Trans CA state Senate candidate Middleton concedes

  • by Matthew S. Bajko, Assistant Editor
  • Wednesday November 13, 2024
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Lisa Middleton came up short in her bid for a state Senate seat. Photo: Courtesy the campaign
Lisa Middleton came up short in her bid for a state Senate seat. Photo: Courtesy the campaign

In a blow to an already traumatized transgender community expecting to come under attack by the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, there will not be a transgender member of the California Legislature to champion their needs. Palm Springs City Councilmember Lisa Middleton conceded her state Senate race Tuesday.

Middleton, who was aiming to break through one of the last remaining pink political glass ceilings in the Statehouse, came in second place with 46.3% of the vote, according to the unofficial returns. She called her opponent, state Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa), late on November 12 to congratulate her on her victory in their hard-fought race for the 19th Senate District spanning Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

"While there are still more ballots left to count, it has become clear that we will fall short of winning this seat," Middleton acknowledged in a statement she posted to her account on X.

"The outcome is not what any of us fought for or wanted, but I am immensely grateful to the friends, volunteers, supporters and donors who worked tirelessly to build our movement and earn us what will be at least 150,000 votes."

Middleton will be leaving her District 5 council seat next month, as her four-year term will be coming to an end. She pledged to remain a steadfast proponent of "pragmatic solutions and results" for the Coachella Valley region with her next endeavor.

"We have lost a race. We remain steadfast to our values," stated Middleton, a former San Francisco resident in the mid-1990s. "I will continue to work with all who are committed to freedom, fairness, and opportunity for all."

On a more positive note for the LGBTQ community, the state Legislature will see its first bisexual female lawmakers once the incoming members are sworn in next month. Sasha Renée Pérez (D) will be the new representative of the 25th Senate District spanning Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. She prevailed in her bid for the open seat against Republican Crescenta Valley Town Councilmember Elizabeth Wong Ahlers with 60% of the vote, according to the current tally.

As she landed with a strong lead on election night, Renée Pérez had declared victory on November 6. In a post on X, the 32-year-old noted, "Beginning December 2nd, I'll be the youngest Senator in California and youngest woman serving in the California Legislature."

Joining her will be Sade Elhawary, who won the open Assembly District 57 seat in Los Angeles County with 61% of the vote against fellow Democrat Efren Martinez. Elhawary, who prefers the term fluid over bisexual when it comes to her sexual orientation, will also be the first out Black Latina to serve in the Statehouse.

At the moment, bisexual Palm Springs City Councilmember Christy Holstege is now behind in her bid to join them as freshmen Democratic members of the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus. She is now trailing Assemblymember Greg Wallis (R-Bermuda Dunes), whom she narrowly lost to in 2022, in their race for his Assembly District 47 seat. Wallis has taken the lead with 50.3% of the vote as of Wednesday morning.

Riverside City Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes (D), who is queer and bisexual, also has now lost her lead on election night to fall behind Republican Leticia Castillo in their race for the 58th Assembly District seat. Castillo has now taken first place with 50.3% of the vote.

Cervantes ran to succeed her sibling, lesbian Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes (D-Corona), a married mom who declared victory Wednesday morning in her race for the open Senate District 31 seat. The legislator bested her Republican opponent, Cynthia Navarro, with 54.2% of the vote.

"Honored by the trust Inland Empire voters have placed in me to represent #SD31 in the State Senate! Knowing I'll return to our State Capitol to amplify & uplift the hopes & dreams of working families in the #InlandEmpire fills me with purpose & gratitude," Sabrina Cervantes wrote in a post on X.

She will join former West Sacramento mayor Christopher Cabaldon in the state Senate, where he will be the first Filipino American to serve in it. The Democrat easily won his race for the open Senate District 3 seat that includes portions of Contra Costa, Solano, Sonoma and Napa counties as well as Yolo and Sacramento counties.

Once sworn in next month, Cabaldon will become the first out lawmaker to represent the Bay Area's northern counties in the Legislature. AC Transit board member Jovanka Beckles, a former Richmond City Council member who identifies as queer and lesbian, lost her bid for the open Senate District 7 seat that spans Alameda and Contra Costa counties to Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín (D).

He won with 59.2% of the vote. Following her defeat Beckles, a progressive, announced in a November 11 post on X that she had left the Democratic Party and registered as an independent. But the next day she also took to her campaign account on the social media platform to encourage people to join the East Bay chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, writing, "I'd love to call you my comrade, join DSA!"

In the race for the open Senate District 9 seat that covers much of Contra Costa County and a portion of southern Alameda County, San Ramon City Councilmember Marisol Rubio (D) continues to trail in second with 46.5% of the vote. Rubio, a mom of an adult daughter who survived terminal brain cancer as an infant, identifies as gender-nonconforming, demisexual, and biromantic.

Leading the contest is Assemblymember Tim Grayson (D-Concord). He remains in first place with 53.5% of the vote, according to the latest returns.

Former "Amazing Race" TV show contestant Dom Jones (D), a Black queer Orange County resident, fell short in her bid to unseat Assemblymember Diane Dixon (R-Newport Beach) in the 72nd District. Jones trails with about 40% of the unofficial vote.

Gay men win election

Former Los Angeles County Democratic Party chair Mark Gonzalez will be joining Lynwood City Councilman José Luis Solache (D) as gay Latino freshmen in the Legislature. Gonzalez defeated gay progressive Democrat John K. Yi in their race for the open Assembly District 54 seat with 56.3% of the vote.

Solache easily defeated his Republican opponent, Paul Jones, to claim the open Assembly's District 62 seat. Solache took first place with nearly 66% of the vote.

In the Republican versus Republican race for the open Assembly District 75 seat in San Diego County, gay conservative firebrand Carl DeMaio won with 60% of the vote to become the first out GOPer elected to the state Legislature. The former San Diego city councilmember defeated Andrew Hayes, president of the Lakeside Union School District Board of Trustees who was supported by the Republican Party.

It remains unclear if DeMaio will be allowed membership in the affinity group for out state lawmakers. As he has opposed various LGBTQ-related bills over the years, the LGBTQ caucus' incoming chair, gay Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego), had told the Bay Area Reporter he would allow the caucus members to vote on if DeMaio could join them. Also unknown is if DeMaio will even want to seek membership in the caucus.

Based on the current vote results, there will be a record 15 LGBTQ legislators during the 2025-2026 legislative session. Along with Ward, gay incumbents who also won reelection November 5 were state Senators Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), and Assemblymembers Corey A. Jackson, Ph.D., (D-Perris) and Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood).

Bisexual Assemblymember Alex Lee (D-San Jose) also easily secured another term. State Senators Caroline Menjivar (D-San Fernando Valley), a lesbian, and Steve Padilla (D-San Diego), a gay grandfather, were not up for reelection this cycle.

Three of the current 12 Legislative LGBTQ Caucus members are departing. Lesbian state Senators Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) are both termed out this year, while gay Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Cupertino) opted against running for another legislative term to wage an ultimately unsuccessful bid for an open U.S. House seat in the South Bay.

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