California's 26th senatorial district

California's 26th senatorial district is one of 40 California State Senate districts. It is currently represented by Democrat María Elena Durazo of Los Angeles.

California's 26th State Senate district
Current senator	María Elena Durazo D–Los Angeles
Population (2010)  • Voting age  • Citizen voting age	927,757^[1] 778,734^[1] 669,916^[1]
Demographics	64.87% White 3.96% Black 13.62% Latino 15.85% Asian 0.42% Native American 0.26% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.43% other 0.60^[1]% remainder of multiracial
Registered voters	666,958^[2]
Registration	50.55% Democratic 19.10% Republican 25.03% No party preference

District profile

The district is located in the central and eastern Los Angeles neighborhoods of Los Feliz, East Hollywood, Silver Lake, Echo Park, Cypress Park, Koreatown, Wilshire Center, Westlake, Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, Garvanza, Lincoln Heights, Hermon, Little Tokyo, Chinatown, Boyle Heights, and El Sereno, along with the adjacent communities of City Terrace, East Los Angeles, and Vernon.

Election results from statewide races

Year	Office	Results
2020	President	Biden 72.3 – 25.8%
2018	Governor	Newsom 72.1 – 27.9%
	Senator	Feinstein 62.4 – 37.6%
2016	President	Clinton 71.4 – 23.0%^[3]
	Senator	Harris 72.1 – 27.9%^[4]
2014	Governor	Brown 65.4 – 34.6%
2012	President	Obama 64.9 – 32.3%
	Senator	Feinstein 68.4 – 31.6%

List of senators who represented the district

1861–1869: two seats

Years		Seat A				Seat B			Counties represented
		Member	Party	Electoral history		Member	Party	Electoral history
District established January 7, 1861
January 7, 1861 – January 6, 1862		R. C. Gaskill	Republican	Elected in 1861. Re-elected in 1862. [data missing]		Richard Irwin	Union Democratic	Elected in 1861. [data missing]	Butte
January 6, 1862 – December 6, 1863						Thomas B. Shannon	Union	Elected in 1862. [data missing]
December 6, 1863 – December 4, 1865		F. M. Smith	Union	Elected in 1863. Re-elected in 1865. [data missing]		Second seat was eliminated for the term.			Butte, Plumas
									Butte, Lassen, Plumas
December 4, 1865 – December 2, 1867						Seneca Ewer	Union	Elected in 1865. Re-elected in 1867. [data missing]	Butte
December 2, 1867 – December 6, 1869		John Conly	Union	Elected in 1867. [data missing]

1868–1877: one seat

Senators	Party	Years served	Electoral history	Counties represented
George C. Perkins (Oakland)	Republican	December 6, 1869 – December 4, 1871	Elected in 1868. [data missing]	Butte
David Boucher (Dayton)	Republican	December 4, 1871 – September 16, 1872	Elected in 1871. Died.	Butte, Lassen, Plumas
George C. Perkins (Oakland)	Republican	November 5, 1872 – December 1, 1873	Elected to finish Boucher's term. [data missing]
[data missing]		December 1, 1873 – December 6, 1875	[data missing]
William C. Hendricks (Oroville)	Republican	December 6, 1875 – December 3, 1877	Redistricted from the 24th district and re-elected in 1875. [data missing]	Butte
				Butte, Lassen, Plumas

1877–1881: two seats

Years		Seat A				Seat B			Counties represented
		Member	Party	Electoral history		Member	Party	Electoral history
December 3, 1877 – January 5, 1880		John C. Coleman (Grass Valley)	Democratic	Elected in 1877. [data missing]		Niles Searls (Nevada)	Democratic	Elected in 1877. [data missing]	Nevada
January 5, 1880 – May 26, 1881		William George (Grass Valley)	Republican	Elected in 1879. Redistricted to the single-member district.		B. J. Watson (Nevada)	Republican	Elected in 1879. Resigned.	Nevada, Sierra
May 26, 1881 – January 3, 1881						Vacant

