Democrat Jesse Arreguín is leading Democratic Socialist Jovanka Beckles in the race for California’s state Senate District 7 seat, according to early election tallies Tuesday.
The two progressive candidates are vying to replace outgoing state Sen. Nancy Skinner, who since 2016 has represented roughly 847,000 voters in Contra Costa and Alameda counties along I-880, including Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond and Alameda.
In the first round of results posted online, Arreguín led Beckles by a wide margin in the coveted liberal stronghold district.
Political ideology and corporate spending were the starkest differences between Arreguín and Beckles, despite emphasizing similar goals to revamp outdated state housing and tax laws, vitalize efforts to clean up local industry operations and spur much-needed housing production in California.
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By 8 p.m. Tuesday, election officials had counted more than 112,956 ballots, according to California Secretary State records.
These early unofficial tallies were limited to vote-by-mail ballots and voters who cast their ballots in-person prior to Election Day, and officials results could take days to be finalized.
Arreguín, 40, is entering his 20th year in office — currently wrapping up his second term as Berkeley’s mayor, following his first election to the City Council in 2008 and the Rent Stabilization Board four years prior at the age of 20.
After announcing his bid for state office in Feb. 2023, he’s campaigned as a “pragmatic progressive” who can work across the aisle in Sacramento, pointing to his regional legislative experience serving on the Association of Bay Area Governments, Bay Area Housing Finance Authority and Bay Conservation and Development Commission.
Democratic Socialist Jovanka Beckles, 61, has served on the AC Transit Board since 2020, following eight years on the Richmond City Council, more than two decades as a mental health professional and continuing community activism.
Beckles calls herself the “people’s candidate,” citing her lived experience as a Black, Latina, queer immigrant woman.
She said her background working as a mental health professional and wraparound service facilitator for more than two decades gives her a unique perspective to collaborate and problem solve directly with grassroots organizations and unions.
Senate District 7, which stretches along San Francisco Bay from Hercules to Oakland, has 69% Democratic Party registration, the highest for any Senate district in the state, and 6% Republican registration, the lowest proportion. Twenty percent have no party preference, and the remaining 5% are scattered among minor parties.