Republican Megan Dahle defeats Democrat Elizabeth Betancourt for Assembly District 1 seat
Republican Megan Dahle won the special election for the California Assembly District 1 seat Tuesday, beating Democrat Elizabeth Betancourt by about 13,000 votes, according to early results.
Dahle, who will be joining her husband state Sen. Brian Dahle in the Legislature, won with roughly 58 percent of the vote, as of around midnight Wednesday, or about 48,500 votes. The Assembly seat covering much of California’s northeastern corner became vacant after Brian Dahle left it when he won the state Senate seat this summer.
Though the North State district is widely seen as conservative-leaning, Betancourt had the strongest showing of any Democrat running for the seat since redistricting, gaining about 42 percent of the vote.
With all Assembly seats will be up for re-election next year, Betancourt told supporters Tuesday night that “yes, it’s the end of our special election for 2019, but it’s the beginning of our race for 2020.”
“There are even very well known people in Sacramento who said that Assembly District 1 Democrats could not break 40 percent, so this is a huge win,” she said.
Dahle had outspent Betancourt nearly 3-1, raising roughly $348,000 in campaign funds compared to about $135,000. Dahle was also heavily supported by a political action committee representing the California Association of Realtors, California correctional peace officers and more.
Dahle, a Bieber resident, is a small business owner and dryland wheat farmer, who previously served as president of the Big Valley Joint Unified school board.
She campaigned to get more state investment for vegetation management, public safety and education, and had frequently touted her already established connections with state stakeholders via her husband’s time in the Legislature, telling The Sacramento Bee, “I have those relationships and frankly, I’ve watched Brian do it.”
Assembly District 1 includes Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra and Siskiyou counties, and parts of Butte and Placer counties.
The next election for the seat is just around the corner: The filing deadline for candidates interested in running for the seat is Dec. 6, with a statewide primary scheduled for March.
This story was originally published November 6, 2019 at 10:42 AM.