Huntington Beach Councilmember Tony Strickland declared victory Monday in the special election race for California’s 36th State Senate District, promising to counter the policies of Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democratic supermajority in the legislature once he joins lawmakers in Sacramento.
“Today’s the day we take our state back and today’s the first step into making California golden again,” Strickland said Monday speaking at City Hall.
The 36th State Senate District special election held Feb. 25 was a four-way race, but Strickland has maintained a vote lead of 51% for several days, which would be enough to win the seat without requiring a runoff election.
On Monday, Senate GOP leader Brian Jones congratulated Strickland and said he is expected to be sworn in on March 10.
Ballots postmarked by Election Day and received by March 4 will still be counted by Orange and Los Angeles county elections officials — the seat straddles the border – who have until March 6 to certify the race.
The 36th Senate District stretches from Seal Beach to San Clemente along the Orange County coast to a small portion of Los Angeles County. It includes parts of Buena Park, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Stanton and Westminster in Orange County, as well as Artesia, Cerritos and Hawaiian Gardens in Los Angeles County.
However, Jimmy Pham, an attorney and Democratic contender currently in second place, said Monday he doesn’t see a path to victory and conceded the race.
“I’m proud of our campaign. We did the best we could,” he said. “Ultimately, I’m looking forward to what Tony’s going to do to help us as a community. I want to see how effective he’ll be up there fighting for working families, people that want to put food on the table with rising grocery prices, rising gas prices. How effectively can he work across party lines?”
Pham said he believes he could have been more effective in advancing policies as a Democrat since he would be part of the majority party.
“Is he going to achieve anything as one of 10 Republicans versus 30 Democrats in the state Senate? Voting another Republican in there, will they get anything done for this district? I still believe that if I was voted in, I would get more done because I’d be one of 31 Democrats,” Pham said. “But unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like we’re going to get to a runoff election here.”
Democrat Julie Diep, currently in third place, couldn’t be reached for comment on Monday. However, on Friday, she said she knew the odds were “stacked against the Democrats,” but she had felt it was important to challenge Strickland.
“I wanted the community to know we are fighting for equality and inclusion for all Californians,” she said.
Republican John Briscoe, who is currently in last place, also conceded the race to Strickland on Monday.
Strickland, joined by some of his council colleagues, the city’s fire chief and other supporters, pledged Monday to promote public safety as a state senator, lobby to lower the gas tax and push to cut state spending by doing “whatever we can to DOGE California,” a reference to the federal Department of Government Efficiency headed by Elon Musk.
Tearing up at times, Strickland talked about his victory bringing a close to his time as a councilmember. He will resign from the City Council on March 10, he said, and the remaining six councilmembers will move to appoint his replacement.
It was as a councilmember in Huntington Beach over the last two years where Strickland reignited his political career.
In his first year, he served as the leader of the newly elected conservative City Council majority by being named mayor and pushed for the city to fight the state’s housing mandates and create a charter amendment that calls for implementing a voter ID law come 2026. The state attorney general’s office and the city are engaged in ongoing lawsuits on both of those issues.
Strickland said he will take office with 10 years of state legislative experience plus his time as a councilmember. He last served in the legislature in 2012 as a state senator representing parts of Ventura, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties. He lost two races to become a U.S. representative before he moved to Huntington Beach.
Coming into the legislature in the middle of a session, Strickland acknowledged that he wouldn’t have the pick of the litter for committee assignments and would likely have to take “scraps and leftovers.”
Strickland, a Republican, thanked supporters who were at Monday’s press conference to cheer for his victory.
“I’m a little sad that Tony’s leaving, but I’m very proud to say that he’s taking Huntington Beach common sense to Sacramento,” Councilmember Gracey Van Der Mark said.
Republicans make up the largest share of registered voters in the district at 37.11%, followed by Democrats at 33.93%. Meanwhile, 22.61% are registered with no party preference.