats seeking his seat -- Sacramento Board of Supervisors member Roger Dickinson and Sacramento City Councilman Kevin McCarty.

One issue -- Jones hasn't endorsed Dickinson or McCarty. In fact, he hasn't publicly endorsed any candidate running in the primary.

Jones issued a statement clarifying his position over the weekend, but stopped short of calling on the campaigns to stop using or retract the mail pieces.

"I have not made an endorsement of any of the candidates in the race to succeed me to represent the 9th Assembly District (Sacramento)," Jones said in a statement. "I have also not authorized the use of my photograph by any of the campaigns to elect a representative to the 9th Assembly District. I have not been shown campaign mailers of any of the candidates prior to their public release nor have I approved of or participated in the preparation of campaign mailers by any of the campaigns for Assembly District 9."

Looks like the mystery may be solved as to who's behind the anonymous mailers attacking Democrat Larry Miles in the 5th Assembly District.

When a trio of mailers blasting the San Juan Unified School Board member for taking schools "miles in the wrong direction" hit mailboxes last month, the attackers didn't include a return address.

Now, another round of nearly identical brochures are arriving in voters' homes -- funded by EdVoice, a pro-charter school nonprofit backing Miles' opponent, physician Richard Pan.

"California schools have gone too many miles in the wrong direction," the new piece reads. Like the anonymous mailers sent last month, the claims on this attack piece are backed by documentation from San Juan Unified School Board meeting minutes.

But this time, the mailers mention Miles' Assembly bid and the source is printed in the return address field: EdVoice Independent Expenditure Committee. Deep-pocketed EdVoice focuses on charter school expansion, teacher evaluation and other education reforms.

Cal Worthington and his famed "dog" Spot are back on the airwaves with a TV spot backing 5th Assembly District hopeful Larry Miles.

Clad in a powder blue suit and a cowboy hat, the 89-year-old "car-sales king" laments that special interests "trying to take over the State Capitol... sound a lot like my dog Spot over here," as the screen jumps to a clip of a tiger mauling a man in a yellow truck.

"Larry knows that what's good for the people is good for the state," Worthington says, standing in front of a green-screened backdrop of the Capitol.

Worthington's long-running "My Dog Spot" commercials prompted the Television Bureau of Advertising to call him "probably the best-known car dealer pitchman in television history." The signature ads, which feature a variety of exotic animals standing in as "Spot," have graced the airwaves since 1971.
Miles, standing in front of a crowd that clearly knows the meaning of "spirit fingers," also makes a cameo, re-purposing one of Worthington's other famous lines.

"I'll help get California working again or I'll eat a bug," Miles quips.

Worthington lives in Orland, which is represented by the 2nd Assembly District. But even if he did live in the 5th Assembly District, he couldn't vote in the Democratic primary for his "good friend Larry Miles," who represented his auto dealerships as general counsel. Worthington is registered with the conservative American Independent Party.

Watch the clip below:

The California Medical Association pulled out its checkbook to support its choice candidate in the 5th Assembly District race, Democrat Richard Pan.

The group reported Friday chipping $106,500 into an independent expenditure committee created to support Pan's Assembly bid.

The committee also reported spending $16,339 on campaign mail pieces to support Pan, with another $23,840 going toward polling and research for the mailers.

Though CMA has already prominently featured Pan, a pediatrician, on some of its non-political mail, this is the first time the doctor's association has reported spending in the race.

CMA spokesman Andrew LaMar declined to comment on the campaign pieces, except to say that they are intended to showcase the strengths of the candidate CMA has endorsed.

Pan is running against attorney and San Juan school board member Larry Miles and lobbyist and former legislative aide Matt Gray in the June 8 Democratic primary. The general-election battle for the open seat, currently held by Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, is expected to be one of the top targeted races this cycle.

Click here to read the legal challenge filed in federal court today to halt the June 22 special election in the 15th Senate District.

For more on the challenge, check out today's AM Alert.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called an Aug. 17 special election to fill the 15th Senate District seat vacated by Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado's appointment to that post.

Schwarzenegger's move bucks both legislative Democrats and county election officials, who urged the governor to consolidate the contest with the November general election to save costs. Democrats, of course, also wanted a consolidation because they believe the higher turnout in a general election will boost their shots at picking up the seat.

The governor's office countered that the Legislature dropped the ball on the opportunity to save money when the Assembly rejected Maldonado's first nomination, missing the window for combining one election with the June primary.

An Aug. 17 runoff means the special primary election will be held June 22. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in that election, the top vote-getter from each party moves on to the August runoff.

GOP Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo and former Democratic Assemblyman John Laird of Santa Cruz are both expected to run.

The results are in for two special elections held yesterday to fill legislative vacancies in Southern California.

GOP Assemblyman Bill Emmerson beat his main opponent, former GOP Assemblyman Russ Bogh, with about 41 percent of the vote in the 37th Senate District race to replace former GOP Sen. John Benoit. Mike Gatto, an attorney and former aide to a Democratic member of Congress, was the top vote-getter among the four candidates seeking the 43rd Assembly District Seat.

But the race ain't over, folks. Because no candidate in either election secured 50 percent of the vote, the top vote-getter from each party advances a June 8 run-off election.

That means Emmerson will square off against Democrat Justin Blake and American Independent candidate Matt Monica in the race to replace GOP Sen. John Benoit, who was appointed to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors last year.

Gatto faces Republican Sunder Ramani. The two are vying for the seat vacated by Democratic Assemblyman Paul Krekorian's election to the Los Angeles City Council.

Californians might not have a positive view of how the government is run and where the state is heading, but that doesn't mean they don't want to get their hands into the political sausage-making.

With 67 days remaining until the statewide primary, Secretary of State Debra Bowen released last night the certified list of candidates whose names will appear on the ballot June 8.

The list, which you can see here, features more than 650 office-holder hopefuls, including 23 candidates for governor, 14 candidates for attorney general and 12 candidates in the nonpartisan superintendent of public instruction race.

There are also, of course, hundreds of candidates seeking a spot in the state Legislature, and several uncontested races (including Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez in the 46th Assembly District).

Want to follow the flurry of cash fueling the campaigns now that you know who's in the running?

You can always check the filings on the Secretary of State's Web site, but a new feed and Twitter account posting individual contributions to campaign accounts, as well as daily totals for campaign war chests and independent expenditure committees are up and running over at ElectionTrack.