1881–present: one seat

Senators	Party	Years served	Electoral history	Counties represented
William George (Grass Valley)	Republican	January 3, 1881 – January 8, 1882	Redistricted from the multi-member district and re-elected in 1880. [data missing]	Nevada, Sierra
W. W. Kellogg (Quincy)	Democratic	January 8, 1882 – January 3, 1887	Elected in 1882. [data missing]	Butte, Lassen, Plumas
Thomas H. McDonald (San Francisco)	Democratic	January 3, 1887 – January 5, 1891	Elected in 1886. [data missing]	San Francisco
John T. Broderick (San Francisco)	Republican	January 5, 1891 – January 2, 1893	Elected in 1890. Redistricted to the 20th district.
Vacant		January 2, 1893 – January 7, 1895
Eli S. Denison (Oakland)	Republican	January 7, 1895 – July 7, 1898	Elected in 1894. [data missing]	Alameda
Frank W. Leavitt (Oakland)	Republican	January 2, 1899 – January 5, 1903	Elected in 1898. [data missing]
Chester Rowell (Fresno)	Republican	January 5, 1903 – January 7, 1907	Redistricted from the 16th district and re-elected in 1902. [data missing]	Fresno
George W. Cartwright (Fresno)	Democratic	January 7, 1907 – January 4, 1915	Elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1910. [data missing]
W. F. Chandler (Fresno)	Progressive	January 4, 1915 – January 6, 1919	Elected in 1914. [data missing]
M. B. Harris (Fresno)	Republican	January 6, 1919 – January 3, 1927	Elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1922. [data missing]
Charles H. Cobb (Fresno)	Democratic	January 3, 1927 – January 5, 1931	Elected in 1926. [data missing]
Dan E. Williams (Big Pine)	Republican	January 5, 1931 – January 2, 1939	Elected in 1930. Re-elected in 1934. [data missing]	Calaveras, Mariposa, Tuolumne
Jesse M. Mayo (Angels Camp)	Republican	January 2, 1939 – March 11, 1953	Elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1946. Re-elected in 150. Died.
Vacant		March 11, 1953 – July 1, 1953
Stephen P. Teale (Rail Road Flat)	Democratic	July 1, 1953 – January 2, 1967	Elected to finish Mayo's term. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1962. Redistricted to the 3rd district.
Anthony Beilenson (Los Angeles)	Democratic	January 2, 1967 – November 30, 1974	Elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1970. Redistricted to the 22nd district.	Los Angeles
Alfred H. Song (Monterey Park)	Democratic	December 2, 1974 – November 30, 1978	Redistricted from the 28th district and re-elected in 1974. Lost re-election.
Joseph B. Montoya (La Puenta)	Democratic	December 4, 1978 – February 9, 1990	Elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1986. Resigned after being indicted due to the BRISPEC sting operation.
Vacant		February 9, 1990 – April 16, 1990
Charles Calderon (Montebello)	Democratic	April 16, 1990 – December 4, 1994	Elected to finish Montoya's term Re-elected in 1990. Redistricted to the 30th district.
Diane Watson (Los Angeles)	Democratic	December 5, 1994 – November 30, 1998	Redistricted from the 28th district and re-elected in 1994. Termed out.
Kevin Murray (Los Angeles)	Democratic	December 7, 1998 – November 30, 2006	Elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2002. Termed out.
Mark Ridley-Thomas (Los Angeles)	Democratic	December 4, 2006 – November 30, 2008	Elected in 2006. Retired to become a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
Vacant		November 30, 2008 – June 8, 2009
Curren Price (Los Angeles)	Democratic	June 8, 2009 – July 1, 2013	Elected to finish Ridley-Thomas's term. Re-elected in 2010. Resigned to become a member of the Los Angeles City Council.
Vacant		July 1, 2013 – September 26, 2013
Holly Mitchell (Los Angeles)	Democratic	September 26, 2013 – November 30, 2014	Elected to finish Price's term. Redistricted to the 30th district.
Ben Allen (Malibu)	Democratic	December 1, 2014 – December 5, 2022	Elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2018. Redistricted to the 24th district.
María Elena Durazo (Los Angeles)	Democratic	December 5, 2022 – present	Redistricted from the 24th district and re-elected in 2022.

