One outcome in Tuesday’s election that deserves notice is the Republican pickup of Assembly seats:
Democrats easily retained the balance of power Tuesday in the California Legislature, but Republicans dealt a blow to the leadership of Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson by gaining two seats in the lower house — and potentially a third.
It may not seem like much, but recall that Assembly districts were recently redrawn with the goal of preserving the 50/30 split by protecting incumbent parties. So picking up two or three seats means Republicans successfully bucked the trend, and overcame fund-raising advantages to do so. These districts are severely Gerrymandered, and one Republican winner – Dublin mayor Guy Houston – had to move because the district was drawn specifically with excluding him in mind. He succeeds Lynne Leach, also a Republican, representing the Tri- Valley area of the East Bay.
Half-a-million absentees remain to be counted statewide, which means Tom McClintock will probably emerge victorious over E-Bay hack Steve Westly, and Dem Rusty Areias is in big trouble in his state Senate race.
Interesting that McClintock, most conservative of the state-wide GOP candidates, is the only Republican who still has a chance of winning.
Running for an open seat is always a better idea than running against an incumbent, and Tom’s smart enough to know that.