With Adam Schiff and Steve Garvey advancing to the general election later this year, it’ll be the first time in 32 years that California won’t have a woman representing the state in the U.S. Senate. (That seat is currently held by Laphonza Butler, who was appointed after the death last September of Dianne Feinstein.)
But in the Legislature, at least, representation of women is likely to grow.
The number of women in the state Senate and Assembly is already a record 50 of 120 after the 2022 election. And based on the primary results so far, it’s expected to increase to at least 55 women after the November election, according to Close the Gap California, an advocacy group that seeks to elect women to office.
That would bring representation in the Legislature closer to matching California’s overall population: Women now make up 50% of the state, but only 42% of the Legislature. At 55 lawmakers, that proportion would increase to 46%.
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“Women legislative candidates are proving that the historic rise we saw in 2022 was not just a one-cycle wave,” Susannah Delano, executive director of Close the Gap, said in a statement. “That’s fantastic news for California’s pipeline.”
If elected, some firsts would include Jessica Caloza, running for a Los Angeles-area Assembly seat, who could become the first Filipina-American in the Legislature. Tara Sreekrishnan, running for a San Jose-area Assembly seat, or Darshana Patel, running for a San Diego Assembly seat, could become the first Hindu woman elected to the Assembly. And Lisa Middleton, running in…
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