BIRTHDAY: Today's the big day for Democratic Assemblyman Bill Monning.

The California Medical Association is hitting mailboxes across the state to encourage Californians to participate in its 2010 survey on health care.

But the piece, which will be sent to more than 30,000 Californians on both sides of the aisle, also places front and center a familiar face for California campaign junkies: Dr. Richard Pan.

"Thank you for sharing your health care priorities!" reads the text over an 8.5-by-11 inch portrait of a smiling Pan, clad in his doctor's coat, leaning against a reception desk.

Pan is one of several Democrats seeking to replace termed-out GOP Assemblyman Roger Niello in the Sacramento area's 5th Assembly District, one of this cycle's most targeted legislative races. The UC Davis pediatrician also happens to be the candidate of choice for CMA, which represents 35,000 physicians.

The flip side of the mailer, which does not cite Pan's candidacy, features a smaller picture of Pan alongside photos of three other doctors.

CMA spokesman Andrew LaMar said Pan's prominent presence on the mailer reflects his role as a "really important physicians' leader within CMA and within the community" and had nothing to do with that fact he's running for the Assembly. Pan was also the chairman of the group's Council on Legislation when the outreach effort for the survey started last year, LaMar said.

"He's somebody who knows the key issues very well," he said. "He's one of our core leaders."

The candidate fields have been set for the upcoming April 13 special elections to fill the seats vacated by Republican Sen. John Benoit (SD 37) and Democratic Assemblyman Paul Krekorian (AD 43).

Alert readers will recall that Benoit resigned his Senate seat to take an appointment to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, and Krekorian left the lower house after he was elected to the Los Angeles City Council.

Below is a list of the candidates and their respective ballot designations, as released yesterday by the Secretary of State. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote in April, the top vote-getter from each party advances to a run-off election that has been consolidated with the June 8 statewide primary.

SD 37 candidates:
• Justin Blake (Democratic) - School Board Member
• Arthur Bravo Guerrero (Democratic) - Educator/Businessman
• Anna Nevenic (Democratic) - Registered Nurse/Author
• Russ Bogh (Republican) - Businessman
• Bill Emmerson (Republican) - Assemblymember/Educator
• David W. Peters (Republican) - No Ballot Designation
• Matt Monica (American Independent) - School Board Member

AD 43 candidates:
• Mike Gatto (Democratic) - Educator/Attorney
• Chahe Keuroghelian (Democratic) - Small Business Owner
• Nayiri Nahabedian (Democratic) - Boardmember, Glendale Unified School District
• Sunder Ramani (Republican) - Small Business Owner

Democratic officials in the 5th Assembly District are questioning Republican front-runner Andy Pugno's eligibility to run to replace termed-out GOP Assemblyman Roger Niello.

The Sacramento Democratic Party issued an e-mail yesterday blasting Pugno for living "on the wrong side of the river" in the 10th Assembly District's Gold River.

"It looks like Andy didn't get the memo. He isn't running for Congress; here in California, you have to actually live in the district you want to represent," wrote Sacramento Democratic Party spokesman Devin Lavelle.

While Pugno is currently residing and registered to vote in the 10th Assembly District, his campaign consultant Matt Rexroad said his candidate did in fact get the memo, and has been in the process of purchasing and moving into a house in Folsom, within the 5th District lines. He added that Pugno's church, business and children's schools are all in the 5th district.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, is making the rounds on the West Coast this week, working to put the best face possible on a time of disenchantment with his party's inability to navigate partisan politics in Washington and a continued rocky economy.

His message? Democrats need to do a better job explaining the progress they are making on the financial front - and challenge voters to ask Republicans if they have any better ideas.

"This election is not just going to be a referendum on the first two years of the Obama administration, but it's going to be in the context of 'what are the Republicans proposing?" the Maryland Democrat said in an interview.

In California, Democrats are targeting Reps. Dan Lungren, Mary Bono Mack and Ken Calvert. Republicans hope to pick up seats held by Jerry McNerney, Loretta Sanchez, Jim Costa and Dennis Cardoza. Costa and Cardoza, in particular, are fighting to defend themselves in districts hammered by home foreclosures, high unemployment and dissatisfaction with federal water policy.

AD 43 candidate Andrew Westall announced today that he has pulled bid to replace ex-Assemblyman Paul Krekorian in the wake of the death of his friend and City Council colleague Charmette Bonpua.

"This has been one of the hardest decisions I have ever made in my life, and I make it without reservation, regret of purpose of evasion," Westall wrote in a statement.

Westhall and Bonpua, who died unexpectedly Sunday at the age of 44, had worked together for nearly seven years, most recently on the staff of Los Angeles Councilmember Herb J. Wesson, Jr.

Westhall's departure leaves three Democrats and one Republican vying to replace Krekorian, who was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in December.

In announcing his move, Westall endorsed Nayiri Nahabedian, a Glendale School Board member who was also endorsed by Krekorian, for the April 13 special primary election.

Democrats Mike Gatto, an attorney and former staffer for Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman, and Chahe Keuroghelian, a former public information officer for the Glendale Police Department and Republican businessman Sunder Ramani are also running for the seat.

Republican Sen. Roy Ashburn had dropped brewing plans to run for the Board of Equalization or Democrat Jim Costa's 20th Congressional District seat.

While Republican Scott Brown's recent Senate victory in Massachusetts has shaken many Democratic candidates, the Bakersfield Republican also cited Brown's surprise win as a reason for not running.

Here's what Ashburn, who is termed out this year, told the Bakersfield Californian:

"I think people are looking for new faces and new people," Ashburn said. "I think that was one of the messages I took out of the vote in Massachusetts."

He was referring to Republican Scott Brown's win last week of the Senate seat opened by the death of Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., last year. Analysts have in part attributed that win to voter disenfranchisement with establishment politicians.

Ashburn said he doesn't know what he will do after he's termed out of office at the end of this year but that "I'm sure I'll find ways to keep busy." Asked if he's ruling out any future run for public office, he said: "it's never smart to say never."

"(For now) I'm very committed to being the very best representative in the Senate I can this year," Ashburn said.

Click here to read the full story.

Updated: An earlier version of this post misspelled Ashburn's name in the headline.

Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, officially confirmed today that he will run for the 45th Assembly District. The announcement completes a cycle of seat swapping among three Los Angeles Democrats seeking a return to the Legislature in next fall's election.

