San Diego City Wire

Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones of San Diego has announced a significant victory for California State Senate Republicans in the 2024 election. According to Jones, "This election, Californians sent a clear message that they are fed up with the Democrat supermajority’s failures on critical issues including affordability, homelessness, and crime."

Jones highlighted the growth of the Republican caucus from eight to ten members as evidence of a shift towards Republican leadership in California. He stated, "As Californians reject our state’s current failed Democrat leadership, they are shifting right."

The election results showed several key victories for Senate Republicans:

- In District 1, Megan Dahle was elected to replace outgoing Senator Brian Dahle.

- Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh retained her seat in District 19 with a substantial vote margin.

- Suzette Valladares won in District 23 against Scott Wilk by nearly 17,000 votes.

- Steven Choi defeated incumbent Democrat Josh Newman in District 37 by over 6,200 votes.

Jones emphasized the significance of these wins: "Not only did Senate Republicans hold two targeted seats that favored Democrats, we also flipped Orange County." He welcomed new and returning members to the caucus and expressed enthusiasm for their role in addressing state issues.

In addition to legislative gains, voters rejected Democrat-backed ballot measures while supporting Proposition 36 and opposing Proposition 5. Jones commented on these outcomes: “Prop 36 passed by a landslide... Additionally, voters rejected Proposition 5 by a wide margin.” He criticized efforts by Sacramento Democrats to influence these initiatives.

The election also saw changes in local leadership with liberal district attorneys being replaced in Alameda and Los Angeles counties and San Francisco Mayor London Breed losing her position.

Jones concluded with a call for change: “These overwhelming results should serve as a stark wake-up call... Despite the best efforts of Democrat politicians to stop us, Senate Republicans and California voters are FIXING CALIFORNIA.”