California Senate District 12
Job Description
The Golden State’s upper legislative chamber will be filling 20 of its 40 total positions.
Working conditions will depend on the partisan breakdown of all new hires. With the current composition of the Senate—26 Democrats and 14 Republicans—Democrats are one position short of holding a supermajority. A supermajority in both the Assembly and Senate would allow Democrats, if united, to raise taxes, override vetoes, place constitutional amendments on the ballot, and give them the option to ignore their Republican colleagues.
Job duties include:
- Spend months drafting, discussing, and haggling over bills that will affect the lives of all Californians
- Retain the option of waiting until the very last week of session before passing or dumping most of said bills in a flurry
- Spend months drafting, discussing, and haggling over resolutions that will affect the lives of virtually no Californians
- Help craft a multi-billion-dollar budget for the state
- Strive to represent the interests of 1 million constituents, most of them strangers
Applicants
Anna Caballero
California State Assemblywoman
Rob Poythress
Farmer/Business Owner
HR Note
Incumbent Party: Republican
Democratic vs Republican Voter Registration: 18% D
Trump vs Clinton Margin, 2016: 20.2% Clinton
Margin of Victory in Last Election: 21%
Top Two Primary Applicants, June 2018: Anna Caballero (43.3%), Rob Poythress (26.3%)
Democratic vs Republican Vote Share, June 2018: 3.1% D
This is a seat Democrats would love to flip. For the last eight years it’s been held by a moderate Republican, Sen. Anthony Cannella, who is now forced out by term limits. Democrats have the advantage among registered voters in this rural district, which stretches east from the Salinas Valley into Merced County, but voters have chosen a Republican in the last several elections. Republican Madera County Supervisor Rob Poythress has the support of Cannella, while Democrat Anna Caballero, an assemblywoman, is endorsed by unions representing nurses, teachers and farmworkers. If Caballero win, Democrats are likely to win a supermajority in the state Senate, shifting the balance of power in Sacramento. State Republicans and conservative interests are going to do everything in their power to keep that from happening.