"This decision fulfills a promise I made to my wife, to my family, and to my community to improve the quality of life for all Angelenos," Cedillo said in a statement.

As expected, first-term Republican Assemblyman Danny Gilmore announced today that he won't seek re-election this year, saying that though "there are those who enjoy political games and legislative intrigue. I'm just not one of them."

"If I could sum up in one word my feeling about serving in the Legislature that word would have to be frustration," he said in a statement. "This most recent phase of public service does not suit my family or me. Simply put, I do not have the temperament or personality to be a long-term politician."

The former California Highway Patrol assistant chief was the sole Republican to win a seat previously held by a Democrat in 2008. He edged out Democrat Fran Florez 50.8 percent to 49.2 percent.

His re-election bid was expected to be one of the most targeted state legislative races of the 2010 cycle.

A battle for the 30th District seat has been brewing for months, with a longstanding Central Valley political family feud spicing up the Democratic primary.

There's nothing like a little bit of family feuding to spice up a Friday morning.

The Bakersfield Californian posted a little scooplet yesterday about father-daughter duo Nicole and Pete Parra showing "guv lite" hopeful Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn some love in the Central Valley.

It makes sense that the Hahn, a Democrat from Los Angeles, would seek an intra-party helping hand from Nicole, a former state legislator, and Pete, a former Kern County supervisor, to get introduced to valley Democrats.

But there's another detail worth noting: Hahn's rival for the Democratic nomination is Sen. Dean Florez.

The Florez and Parra families have long traded political blows, and now the Shafter Democrat's mother, Fran Florez, is expected to go tête-à-tête with Pete Parra in a battle to grab GOP Assemblyman Danny Gilmore's 30th Assembly District seat. (Gilmore, on his first term in office, has given signals that he might shy away from a second run).

We posted earlier this week that Hahn's entry into the race had caused Florez to re-evaluate his lieutenant governor bid. But the Shafter Democrat took a more certain tone when responding to a query from the Bakersfield paper: "My future plan is simple," he said. "100 percent running for lieutenant governor. That's it."

Assemblyman Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, announced today that he will run to replace termed-out Democrat Gil Cedillo in the 22nd Senate District

Assemblyman Kevin De León's state Senate bid opens the door for more seat swapping.

Cedillo had planned to run for a third and final term representing the 46th Assembly District, which he served for a little more than two terms before he was elected to the Senate. Under that plan, the current 46th District legislator, Assemblyman John A. Pérez, would have run for Cedillo's Senate seat.

But that plan was derailed when Pérez, was elected to be the next speaker of the Assembly. (Alert readers will recall that the final speakership showdown was staged between Pérez and de León).

During and in the immediate wake of the speaker fight, Cedillo pledged to soldier on with plans to run for his old seat, even floating a seat swap compromise between the three Los Angeles legislators.

But Cedillo has been mum about his plans of late, recently telling Capitol Alert that he would announce a decision about his future plans soon.

With de León's district up for grabs, it looks like all three could have a seat to seek in this round of legislative musical chairs. We'll keep you posted if and when Cedillo makes a 45th Assembly District run official.

Proving once again that you can take the politician out of Sacramento, but not Sacramento out of the politician, former San Joaquin Valley legislator Phil Wyman says he wants to be a solon again.

The Republican, who served in the Assembly from 1979 to 1992 and in the state Senate from 1993 to 1994, announced today he's seeking the 16th Senate district seat currently held by Democrat Dean Florez, who's termed out. The district covers parts of Fresno, Kern, Kings and Tulare counties. The district's been in Demo hands since 1994, when Wyman lost a close contest to Jim Costa, who's now in Congress.

A self-described rancher/businessman, the 64-year-old Wyman is a rock-ribbed conservative. How conservative? Well, he once carried a bill that would have required record companies to put warning labels on albums if the discs contained satanic messages when played backwards. (It didn't pass.)

Former CD10 hopeful David Harmer has joined the CD11 primary fray.

Harmer is one of seven candidates vying to be the Republicans' pick to challenge Democratic Rep. Jerry McNerney.

The attorney and businessman ran against now-Democratic Rep. John Garamendi in the 10th Congressional District special election last fall. He lost that race in the strong Democratic district by about 10 percentage points.

Harmer's spokesman Tim Clark, who also advised his CD10 race, described Harmer in a statement as a "battle-tested candidate who has proven his mettle against one of California's toughest Democratic opponents."

One catch: Harmer hails from Dougherty Valley, which doesn't fall within the 11th District Lines. That doesn't disqualify him from running, but as Contra Costa Times' Lisa Vorderbrueggen noted late last week, the "carpetbagger" critique was frequently leveled against Garamendi last fall.

And while we're on the subject of district-swapping, McNerney was elected in 2006 when he unseated Republican Rep. Richard Pombo, who's now running to replace Rep. George Radanovich in the CD19 seat.

Republican Assembly staff member Paul Hegyi announced last night that he's dropping his bid to challenge Democratic Assemblywoman Alyson Huber in the 10th Assembly District.

Hegyi's departure essentially clears the field for a rematch between Huber and former San Joaquin County Supervisor Jack Sieglock. The AD10 seat, which Huber won by less than 500 votes in 2008, is widely considered one of the most targeted state legislative races of this cycle.

Hegyi cited the GOP's goal of regaining that seat as his primary reason for quitting the race.

"The single most important goal for me is to ensure that Republicans take back the 10th Assembly District, and to prevent the Democrats from gaining a 2/3 majority in the State Assembly," he said in a statement issued last night. "This was a hard decision, and not one that I took lightly, but at the end of the day everyone's first priority should be to help the GOP leadership win this seat."

In a statement, Assembly Republican leader Sam Blakeslee called Hegyi a "tough campaigner, a committed team player ... (with) a bright future ahead of him."

State Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, is reportedly mulling another run for the 20th Congressional District seat.

Ashburn, who is planning a bid for the Board of Equalization, told the Bakersfield Californian that he is being urged to run against Democratic Rep. Jim Costa in the 20th Congressional District.

Costa defeated Ashburn by about 6 percentage points in 2004.

Click here to read the full story.

Assemblyman Tom Berryhill, R-Modesto, is throwing his hat in the ring to replace Republican Sen. Dave Cogdill in the 14th Senate District. the Modesto Bee reports.

Cogdill announced last month that he would not seek reelection for a second term in 2010.

