Democrats in Sacramento Senate race fight over who’s a Republican — and drag in Gavin Newsom

California Democrats in a heated race for a Sacramento-area state Senate seat are using conservative policy credentials to attract Republican votes and fighting over ties to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Former insurance commissioner Dave Jones and Sacramento City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby have both spent the final weeks of the midterm election trying to pick up Republicans they may need to win Senate District 8. The competition has been fierce, and their attempts to win over GOP voters have devolved into attacks on each other.

Ashby’s campaign began sending out text messages in mid-October from people claiming to be Republicans saying “the choice for me is clear in this election.” The messages tout Ashby’s work as an “advocate for local businesses” and her support for “funding for police, fire and emergency response.” It also discusses her City Council proposal to ban homeless people from camping within 500 feet of schools.

“That’s why Ashby is endorsed by local Republicans, independents, business leaders, firefighters and police officers,” the message said.

Ashby ‘tricking’ Republican voters?

Jones’ campaign responded with mailers attempting to dissuade GOP voters from supporting Ashby by linking the councilwoman to Newsom, who has endorsed her candidacy.

A picture on the front of the mailer shows a hand holding a smartphone with the Ashby campaign text message on the screen.

“Democrat Angelique Ashby is trying to trick Republican voters,” the mailer says. “If Ashby is pretending not to be a Democrat, what else is she lying about?”

The other side of the mailer says “Angelique Ashby is lying to Republican voters,” at the top. Below the text, the piece makes claims about various ways Ashby has lied while courting GOP residents.

One section of the mailer draws attention to Ashby’s support from Newsom, who is not popular among Republicans. It also points to an endorsement she received from the Feminist Democrats of Sacramento, also known as the Fem Dems.

“Angelique Ashby is a lifelong Democrat endorsed by Gavin Newsom and liberal organizations, including the ‘Fem Dems of Sacramento,’” the mailer reads.

Jones takes heat for Republican mailers

Various Ashby supporters began claiming the mailer is attacking Democrats, Newsom and the Feminist Democrats.

Newsom executive secretary Jim DeBoo on Sunday waded into the fray on Twitter, tagging California Democratic Party chair Rusty Hicks and the Democratic Party of Sacramento.

“@CA_DaveJones you are endorsed by the @CA_Dem but you sent a piece of mail to republicans denouncing democrats?” DeBoo said. “I guess sometimes nothing is surprising. @sacdems @rustyhicks what you say? Can’t imagine you endorse this behavior.”

The Feminist Democrats released a statement Monday saying the mailer “hypocritically targets our chartered Democratic club” and the group is “disheartened by the decision to use us as pawns for political gain with Republican voters, whose values run afoul of our club’s progressive principles.”

Michael Soneff, Jones’ campaign consultant, said in an email Ashby is “trying to appeal to Republican voters by lying to them and pretending to be a Republican.”

“Our campaign is setting the record straight: Ashby has claimed to be a Democrat for her whole political career,” Soneff said. “She is cynically pretending to be a Republican, and we are letting voters know the truth.”

Steve Maviglio, a Democratic strategist backing Ashby, said the councilwoman’s Republican messaging has been “all positive and on issues where her record resonates on public safety, homelessness and law enforcement.”

“The shades of difference between the registered Democrats and Republicans isn’t that much because she’s proud of her record of working with people of all ideologies to get things done,” Maviglio said. “Whereas Dave, he’s got the backing of the party bosses and the Democratic structure and now he’s attacking it to get Republican votes.”

Democrat outreach to Republicans not surprising

Republican strategist Matt Rexroad said he’s not surprised to see Jones and Ashby seeking GOP votes in a tight Senate race.

“I’m shocked that people are shocked by this,” Rexroad said. “These are two candidates running for office from the same party. And when you do the math, they’re looking for vote margins wherever they can pick them up. So if somebody can win the Republicans by a larger margin than the other people, they don’t have to win Democrats by as much.”

Rexroad has used a similar tactic while overseeing Republican Assemblyman Tom Lackey’s re-election campaign in the Lancaster area of Southern California.

“He’s running in a Republican-on-Republican race down in the desert,” Rexroad said. “And both sides are talking to Democrats down there, too.”

Rexroad said he “has no doubt” Jones’ outreach to Republicans is effective with GOP voters. He is not convinced other Democrats in Senate District 8 care about the Republican ads, unless they are active on Twitter.

“I know what Gavin Newsom’s polling numbers are with Republicans, and he’s not well-liked, so that’s fair play,” Rexroad said. “The only way that Democrats find out about it is that the other campaign lets them know about it.”

This story was originally published November 1, 2022 at 1:38 PM.