Sacramento Senate and Assembly races are nail-biters. Who’s winning after Election Night

Sacramento’s legislative elections produced no clear victors on Tuesday night, as the hardest-fought, most expensive races remained exceptionally close following the initial vote count.

Two Assembly and two Senate seats remained up for grabs on Wednesday, and the final results will likely remain unknown for the next few days or even weeks as election officials tabulate outstanding ballots.

Sacramento Assemblyman Kevin McCarty’s re-election bid was one exception to this situation.

The Democrat incumbent immediately took a strong lead in his Assembly District 6 race. Initial results showed the McCarty with 62.7% of the vote, while Republican Cathy Cook had taken 37.2% early Wednesday, according to the Sacramento County Clerk Recorder’s Office.

Here’s who is leading and trailing in four Sacramento-area legislative races that remain up for grabs.

Senate District 8

Angelique Ashby maintained a slight lead over Dave Jones, as the contest to represent Sacramento in the state Senate remained close.

Senate District 8 results show Sacramento City Councilwoman Ashby with 52% of the vote, and former insurance commissioner Jones with 48% early Wednesday.

The Associated Press estimated about 25% of the votes have been counted.

Jones and Ashby are competing to replace Democratic Sen. Richard Pan, who is term-limited after representing the Sacramento region since 2014.

The two Democrats have been locked in one of the region’s most contentious and expensive races, which has attracted millions of dollars in special interest spending since the June primary.

Ashby, a moderate Democrat, has gotten support from political action committees backed by business groups and oil companies in the form of independent expenditures.

She has faced criticism for accepting money from a PAC funded by a variety of interests, including oil and energy. Late in the campaign, Ashby also took heat for gifting Golden 1 Center luxury suite concert tickets to supportive labor leaders.

Jones, who is seen as the more progressive candidate, is backed by environmental groups and unions that represent nurses and food and commercial workers.

He recently drew the ire of Ashby supporters for ads targeting Republican voters that played up her ties to a local feminist Democratic group and to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who endorsed her candidacy.

The final days of this race were dominated by a series of misleading PAC-funded mailers and digital ads claiming Jones wants to “take away Medicare” because of his support for single-payer health care in California.

Assembly District 7

Democratic Assemblyman Ken Cooley maintained a slender edge over Republican Josh Hoover in the race to represent Sacramento’s eastern suburbs in the state Assembly.

Early unofficial results show incumbent Cooley with 50.3% of the vote and Hoover, chief of staff to Rocklin Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, with 49.7% as of early Wednesday.

Only 343 votes separated Cooley and Hoover. The Associated Press estimated 25% of votes have been counted.

Cooley has represented Assembly District 7, which includes Rancho Cordova, Folsom and Citrus Heights, since 2012. The California Democratic Party has spent heavily to prevent Hoover from flipping the seat red.

The party has pumped more than $1.7 million into Cooley’s campaign since March to help stave off Hoover’s challenge, according to campaign finance data from the Secretary of State’s Office.

Cooley has run on accomplishments that include working with Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, to secure $25 million in state funding to address homelessness on the American River Parkway.

The Democrat’s campaign has excoriated Hoover for his connections to far-right figures, including Kiley, who is running for Congress and received former President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Cooley’s campaign has also contrasted the Assemblyman’s pro-abortion rights stance with Hoover’s anti-abortion views.

Hoover, a Folsom Cordova Unified School District board member, has linked Cooley to perceived Democratic policy failures, including high gas prices, homelessness and COVID-19 school closures.

He also condemned Cooley for running negative video and print ads against the Assembly candidacy of a Proud Boys member during the June primary. Critics alleged that the spots were designed to boost the member’s name recognition and lift a less competitive opponent onto the general election ballot.

Assembly District 10

Stephanie Nguyen held a commanding lead over Eric Guerra in the race to represent south Sacramento and Elk Grove in the state Assembly District 10.

Early unofficial results show Elk Grove City Councilwoman Nguyen with 58% of the vote and Sacramento City Councilman Guerra with 42% as of early Wednesday.

The Associated Press estimated about 25% of votes have been counted.

Guerra and Nguyen want to fill the Assembly seat held by Democrat Jim Cooper, who left the Legislature to run for Sacramento County Sheriff.

The two Democrats have spent much of the race sparring over homelessness and housing, the biggest issues facing the Sacramento region.

Nguyen attacked Guerra for failing to address Sacramento’s sprawling homeless encampments, which have grown during the past three years. Guerra went after Nguyen when Elk Grove leaders were rebuked by state housing authorities for failing to approve an affordable apartment complex.

The race also drew millions of dollars in political action committee spending from independent expenditures. An oil PAC funded more than $900,000 in ads supporting Nguyen. Real estate and housing interest groups spent more than $700,000 to back Guerra.

One misleading ad, funded by a real estate PAC, claimed that the nonprofit operated by Nguyen failed to pay its taxes. The organization is tax-exempt.

Incumbent Sacramento Assemblyman Kevin McCarty also got a strong start in his Assembly District 6 re-election bid. Initial results showed the Democrat with 62.75% of the vote, while Republican Cathy Cook had taken 37.25% as of midnight.

Senate District 6

Republican Roger Niello held a solid lead over Democrat Paula Villescaz in the state Senate District 6 race to represent a large swath of communities surrounding Sacramento.

Early unofficial results showed Niello, a former Assemblyman and car dealership owner, with 56.7% of the vote and legislative advocate Villescaz with 43.5% as of early Wednesday, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

The Associated Press estimated about 28% of votes have been counted.

Niello and Villescaz are competing to replace term-limited Republican Sen. Jim Nielsen of Tehama, who has represented the district since 2013.

Senate District 6 contains parts of Sacramento and Placer counties, including Lincoln, Rocklin, Roseville, Folsom, Rancho Cordova and Galt.

Villescaz is hoping to flip the district blue. She has campaigned by contrasting her more progressive views — including her support for abortion rights and the LGBTQ community — with Niello’s more conservative opinions.

Niello wants to pursue a series of Republican goals, such as reforming the California Environmental Quality Act, suspending the gas tax and supporting charter schools.

This story was originally published November 9, 2022 at 1:54 PM.