California's 18th senatorial district

California's 18th senatorial district is one of 40 California State Senate districts. It is currently represented by Democrat Steve Padilla of Chula Vista.

California's 18th State Senate district
Current senator	Steve Padilla D–Chula Vista
Population (2010)  • Voting age  • Citizen voting age	928,725[1] 699,815[1] 471,813[1]
Demographics	29.05% White 4.23% Black 56.53% Latino 8.93% Asian 0.32% Native American 0.15% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.35% other 0.44[1]% remainder of multiracial
Registered voters	503,382[2]
Registration	53.43% Democratic 13.75% Republican 27.24% No party preference

District profile

The district stretches along the Mexico–United States border and predominantly includes rural Imperial Valley and areas of California along the Colorado River, including Needles, Blythe, and Indio. However, most of the district's population is in southern San Diego County, including Imperial Beach, Otay Mesa, Chula Vista, National City, Lincoln Acres, Bonita, the Tijuana River Valley, and the southeastern side of San Diego.

Election results from statewide races

Year	Office	Results
2021	Recall	No 75.2 – 24.8%
2020	President	Biden 73.7 – 24.3%
2018	Governor	Newsom 76.5 – 23.5%
	Senator	Feinstein 57.9 – 42.1%
2016	President	Clinton 75.9 – 18.8%
	Senator	Harris 59.5 – 40.5%
2014	Governor	Brown 71.6 – 28.4%
2012	President	Obama 73.9 – 23.5%
	Senator	Feinstein 75.3 – 24.7%

List of senators

Due to redistricting, the 18th district has been moved around different parts of the state. The current iteration resulted from the 2021 redistricting by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.

Senators	Party	Years served	Counties represented	Notes
Frederick Cox	Democratic	January 8, 1883 – January 3, 1887	Sacramento	Cox and Routier served together.[3]
Joseph Routier	Republican	January 8, 1883 – January 3, 1887
M. W. Dixon	Democratic	January 3, 1887 – January 5, 1891	Alameda
William Simpson	Republican	January 5, 1891 – January 7, 1895
Hugh Toner	Democratic	January 7, 1895 – January 2, 1899	San Francisco
John A. Hoey	Republican	January 2, 1899 – January 5, 1903
Harry Bunkers	Democratic	January 5, 1903 – February 27, 1905		Expelled from the Senate for bribery.[4]
Vacant		February 27, 1905 – January 7, 1907
Daniel J. Reily	Republican	January 7, 1907 – January 2, 1911
Daniel P. Regan		January 2, 1911 – January 4, 1915
Dominic Joseph Beban	Progressive	January 4, 1915 – February 29, 1916		Died in office.[5]
Vacant		February 29, 1916 – January 8, 1917
Victor J. Canepa	Independent	January 8, 1917 – January 5, 1931		Change his party to Republican when he ran for his 2nd term.
	Republican
Herbert C. Jones		January 5, 1931 – January 7, 1935	Santa Clara
Sanborn Young		January 7, 1935 – January 2, 1939
John D. Foley	Democratic	January 2, 1939 – January 4, 1943
Byrl R. Salsman	Republican	January 4, 1943 – October 1, 1949		Resigned from the Senate to become a Judge.
Vacant		October 1, 1949 – January 8, 1951
John F. "Jack" Thompson	Republican	January 8, 1951 – January 7, 1963
Clark L. Bradley		January 7, 1963 – January 2, 1967
Walter W. Stiern	Democratic	January 2, 1967 – November 30, 1974	Kern, Kings
Omer Rains		December 2, 1974 – November 30, 1982	Santa Barbara, Ventura
Gary K. Hart		December 6, 1982 – November 30, 1994	Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Ventura
Jack O'Connell		December 5, 1994 – November 30, 2002	San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura
Roy Ashburn	Republican	December 2, 2002 – November 30, 2010	Inyo, Kern, San Bernardino, Tulare
Jean Fuller		December 6, 2010 – November 30, 2014
Robert Hertzberg	Democratic	December 1, 2014 – November 30, 2022	Los Angeles
Steve Padilla	Democratic	December 5, 2022 – present	Imperial, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego

Election results

Contents

• 1990
• 1994
• 1998
• 2002
• 2006
• 2010
• 2014
• 2018
• 2022

2022

2022 California State Senate 18th district election^[6][7]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steve Padilla	74,495	61.0
	Republican	Alejandro Galicia	47,689	39.0
Total votes			122,184	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Steve Padilla	115,103	59.8
	Republican	Alejandro Galicia	77,223	40.2
Total votes			192,326	100.0
	Democratic hold

2018

2018 California State Senate 18th district^[8][9]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert Hertzberg (incumbent)	72,462	66.3
	Republican	Rudy Melendez	12,564	11.5
	Democratic	Roger James Sayegh	12,238	11.2
	Republican	Brandon Saario	12,048	11.0
Total votes			109,312	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Robert Hertzberg (incumbent)	195,623	78.1
	Republican	Rudy Melendez	54,888	21.9
Total votes			250,511	100.0
	Democratic hold

2014

2014 California State Senate 18th district^[10][11]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert Hertzberg	35,338	63.1
	Republican	Ricardo Antonio Benitez	16,289	29.1
	Green	John P. "Jack" Lindblad	4,392	7.8
Total votes			56,019	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Robert Hertzberg	79,495	70.2
	Republican	Ricardo Antonio Benitez	33,794	29.8
Total votes			113,289	100.0
	Democratic gain from Republican

2010

2010 California State Senate 18th district^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jean Fuller	166,051	68.9
	Democratic	Carter N. Pope	75,229	31.1
Total votes			241,280	100.0
	Republican hold

2006

2006 California State Senate 18th district^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Roy Ashburn (incumbent)	147,767	69.7
	Democratic	Fred Davis	59,187	27.9
	Green	Matthew Rick	4,923	2.3
Total votes			211,877	100.0
	Republican hold

2002

2002 California State Senate 18th district^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Roy Ashburn (incumbent)	153,878	100.0
Total votes			153,878	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

1998

1998 California State Senate 18th district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jack O'Connell (incumbent)	169,818	66.9
	Republican	Gordon Klemm	79,872	31.4
	Libertarian	Jack Ray	4,276	1.7
Total votes			253,966	100.0
	Democratic hold

1994

1994 California State Senate 18th district^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jack O'Connell	158,161	59.0
	Republican	Steve MacElvaine	109,734	41.0
Total votes			267,895	100.0
	Democratic hold

1990

1990 California State Senate 18th district^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gary K. Hart (incumbent)	111,599	60.4
	Republican	Carey Rogers	65,499	35.4
	Libertarian	Jay C. Wood	7,796	4.2
Total votes			184,894	100.0
	Democratic hold

See also

• California State Senate
• California State Senate districts
• Districts in California