Berryhill, who represents the 25th Assembly District, does not currently live within the 14th District, but hetold the Modesto Bee that he plans to move soon so he is eligible to run for the seat.

Republican Heidi Fuller, a former lawyer and utility consultant who lives in Columbia, Calif., is also vying for the seat, and several current and former local officials are eyeing a run.

Another lawmaker named as a possible candidate, Assemblyman Mike Villines, R-Clovis, is passing on a Senate bid to continue his run for insurance commissioner, The Fresno Bee's E.J. Schultz reported yesterday.

If Lieutenant Gov. John Garamendi wins tomorrow's special election in the 10th Congressional District, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will have the option of tapping a replacement to fill the 'guv lite' gig until the November election.

The governor isn't required to name a replacement, and anyone he does pick is subject to confirmation by the Legislature, a complicating factor considering four state Senators have already thrown their hat in the ring to vie for the seat in 2010.

In today's Bee, Kevin Yamamura sorts through through a handful of names political consultants have pointed to as possible picks, including one Republican choice that could set off yet another special election that some say could be a big boost for Democrats seeking to secure a two-thirds majority in the Senate.

But there's another twist: Senate Democrats may have great incentive to cut a deal with Schwarzenegger to confirm [Republican Sen. Abel] Maldonado, said Tony Quinn, a former GOP legislative aide and editor of the nonpartisan California Target Book, which handicaps political races.

A Maldonado appointment would cause a special election for the 15th Senate District, a seat that would not otherwise open until 2012. Democrats now hold a six-point registration advantage there, and President Barack Obama won the district by 20 points. If Democrats think they can win it, they would pick up a 26th seat next year, one shy of a two-thirds majority.

[Republican consultant Matt] Rexroad said it would be a hard-fought race, "certainly not a slam-dunk for Democrats." But Quinn said, "If they think it through, it could be an important factor because it's an excellent opportunity to pick up 26."

Click here to read the full story.

A coalition of representatives for local governments and the transportation and public transit sectors has submitted an initiative to the Attorney General's office that seeks to block the state from borrowing or redirecting local government funds.

The proposed initiative, the "Local Taxpayer, Public Safety, and
Transportation Protection Act of 2010," would ban the state from taking, borrowing or redirecting gas tax and Highway User Tax (HUTA) funds, other public transit funds and funding used for public safety and emergency response services.

The July budget revision included a plan to borrow $2 billion from local governments, with the stipulation that the funds would be paid back with interest by 2013. A proposal to shift about $1 billion in local gas tax revenue for state use was rejected by the Assembly in the final hours of the July budget vote-a-thon.

Proponents of the proposed initiative slammed lawmakers for using "loopholes in the law" and "legally questionable tactics" to secure the funds.

"These raids are having a significant and negative impact on the vital services that all Californians rely upon, including layoffs of local police and firefighters, delayed 911 emergency response times, and cuts to health care, parks, libraries, public transit and road safety maintenance and community improvements," League of California Cities Executive Director Chris McKenzie said in a statement.

The coalition has asked the Attorney General to prepare a title and summary for two similar initiatives. If the group decides to go forward with gathering signatures to qualify the measure for the 2010 ballot, it will choose one of the two measures, according to a press release.

In related news, a redevelopment group filed a lawsuit today to block the state's plan to shift $2.05 billion from local redevelopment funds over the next two years. The Bee's Loretta Kalb has the scoop on the lawsuit here.

With H1N1 flu shots due to arrive soon, the Field Poll takes a look at Californians' attitudes toward the virus and vaccination. Capitol Alert has the in-depth statistical tabulations from the survey.

Business remains slow in Sacramento, with the Legislature out of town and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger lying low. He's scheduled to attend meetings in Sacramento but has no public events scheduled.

The Republican governor has until Sunday to sign or veto about 700 bills on his desk. Normally, he would have dealt with hundreds of bills by now, but he seems to be unhappy with the lack of a water deal.

San Francisco Mayor and Democratic gubernatorial contender Gavin Newsom will hold an online town hall at noon through his Facebook page today.

And after hanging out with Newsom on Monday, former President Bill Clinton will join Lt. Gov. John Garamendi today for a health care rally at the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen will hold a random alphabet drawing to determine the ballot order of candidates running to replace Mike Duvall in the Assembly. He resigned last month after being caught at a legislative hearing boasting about sexual affairs. The primary is scheduled for Nov. 17 and the run-off election, if necessary, would be Jan. 12.

In Sacramento, the Board of Equalization meets. And in San Francisco, the Assembly Select Committee on Alcohol and Drug Abuse will review federal changes designed to improve health insurance benefits for substance abusers and mental health care users.

For all you campaign junkies who couldn't make it to last week's "California Target Book" conference on the 2010 elections, here's a roundup of what the minds behind the California campaign guide say are the cycle's hottest races to watch.

Publisher Allan Hoffenblum put the bull's-eye on 13 Assembly seats and one state Senate seat likely to be targeted in 2010. Check out a list of those seats, as well as likely targets for congressional races, after the jump.

If you missed Thursday's post on Hoffenblum's general forecast, you can read his dire predictions for the GOP (and Republican strategists' rebuttals) here.

Fox and Hounds Daily's Joel Fox has some notes on the day's happenings in this post.

Republican strategist Kevin Spillane was blunt today after hearing "California Target Book" publisher Allan Hoffenblum's take on what's in store for the 2010 congressional and state legislative races.

"Does anybody have any razor blades?" Spillane quipped. "I'm going to keep this presentation short."

Hoffenblum's prognosis? It's not looking good for the GOP.

At a conference sponsored by Hoffenblum's publication, the Republican identified eight congressional seats and 13 state Assembly seats as competitive. Nearly all of those Assembly seats and more than half of the congressional seats are now held by Republicans.

"I think this is going to be when we find out if the Republican Party has any life left in it whatsoever as far as being a statewide competitive party," said Hoffenblum, whose publication tracks and handicaps races throughout the state.

If you're a Republican candidate hoping to crush your opponent, try not to have your picture taken in stripes or plaid. Do let your campaign manager be the meanie while you preach peace and love. And it doesn't hurt to be in almost supernaturally perfect health.

That's some of the wisdom attendees received Friday at a campaign management session held at the California Republican Party's biannual convention, which finished yesterday in scorching Indian Wells.

