Your guide to the state Senate 8th District primary race
Incumbent Democrat Angelique Ashby is running for reelection in the state Senate’s 8th District representing Sacramento and Elk Grove.
From becoming a single mother while attending UC Davis to later attending law school and serving on the Sacramento City Council, Ashby is now running against two candidates who do not appear to have active campaign committees. Among the key issues that the previous district representatives, including Ashby, have focused on are homelessness and housing affordability.
Where is the district?
The 8th Senate District includes the cities of Sacramento and Elk Grove.
Who are the candidates?
Ashby became a single mother to her son at age 20 and worked full time while attending the University of California, Davis. After graduating from UC Davis with a degree in sociology, she attended the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law, earning a Juris Doctor degree. She met her husband, Zac, in law school, and the couple later had a son.
Ashby worked at her father’s Ashby Consulting Group, where the work centered on serving underserved populations such as foster youth and incarcerated women. Her political career began in 2010 when she was elected as a Sacramento City Council councilwoman.
Ashby spent 12 years on the council before being elected in 2022 as a state senator. While Ashby is still a relatively new member of the Legislature, she became one of the Senate’s most influential members in December, when she was named majority floor Leader by Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón, D-Goleta.
During her tenure, Ashby focused on addressing continued homelessness challenges in the area, referring to them as “the biggest and most persistent problem we face,” in an op-ed in The Sacramento Bee. She introduced SB 802, which would form a state governance structure called the Sacramento Area Housing and Homelessness Agency where officials would “work together to solve homelessness” in Sacramento County.
“The state of California has delivered more than $400 million to the Sacramento area in the last five years to address homelessness. That money has largely been used to increase bed capacity, but if the services to homeless people don’t follow, we will never achieve successful outcomes,” Ashby wrote in February.
The senator faced controversy after allegedly threatening representatives from three cities that had opposed SB 802, warning them to remove their opposition or risk the state’s cutting funds for their cities’ housing programs. Rancho Cordova, Citrus Heights and Folsom opposed the bill for taking too much control away from local governments.
“This is not a bill about homelessness and housing,” Folsom Councilmember Sarah Aquino said. “This is a bill that is about state control versus local control.”
On her campaign website, Ashby also notes her interests in building strong education programs, child care and welfare.
Ashby is running as a Democrat.
Who is funding the race?
Ashby received more than $668,000 for her campaign in 2025, according to a state tracker. Among donations was $4,000 from Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix. Other notable large donors in 2025 include United Nurses Association of California, which contributed $11,000, and Faculty for Our University’s Future, sponsored by the California Faculty Association Small Contributor Committee, which donated $8,800.
Republican Susan A. Mason is listed by the state as a candidate in the 8th District race, but she does not have a campaign website and had not set up a campaign committee as of the end of 2025, according to state data. Peace and Freedom Party candidate Linda “LR” Roberts is listed as a candidate also but does not have a campaign website and did not receive any donations in 2025, according to state data.
This story was originally published April 9, 2026 at 2:18 PM.
