California Assembly Democrats, Led by Speaker Pérez, Poised for Victory

October 31, 2012 @ 3:56 PM

California Assembly Democrats head into the final week of the campaign leading in several contested races, thanks to the leadership of Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez. As we head into the last few days of this year’s Assembly campaigns, here’s an update of what’s happening around the state.

8th District (Sacramento suburbs) – Democrat Ken Cooley is outpacing his Republican opponent in this Sacramento area district. New ads http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/28/4943493/tateishis-opponent-seeks-to-remind.htm linking his opponent with unpopular GOP incumbent Dan Lungren have been put the Republican on the defensive. The Sacramento Bee also noted that the GOP candidate changed his ballot statement substantially from the June ballot pamphlet, eliminating language appealing to conservatives in attempt to position himself as a moderate.

10th District (Marin) -- Freshman Democrat Mike Allen continues to pile up the endorsements, winning the coveted backing of the Marin Independent Journal http://www.marinij.com/opinion/ci_21761998/editorial-ij-recommends-michael-allen-marins-assembly-seat. Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey also chimed in with her support http://www.marinij.com/opinion/ci_21883577/marin-voice-michael-allen-is-experienced-leader-assembly as did the Sierra Club http://allenforassembly.com/sierra-club-condemns-organized-trade-association-attacks-on-assemblymember-michael-allens-environmental-record/, which bashed his opponent for accepting contributions from Central Valley agribusiness interests.

21st District (Modesto) – Democrat Adam Gray continues his surge, winning a recent debate at Modesto Community College. Gray has been hammering his opponents suggestion of a new state consumption tax http://www.modbee.com/2012/10/26/2429454/assembly-hopefuls-square-off.html Gray also recently won the support of the Merced County Sheriffs, adding to his endorsement of the district’s main newspapers.

32nd District (Bakersfield) – “The Republican Party is in damage control mode,” according to a column in the Bakersfield Californian http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/columnists/jose-gaspar/x1250043387/JOSE-GASPAR-Rios-story-resonates-with-Hispanic-community?utm_source=widget_63&utm_medium=latest_entries_widget&utm_campaign=synapse earlier this week after it was discovered that its Assembly nominee entered the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant. Democrats, including Rudy Salas, continue to concentrate on jobs and other kitchen table issues in the district why the GOP candidate struggles to explain why as an immigrant he opposes the Dream Act.

49th District (Monterey Park) – Democrat Ed Chau picked up the endorsements of Congresswoman Judy Chu and Assemblyman Mike Eng in the battle for this seat where Asian-Americans compromise 53 percent of the population. A recent report on KPCC radio http://www.scpr.org/programs/take-two/2012/10/26/29020/two-candidates-vie-in-san-gabriel-valley-for-state/ noted that Chau’s strong ground operation is making calls in Mandarin, English, and Spanish in the diverse San Gabriel Valley district.

50th District – (LA) Assemblywoman Betsy Butler continues to hold an edge in this district, where her opponent angered Democrats with his support of Prop 38 http://pacificpalisades.patch.com/articles/watch-richard-bloom-betsy-butler-at-squirm-night. Butler also leads substantially in fundraising http://santamonica.patch.com/articles/butler-exceeds-1m-in-campaign-contributions-expenditures-in-race-for-50th-california-state-assembly

61st District (Riverside) – Democrat Jose Medina has a sizeable financial edge, and added to a Democratic voter registration edge, thanks to online voting registration. IE’s are playing a major role in this race, according to a newspaper report http://blog.pe.com/political-empire/2012/10/23/independent-expenditures-riverside-county-committee-no-3-statewide/.

65th District (Anaheim/Fullerton) – The most recent filing with the Secretary of State’s office show Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva has outraised opponent Chris Norby by more than 2-1, with major additional contributions received since that report. The popular Fullerton mayor has been picking up steam in the district, where Republicans have a less than one percent voter registration advantage. Norby has been disadvantaged by a recent controversy http://www.ocregister.com/news/norby-375692-davenport-quirk.html.

66th District -- Democrat Al Muratsuchi leads in this district as his Republican opponent fails to retreat from his Tea Party views http://www.dailybreeze.com/elections/ci_21814692/south-bays-66th-assembly-district-race-tight-rematch. Muratsuchi has picked up the endorsements of several prominent Republicans in the South Bay district http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/06/democrat-muratsuchi-adds-gop-support-in-assembly-race.html.