Arlington-based consultant Nancy Bocskor led the audience through the minutiae of campaigning, covering everything from how to attack an opponent to making sure campaign events are held in venues with enough parking.

The curriculum was created by Joe Gaylord, the strategist behind the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress, and paid for by Republican candidate-training group GOPAC.

The advice offers everything from tips on the most granular level of detail to 50,000-feet adages resembling what Yoda might have counseled Luke Skywalker in a tight state Assembly race.

State GOP leaders spent much of the three-day convention predicting victory next year. Time will tell how much of the Yoda-talk helps.

Read some selected nuggets from the power point presentation and handout after the jump.

Photo: Former Gov. Pete Wilson sports a plaid shirt while campaigning in New Hampshire for his failed presidential bid. Credit:AP Photo/Stephan Savoia

The country was rocked by recession this year and the state was crippled by an ongoing cash crunch, but lawmakers still managed to keep the money flowing to their campaign coffers.

The Fair Political Practices Commission released a tally today showing that incumbent lawmakers held more than 325 money-raising mixers in Sacramento this year. And we're not talking chump change -- giving the maximum requested contribution at every event would have set you back $1.26 million.

In typical Capitol fashion, the end-of-session stretch was stacked with pricey pushes to boost those campaign war chests. More than 25 percent of the 2009 fundraisers were crammed into the final three weeks of the session. The combined cash requested for events on the two busiest days of the year -- Aug. 25 and 26 -- totaled nearly $130,000 per contributor. (Check out a map of the Aug. 26 events here).

FPPC also found that incumbents are looking well beyond 2010 and getting a head start fundraising for future bids. More than 20 percent of the events in Sacramento this year were raising dough for causes and campaigns other than 2010 runs, according to the release.

Read the FPPC's release here.

Brandon Shoemaker, a Republican running for the 31st Assembly District seat in 2010, is offering a Delta delicacy of sorts for supporters at an upcoming fundraiser.

An invite for the Oct. 3 event promises that Delta smelt appetizers will be served (Yes, we're serious!), alongside a robust meal of BBQ beef, rice pilaf, green beans and rolls.

We asked earlier how the campaign intended to cook the bite-sized fish, which were added to an endangered species list by the California Fish and Game Commission earlier this year.

Shoemaker responded this afternoon with a clarification that he doesn't intend to cook the endangered breed -- smelt fished in other locales is available for sale at his local grocer.

The store-bought smelt will be grilled or deep fried whole and served with a variety of dipping sauces, he said.

"It may not be appealing for some people to eat a fish, eyes, bones and gills and all, so there will be another decent appetizer for those people,' he added.

The inclusion of smelt on the menu is a reference to federal water pumping restrictions meant to protect the rare fish. Conservative groups have rallied against the limits, saying the feds have chosen fish over farmers.

"When we say fish are more important than the survival of human beings, that's a problem," Shoemaker said.

The event's tagline: "Sometimes the fish eats you, but in the end you get to eat the fish."

Thanks to our colleague Matt Weiser for pointing out the invite.

This post was updated at 4:30 p.m. with Shoemaker's response.
Photo credit: Randy Pench/Sacramento Bee.

The Fair Political Practices Commission summed up the Sacramento fundraising scene for incumbent candidates in a report yesterday:

If someone went to all 250 fundraisers scheduled in Sacramento so far this year (not counting golf tournaments or district-based events), they could spend a grand total of $1,014,270, FPPC Chairman Ross Johnson said in a release.

As we noted earlier this week, yesterday and today look like two of the biggest cash-collecting days of the month. If your pockets were deep enough (and your support broad enough) you could attended a marathon of 16 fundraisers in the capital today, spending up to $31,500. Here's a map of the events on our calendar. Click on the yellow "$" to see event details for that location.

View Cash Dash Map in a larger map

Have something on tap, but not on the map? E-mail tvanoot@sacbee.com with the details.

Here's a roundup of some stories you might have missed today:

Democratic Assemblywoman Noreen Evans isn't wasting any time launching her bid to replace Sen. Pat Wiggins, who announced yesterday that she won't run for re-election in 2010. Evans has already secured the support of Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sent a letter today appealing the Obama administration's decision to deny California's request to declare a federal disaster over severe drought conditions. Read the letter here.

Assemblyman Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, sent a letter urging the governor not to close the
Marshall Gold Discovery State Historical Park. The Parks Department announced last week that the site, which was home to the discovery of gold that triggered the California Gold Rush, would close because of budget cuts.

A group of 28 legislators has signed a letter protesting the Department of Public Health's effort to retroactively cut off payments as far back as July 1 for non-profit organizations that provide assistance to domestic violence victims through the Domestic Violence Program. The program was eliminated in the recent round of budget cuts.

This post was updated at 1 p.m. to include a statement from Sen. Wiggins.

Sen. Pat Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa, announced yesterday that she has decided not to run for another four-year term.

The 69-year-old lawmaker has been dogged with questions about her health in the wake of outbursts and increasingly odd behavior, documented most recently in a Friday piece in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

Wiggins and supporters referenced health issues in Sunday's announcement, but did not cite a specific reason for taking her hat out of the ring. Wiggins said in a written statement that she has long battled heath-related issues, such as a hearing impairment that requires her to wear a headset during hearings and floor debates.

"My commitment to fight for the people of the North Coast has not diminished a bit. But, the physical demands of representing a district that stretches from San Francisco Bay to Humboldt Bay, have become progressively more challenging for me," she said in a statement. "I am proud of my legislative accomplishments. I know I have made a difference with my votes and the measures I have carried for my district. I am equally proud of the message I have been able to send to everyone who is physically-challenged."

Wiggins was first voted into the Assembly in 1998. She had more bills signed into law than any other senator in 2008 and was a leading proponent of the smart growth movement. (Click here to see a list of her legislative accomplishments, distributed by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg's office.).

Her announcement creates an opening for candidates seeking to run to in the strongly Democrat 2nd District in 2010. David Rosas, a Roseland School District Trustee, was already challenging Wiggins in the Democratic primary. A spokesman for Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that she will likely run for the seat in 2010 as well.

Steinberg, who also served with Wiggins in the Assembly, issued a statement praising the lawmaker "as a thoughtful and humorous colleague, as a lawmaker willing to take on big issues and as a trusted and reliable friend."

"I am thankful for her service, better for her friendship and hopeful that she will continue to work in her community with the same love and dedication that she showed in Sacramento," he said.

