Sacramento-area Senate races narrowed as Ashby, Niello led primaries
Voters in California’s 6th and 8th Senate districts cast ballots in the primary election to narrow the field of candidates.
In the 8th Senate District, the Associated Press projected Sen. Angelique Ashby, D-Sacramento, and Republican Susan Mason would advance to the November general election. Ashby received about 63% of the vote, while Mason garnered roughly 32%, according to preliminary results from the California Secretary of State’s Office.
Ashby began her political career in 2010 when she was elected to the Sacramento City Council, according to previous Sacramento Bee reporting. She was elected to the state Senate in 2022. Ashby became a single mother at age 20 and later graduated from the University of California, Davis. She then earned a Juris Doctor from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law.
Meanwhile, Mason, a retired nurse, said she wants to take her skills to the state Capitol. She was the only Republican in the race.
The 8th Senate District includes North Highlands, Sacramento and Elk Grove.
Niello moves on in 6th District
Meanwhile, incumbent Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, led in the 6th District with about 59% of the early tally. He was followed by Democrats Sean Frame and Sara Velasco with about 26% and 14%, respectively.
AP projected that Niello would advance to November, but has yet to declare his rival as vote counting continued.
The 6th Senate District includes Galt, Folsom, Roseville and Lincoln.
Niello, a certified public accountant who worked for more than 25 years in his family’s car dealership business, currently serves as subcommittee chair for the Senate’s banking, budget, insurance and judiciary committees. He returned to the Legislature in 2022 after previously serving three terms in the Assembly from 2004 to 2010.
Frame is a small-business owner, while Velasco is a writer. Frame is running his campaign without corporate donors.
