The Abridged version:
Democratic and Republican candidates competing for three California Assembly and Senate seats representing parts of Sacramento, Placer and El Dorado counties are nearly tied.
In seats representing Placer and Sacramento counties, Republican incumbents face close races.
Across California, county election officials are still counting votes, with updated results planned in the next several days.
Will the midterms’ “blue wave” come crashing through Sacramento-area California Legislature races?
For three local seats, it’ll be a close call.
Republican incumbents Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, and Assemblymember Josh Hoover, R-Folsom, both held roughly the same share of votes Thursday afternoon as their Democratic opponents.
Niello was just ahead of his, and Hoover slightly behind.
And in El Dorado County’s state senate district, opposite-party candidates remain in a tight race for a seat a Republican incumbent will soon vacate after a vicious campaign season.
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All three races could contribute to Democrats expanding their supermajority in the statehouse — though it’s too soon to be sure, as election officials across California are still counting votes.
Read more about the region’s most competitive runoffs below.
Senate District 6: Sen. Roger Niello, R; Sean Frame, D
Vote count: As of Thursday, Niello holds about 52% of votes counted, according to the California Secretary of State. Frame holds about 48%.
The candidates: Niello co-owns the car sales business The Niello Company, his LinkedIn says, and formerly served as CEO of the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce. He’s served in the California Senate since 2022, and served in the Assembly from 2004 to 2010.
Frame is a multimedia specialist at the Sacramento County Office of Education, and previously served on the Placerville Union School District board.
He’s also a steward of a California School Employees Association chapter, his campaign site says, and founded a video production company.
Why the race is notable: Niello’s defeat would mark the departure of a major figure in the statehouse: the senator has served in the Legislature for a decade.
While the boundaries — and party makeup — of California’s legislative districts have shifted over the years, Niello’s loss would also mark the return of the seat to Democrats: it was previously occupied by Dr. Richard Pan (elected to Congress Tuesday), and by former Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg.
If Niello wins, he’ll enter his 11th year in the Legislature.
What the candidates are saying: “(Sen. Niello) has been a longtime fixture in Sacramento politics and the Sacramento region, and we expect that he will be reelected when all the votes are counted,” campaign consultant Matt Rexroad said.
“It’s something like 9,000 votes ahead, and that’s a pretty significant gap. For the votes that have been counted later, they’ve been in his direction, and we expect that to continue,” Rexroad added.
On Wednesday, Frame’s campaign’s Facebook account posted: “This race is too close to call with so many ballots left to count.”
Assembly District 7: Amy Slavensky, D; Assem. Josh Hoover, R
Vote count: On Thursday, Slavensky held 52.5% of the vote, while Hoover held 47.5%.
The candidates: A former teacher and principal, Slavensky was previously Superintendent of Schools for the Amador County Unified School District and an interim deputy superintendent at the San Juan Unified School District, according to her LinkedIn.
Hoover has served in the Assembly since 2022, and previously was a member of the Folsom Cordova Unified School District board, his website says. There, he pushed to reopen schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why the race is notable: Hoover’s east Sacramento County seat would be a notable loss for Republicans’ already small legislative caucus. Though the district’s boundaries have changed over the years, it would also mark the seat’s return to Democrats, who held it for years until Hoover’s election.
What candidates are saying: “We always knew that this race was going to be extremely close, and right now it is too close to call,” Slavensky said in a statement Wednesday.
“I’ve been down like this before in previous races before coming back to win,” Hoover said in a statement.
“There are many more ballots left to count and it’s important that we allow elections officials to finish the job.”
Senate District 4: Jardon Brandon, D; Alexandra Duarte, R
Vote count: On Thursday afternoon, Duarte had about 52% of votes counted, while Brandon held about 48%.
The candidates: Duarte grows almonds and walnuts on a family farm near Modesto, her campaign website says. She supports President Donald Trump and says she hopes to bring his agenda to Sacramento.
Duarte is married to former U.S. Rep. John Duarte, also a Republican.
Brandon has served on the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors since 2021. He also formerly served on the Institute for Local Government’s board of directors, his campaign website says.
Why the race is notable: Incumbent Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil left the Democratic Party to become a Republican in 2024, but didn’t make it past the primary election. Before Alvarado-Gil, multiple Republicans held the seat.
The next occupant will either affirm the district’s return to Republican hands, or mark another rare stint of Democratic control of it.
The final vote tally will also conclude a vitriolic race, in which candidates clashed in the primaries and California Republicans denounced Duarte for a mailer including a photo of her firing a gun that was positioned next to an image of Alvarado-Gil.
What the candidates are saying: “It’s important to make sure every vote is counted. So like everyone else we are waiting for final results,” a representative of Duarte’s campaign said by email Thursday.
“I would say we’re cautiously optimistic,” Brandon said Thursday.
“And if anybody wants to help, give them my cell phone number. We’re going to have some stuff to do.”