Today's "most viewed" story on the website of the Daily Breeze, a newspaper that covers coastal Los Angeles County, is a political soap opera involving two former lovebirds who are vying for a seat in the state Assembly, which will open next year as Democrat Ted Lieu is forced out by term limits.

The newspaper's synopsis says it all: "Jim Aldinger, a former Manhattan Beach city councilman, is preparing to run against his ex-girlfriend, Betsy Butler, for the 53rd Assembly District next year. Aldinger and Butler parted on bad terms about seven years ago. He refused to relinquish some furniture that she'd had delivered to his house, and she had to sue him to retrieve it."

More of the prurient details are available here.

Folsom attorney Andrew Pugno, who parlayed his activism for California's gay marriage ban into a run for the Assembly, is picking up some fast cash for his efforts.

Pugno's campaign has announced he has taken in $250,000 in donations between June 8, when he began raising money, and the June 30 campaign reporting deadline. But $100,000 of the total was money Pugno donated himself.

He is seeking the 5th Assembly District seat that will be vacated when Republican Roger Niello is termed out next year.

A leader in this year's successful ballot fight to ban same-sex marriage in California is planning to run for a Sacramento-area Assembly seat.

Andrew Pugno has filed "intention to run" papers with the secretary of state, targeting the 5th Assembly District seat that will be vacated when Republican Roger Niello is termed out next year.

Pugno, who crafted Proposition 8 and helped qualify it for the ballot, is a Folsom attorney, married with two boys ages 6 and 13. He has created a campaign Web site at www.andypugno.com.

A Republican, Pugno, 36, is seeking the seat of a suburban district that covers swaths of Sacramento and Placer counties, from Folsom to North Highlands to Granite Bay.

"California is on the verge of a complete meltdown if we don't change course," Pugno said. "As a small business owner, I see the way out of the problem is to revitalize business and get employers hiring again, putting people back to work."

Pugno expanded upon that theme in writing a column for a Republican Web site, www.flashreport.org.

"The state cannot continue to increase spending to fund the unproductive portion of our society, while the over-taxed, businesses and entrepreneurs who fuel our state's economy continue to lay off employees and shut their doors," he wrote.

"The Republican Party needs new leaders and new voices to make meaningful policy changes that will fundamentally change the way we run our state. For California, real reform is the only path to a brighter future."

Pugno said his candidacy has nothing to do with controversy over this year's tax-raising budget deal or Niello's decision to support it in return for various provisions meant to restrict state spending and stimulate the economy.

Three other candidates have expressed interest in the 5th District seat by filing papers with the secretary of state. They are Republican Craig De Luz and Democrats Jared Gaynor and Lawrence Miles Jr.

Former San Joaquin County Supervisor Jack Sieglock, who narrowly lost his bid for the Assembly last year, announced today that he will try again in 2010.

The Lodi Republican lost to Democrat Alyson Huber by 474 votes out of 189,106 cast in what was an open seat that includes parts of Sacramento, El Dorado and and San Joaquin counties.

Huber, of El Dorado Hills, has already voted for tax increases that were part of the February budget deal.

"The Sacramento liberals still refuse to curb their runaway spending, and they're putting our state's economy in peril," Sieglock said in a prepared release announcing his 2010 campaign.

The release noted that Sieglock got less financial support from independent expenditure committees and the state Republican Party than other GOP candidates in competitive races and had to overcome the Democratic tide associated with Barack Obama's candidacy.

On the other hand, voter registration in the 10th Assembly District has slipped even more toward the Democrats since the presidential election, according to May 4 registration statistics from the Secretary of State.

Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani, D-Livingston, has decided against running for state Senate in 2010.

The move is significant because the seat she was expected to seek -- that of termed-out Republican Sen. Jeff Denham -- is expected to be the Democrats' top target next year. Galgiani, who had been widely expected to run, moved two years ago from Stockton (not in the Senate seat) to Livingston (in the Senate district as well as in the middle of her Assembly seat).

"In the best of times, a campaign demands a great amount of attention," Galgiani said in a brief interview. "But given the suffering that's going on in my district ... I don't want anything to take my attention away from giving 200 percent to the district I was elected in."

Galgiani can serve until 2012 in the Assembly, where she represents the cities of Stockton and Merced, among the hardest hit communities by the housing bust and subsequent recession.

"About two weeks ago, I made a decision not to run. My reasoning is when I was looking at running, that was before the economic downturn," she said.

The decision by the moderate Democrat from the Central Valley could clear the way for Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, who is expected to make a bid for the seat.

Other potential Democratic candidates include Monterey County Supervisor Simon Salinas, a former assemblyman himself, and Wiley Nickel, the 2006 Democratic nominee against Denham.

Denham's seat was originally drawn for a Democrat, but the Atwater Republican won in a bruising 2002 campaign against former Assemblyman Rusty Areias. Denham swept fairly easily to reelection in 2006, but is serving his final term.

Now the Democrats want back what they've always viewed as rightfully theirs.

Allan Hoffenblum, who handicaps political races for the California Target Book, called the seat "safely Democratic" in 2010, despite the fact that it is currently held by a Republican.

Hoffenblum pointed out that GOP registration dropped from 37 percent to 33 percent in the last election cycle, while Democratic registration in the district gained a percentage and a half, giving Democrats a 14-point edge.

Still, Republicans are likely to try to heavily defend the seat in 2010.

Map courtesy of the California State Senate

State Sen. Abel Maldonado, who faced searing political heat as a critical Republican vote in a budget deal to rescue California from a $40 billion deficit, is calling out one of his fiercest critics - GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner - in a blistering letter.

In the two-page missive to Poizner, sent to his gubernatorial exploratory committee, Maldonado assailed Poizner as a political opportunist who has contributed nothing to solving the budget crisis.

"Since the budget was passed, you have gone around the state criticizing it and the role six Republicans played in its passage," Maldonado wrote. "I am very disappointed that you would let the state fall into financial ruin just to win a political campaign."

Maldonado lambasted Poizner, a wealthy Silicon Valley executive who was elected insurance commissioner in 2006, for opposing May ballot initiatives intended to implement features of the budget plan. Poizner sent a letter to California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring on March 24, calling the initiatives a "cynical trick" and "a betrayal of core Republican principles," including "opposition to higher taxes" and "support for fiscal responsibility."