Election results

2018

2018 California State Senate election

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Allen (incumbent)	144,283	76.8
	No party preference	Baron Bruno	23,119	12.3
	Libertarian	Mark Matthew Herd	20,534	10.9
Total votes			187,936	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Ben Allen (incumbent)	298,609	77.2
	No party preference	Baron Bruno	87,974	22.8
Total votes			386,583	100.0
	Democratic hold

2014

2014 California State Senate election

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Allen	25,987	22.2
	Democratic	Sandra Fluke	22,759	19.4
	No party preference	Seth Stodder	20,419	17.4
	Democratic	Betsy Butler	19,301	16.5
	Democratic	Amy Howorth	18,411	15.7
	Democratic	Vito Imbasciani	5,189	4.4
	Democratic	Patric Verrone	3,446	2.9
	Democratic	Barbi S. Appelquist	1,630	1.4
Total votes			117,142	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Ben Allen	122,901	60.3
	Democratic	Sandra Fluke	80,781	39.7
Total votes			203,682	100.0
	Democratic hold

2013 (special)

2013 California's 26th State Senate district special election
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Curren Price

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Holly Mitchell	19,481	81.0%
	Democratic	Mervin Evans	4,579	19.0%
Total votes			24,060	100%
	Democratic hold

2010

California State Senate election, 2010

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Curren Price (incumbent)	151,733	81.3
	Republican	Nachum Shifren	25,728	13.8
	Libertarian	Bob Weber	4,882	2.6
	Peace and Freedom	Cindy Varela Henderson	4,293	2.3
Total votes			186,636	100.0
	Democratic hold

2009 (special)

California's 26th State Senate district special election Primary
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Mark Ridley-Thomas

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Curren Price	10,864	35.84%
	Democratic	Mike Davis	6,471	21.35%
	Democratic	Robert Cole	4,160	13.72%
	Republican	Nachum Schifren	3,371	11.12%
	Democratic	Johnathan Friedman	2,497	8.24%
	Democratic	Saundra Davis	2,262	7.46%
	Peace and Freedom	Cindy Varela Henderson	525	1.73%
	Democratic	Mervin Leon Evans	165	0.54%
Total votes			30,015	100.0%

California's 26th State Senate district special election General
Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Mark Ridley-Thomas

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Curren Price	37,677	70.72%
	Republican	Nachum Schifren	11,097	20.83%
	Peace and Freedom	Cindy Varela Henderson	4,501	8.45%
Total votes			53,275	100.0%
	Democratic hold

2006

California State Senate election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mark Ridley-Thomas	133,309	89.09
	Libertarian	Bud Raymond	16,317	10.91
Total votes			149,626	100.00
	Democratic hold

2002

California State Senate election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kevin Murray (incumbent)	123,814	100.00
Invalid or blank votes			33,620	21.35
Total votes			157,434	100.00
	Democratic hold

1998

California State Senate election, 1998

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kevin Murray	124,328	88.44
	Republican	Mac Lane Key	12,798	9.10
	Libertarian	Bob Weber	3,460	2.46
Invalid or blank votes			15,874	10.15
Total votes			156,460	100.00
	Democratic hold

1994

California State Senate election, 1994

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Diane Watson (incumbent)	117,204	82.93
	Republican	Joe Piechowski	19,245	13.62
	Libertarian	Bob Weber	3,042	2.15
	Peace and Freedom	Wassin A. Snededdin	1,845	1.31
Invalid or blank votes			14,165	9.11
Total votes			155,501	100.00
	Democratic hold

See also

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

References

1. "Citizens Redistricting Commission Final Report, 2011" (PDF).
2. "Report of Registration as of July 3, 2020" (PDF).
3. "Supplement to the Statement of Vote" (PDF). ca.gov. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
4. "Supplement to the Statement of Vote" (PDF). ca.gov. Retrieved September 17, 2023.

External links

• District map from the California Citizens Redistricting Commission

34°05′23″N 118°14′38″W / 34.0897°N 118.2439°W / 34.0897; -118.2439