Maldonado, skewered by his party for supporting raising taxes to balance the budget, lashed back at Poizner for offering not a single budget cut.

"Where is this elusive 'government excess' you speak of?" he wrote. "Is it the six-figure salary you take (as insurance commissioner) even though you are a multi-millionaire? Is it the salary increase you took in 2007 when the state was in a multi-million dollar deficit? Maybe I would take your political postering a bit more seriously if you actually practice what you preach."

Upon receiving the letter, Poizner answered back with a scathing review of Maldonado's criticism.

"Senator Maldonado's letter is a bit like the arsonist lashing out at the fire department for not stopping him from burning the village," Poizner said in a statement released by his campaign. "Perhaps Mr. Maldonado is feeling the heat ... given that the sale tax increase he supported will begin tommorrow (April 1). ... Raising taxes is a recipe for disaster, not reform."

San Diego City Council President Ben Hueso has filed paperwork to explore a run for state Assembly in 2010.

He'd be running for the seat of Assemblywoman Mary Salas, D-Chula Vista, who is expected to run for state Senate

More at the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Republican Assemblyman Anthony Adams cast his "aye" budget vote at dawn today with full knowledge that, as he has said, "this will probably be the end of a political career for me."

But that doesn't mean the Hesperia Republican plans to go down without a fight. The second-term assemblyman spent much of Wednesday trolling the Capitol corridors, folder in hand, gathering endorsements from his caucus for his 2010 reelection.

"I think it's important that people know that my caucus is supportive -- that I'm not making any decision lightly," Adams said on his way into a GOP member's office Wednesday. "I'm also not making a decision outside the realm of our caucus. I'm not out there by myself or trying to engage in something that does not have the support of my caucus."

This morning, Adams joined Assembly GOP leader Mike Villines and Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, as the three GOP votes needed, along with every Democrat, to pass the $40 billion budget deficit package in the lower house. The plan includes $15 billion in spending cuts, $12.8 billion in temporary tax increases, and $11.4 billion in borrowing.

By the time of the vote, Adams had gathered signed 2010 endorsements from every single Republican in the Assembly.

"While all the members may not feel the same way that I do about the matter, they are still very supportive of me and know that I'm doing this on principle and not for some giveaway or something like that," Adams said.

A recall effort against him is already afoot.

The 38-year old lawmaker has been in anti-tax advocates' crosshairs ever since a Sacramento Bee story on Jan. 22 and an appearance later that day on the John and Ken radio show in Southern California. The shock jocks were blasting Republicans, including Adams, for telling The Bee that taxes were on the table in budget talks.

"I dare with the full knowledge that this will probably be the end of a political career for me," Adams told the radio duo. "But the fact of the matter is California is in a place where they need people who are willing to sacrifice their own personal agenda for what's right."

The radio hosts responded by posting an image of Adams' decapitated head on a stick on their Web site.

There's been talk in GOP circles of recruiting a Republican primary challenger to Adams in 2010.

Joan Buchanan, one of the four freshman Assembly Democrats who won previously Republican seats, announced she was taking a 10 percent pay cut, after voting for the budget package.

"I cannot, in good conscience, ask others to sacrifice if I am not willing to do the same." she said in a statement.

Republican Assemblyman Anthony Adams, who has signaled a potential willingness to vote for new taxes to settle the budget, may face a primary challenge in 2010.

Former state Sen. Dick Mountjoy, who has one term of Assembly eligibility left, could come out of political retirement to challenge Adams, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports. From the P-E:

In a telephone interview, Mountjoy said people have asked him to run against Adams if Adams votes for a budget fix that raises taxes. But Mountjoy said he hasn't committed to anything.

"I would imagine there would be several people who'd want to take that issue on," he said.

In late January, Adams went on the John and Ken show in Southern California and declared that he would dare to raise taxes, given the state's woeful fiscal state.

"I dare with the full knowledge that this will probably be the end of a political career for me. But the fact of the matter is California is in a place where they need people who are willing to sacrifice their own personal agenda for what's right," Adams said.

The radio hosts responded by putting Adams' head on a stick on their Web site.

Former Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, has decided not to seek a seat in the state Senate in two years, according to an interview with the Desert Sun.

"I believe that I already had an opportunity to serve. It's other people's turn," she told her local paper.

Garcia had previously filed paperwork to run for SD 40 in 2010.

The big hint that Garcia wasn't running was her acceptance of an appointment by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. The post pays roughly $128,000 a year -- not the type of thing politicians typically accept if they're planning to seek further office.

Other potential candidates include Assemblywoman Mary Salas, D-Chula Vista, and former Assemblywoman Shirley Horton, R-San Diego.

Democratic Sen. Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego, currently occupies the seat, but is termed out in 2010.

Photo: Ex-Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia at a Capitol press conference on Tuesday March 3, 2007. Credit: Sacramento Bee/ Brian Baer

Former Speaker Fabian Núñez, who termed out of the state Assembly last fall, has filed paperwork to make a Sacramento comeback as a state senator.

Núñez, 42, was the longest serving speaker of the term-limits era and developed a close relationship with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as they teamed together in 2006 to pass landmark global warming legislation, a hike in the minimum wage and a prescription drug package.

In 2008, Núñez pushed a ballot measure, Proposition 93, to extend his and other incumbent lawmakers' terms in office. Voters defeated the initiative at the polls.

This week, he filed paperwork to fill the seat of termed-out Sen. Gil Cedillo in 2010. Cedillo's seat could be vacated even sooner, as the Los Angeles Democrat is running for Congress to replace Rep. Hilda Solis, who President Barack Obama has tapped as labor secretary.

Núñez would be a prohibitive favorite, should he run. His campaign treasury was stuffed with nearly $5 million as of the end of 2008.

The filing could also simply be a place to legally store all that campaign cash. Many former leaders keep accounts open for races in which few if anyone expects them to compete.

For example, former Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, former Senate GOP leader Dick Ackerman, former Senate GOP leader Jim Brulte and former Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson each have accounts open to run for the Board of Equalization in 2010. Few expect any of them to actually run.

Since he left office, Núñez joined the PR firm Mercury Public Affairs and the board of directors of Zenith National Insurance Corp.

The Núñez family has come upon hard times, as his son, Esteban Armando Núñez, was arrested in December in connection with an Oct. 4 killing.

Fun fact: JoinCalifornia, a site dedicated to California election history, says Núñez, if he does run and win, would be the first speaker to be elected to the state Senate in more than 80 years. The last was Frank F. Merriam.

Who was the last speaker to try? Ex-Speaker James W. Silliman, who ran -- and lost -- in a special election in 1955, according to JoinCalifornia.

Photo: Then-Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez holds his last press availability at the State Capitol as Speaker of the Assembly, Tuesday May 6, 2008. Credit: Sacramento Bee/ Brian Baer

In politics, the next election is never far away.

Today, the California Labor Federation announced a mail campaign targeting GOP freshman Assemblyman Danny Gilmore of Hanford.

Gilmore was the only Republican to win a legislative seat in the 2008 election that was previously held by a Democrat.

The labor-funded attack piece accuses Gilmore of "holding millions of middle-class families hostage to secure a sweetheart budget deal for a few corporate CEOs."

What are they talking about? Well, GOP leaders have been seeking easements for some labor laws during the current budget negotiations in exchange for potentially backing tax hikes.

Labor unions, for obvious reasons, don't support what they term rollbacks of labor regulations.

You can see one side of the mail piece above. Here's the full mailer.

Fun fact: E.J. Schultz of the Fresno Bee reports...

The mailer asks voters to call Gilmore's Hanford district office number at 559-585-7170. But if you called that number early this afternoon, you'd have gotten the Capitol office of a Democrat -- Assembly Member Joe Coto.

Did Gilmore pull a fast one? Apparently not. According to his Capitol office, workers in the Hanford office were in training today and meant to forward calls to Gilmore's Capitol office. But they punched in Coto's number by mistake.

The trend of legislative spouses running for office will continue in 2010, as Susan Jordan, the wife of termed-out Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, has filed paperwork to succeed her husband in the state Assembly.

Jordan, also a Democrat, is director of the California Coastal Protection Network and has been an environmental activist in the state for more than a decade. She co-founded the group Vote the Coast in 1996, she said, as a counterpart to the brief GOP speakership of Curt Pringle.

"I think my work stands on its own," Jordan said, noting that many in the political sphere didn't know for years that she was married to Nava.

Jordan said she filed her paperwork on inauguration day, inspired by the swearing-in of President Barack Obama the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Marching in Oxnard, she said, "I just felt like Obama was the vision of Martin Luther King that had become a reality."

The Assembly race will be Jordan's first run for political office, though she said she has "been around politics for about 30 years," including 14 years at the New York political firm then known as "Dresner, Morris, Tortorello" (as in Dick Dresner and Dick Morris).

She's also expected to win the endorsement of the incumbent.

"I should hope so," she said, laughing. "My husband has always been very supportive of my work."

Both the Assembly and Senate are scheduled to meet for floor sessions today, though little is on the agenda as leaders and governor negotiated through the weekend.

Next Sunday, Feb. 1, marks the first day that the state is not expected to be able to fully pay its bills.

The state auditor, meanwhile, holds the first of a series of public meetings today to discuss how to implement Proposition 11.

That is the redistricting measure approved by voters last fall that stripped the Legislature of the power to draw its own political boundaries and those of the Board of Equalization.

The auditor plays a key role is forming the 14-person panel that will be charged with drawing the new political lines for the 2012 elections.

From our The 2010 Primaries Are Only 498 Days Away file: Ex-Assemblyman Rick Keene, R-Chico, announced Friday that he's running for state Senate in 2010.

The race will pit him against his one-time colleague, former Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, R-Oroville.

The two north state GOPers will be seeking the seat of termed-out Sen. Sam Aanestad, who has an open account to run for lieutenant governor (where he would face GOP Sen. Jeff Denham in the primary).

Susan Jordan, the director of the California Coastal Protection Network, has filed paperwork to run for state Assembly in AD 35 in 2010.

That happens to be the seat of Pedro Nava. Who happens to be her husband.

Danny Gilmore was the only Republican to win a previously Democratic-held seat in the entire state Legislature in 2008.

His reward: he's been placed in the "doghouse."

Gilmore, R-Bakersfield, has landed in the 391-square foot office in the Capitol usually reserved for those at odds with the Assembly speaker. (Hat tip: CMR)

While Democrats picked up four GOP-held seats last November, Gilmore blunted Republican losses by winning the seat of termed-out Democratic Assemblywoman Nicole Parra.

Gilmore won 50.8 percent of the vote, besting Fran Florez, a Shafter City Council member, by roughly 1,300 votes. Florez has said she will run again in 2010, in what's expected to be one of the state's top races.

The Bakersfield Californian reports Gilmore not only is in the "doghouse," but he's been denied a district office in the city of Bakersfield.

Assembly Administrator Jon Waldie said it was because of money.

"(Gilmore) made a decision to take the primary district office and move it to Hanford, that obviously costs some money," Waldie said. "She'll certainly consider re-establishing the Bakersfield office as the economy brightens."

"We're not going to stand for that," Gilmore said, promising to make a new request.

Last week, we reported that Gary Jeandron, the 2008 GOP nominee in AD 80, had filed paperwork to make another run at the seat in 2010.

Turns out, Jeandron says the paperwork is, well, just paperwork. From the Desert Sun:

"It was a clerical issue," Jeandron said of the filing with the secretary of state. "I am not announcing anything."

...
"I'm not saying absolutely that I am not going to run," Jeandron said. "As of right now, I am not running a campaign."

Republican Gary Jeandron, who lost by less than 4,000 votes more than 7,000 votes* a bid for the Assembly last fall, has filed paperwork to make another run for the seat.

Jeandron was beaten (51.6 percent to 48.4 percent) by now Democratic Assemblyman Manuel Perez in AD 80, where the two ran to replace termed-out GOP Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia.

Earlier today, we reported Democrat John Eisenhut, who narrowly lost to now-Assemblyman Bill Berryhill, has filed paperwork for his own 2010 rematch.

*The original verision of this post did not include the tally from the final statement of the vote.

Democrat John Eisenhut, whose bid for the Assembly narrowly fell short against Republican Bill Berryhill last year, has filed paperwork to make another run at the seat in 2010.

Eisenhut was originally considered a long-shot candidate, but as then-presidential candidate Barack Obama built momentum in California, the Democratic Party plunged resources into the race to replace termed-out GOP Assemblyman Greg Aghazarian.

Eisenhut lost to Berryhill, the brother of Assemblyman Tom Berryhill, by less than 5,000 votes.