# List of special elections to the California State Senate

Elections in California :
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2026 :
State governmentExecutive Governor
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Legislature Senate
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Special
Judiciary Court of appeals
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2006
Elections by year
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Jun
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Nov
2014
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2024 :
State propositions1910–1919
1911
4
7
8
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1964
14
1970–1979
1978
6
8
13
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8
1986
64
65
1988
98
99
1990–1999
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187
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196
209
215
218
1998
6
10
227
2000–2009
2000
21
22
36
39
2003
53
54
2004
1A
55
56
57
58
59
60
60A
61
62
63
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2005
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2006
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83
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2008
91
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94, 95, 96, and 97
98 and 99
1A
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
2009
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1B
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2010–2019
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13
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50
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2018
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2020
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2022
1
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2024
1
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6
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36
Full list :
Los Angeles CountyLos Angeles County Board of supervisors
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U
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2022 :
Orange CountyOrange County Board of supervisors
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2020
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District attorney
2018
Anaheim Mayor
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Irvine Mayor
1988
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1994
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2024 :
SacramentoMayor
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San Diego CountySan Diego County Board of supervisors
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San Diego Mayor
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San FranciscoMayor
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Elections
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Feb :
San JoseMayor
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Other localities
Bakersfield
Mayoral elections:
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Mayoral elections:
1996
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Mayoral elections:
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Mayoral elections:
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Mayoral elections:
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Stockton
Mayoral elections:
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2024 :
vte :
Special elections to the California State Senate are called by the Governor of California when a vacancy arises within the State Senate. Most special elections are conducted in two rounds. The first is an open primary and the candidate with the most votes must have a majority of the votes plus one to win the seat. If no candidate wins a majority, a second round is held with the two top candidates regardless of party.
Recall elections, the process by which voters petition for the removal of an elected official, are also included.

## List of special elections

The dates listed indicate the time of the final election, either a runoff election or the open primary round if no second round was held.
| District | Date | Predecessor | Winner |
| 33 | October 3, 1961 | James McBride (D) | Robert Lagomarsino (R) |
| 31 | February 13, 1962 | John Hollister (R) | Alvin Weingand (D) |
| 5 | March 16, 1965 | Edwin Regan (D) | Fred Marler (R) |
| 9 | August 15, 1967 | Gene McAteer (D) | Milton Marks (R) |
| 7 | March 25, 1969 | George Miller (D) | John Nejedly (R) |
| 34 | August 18, 1970 | John Schmitz (R) | Dennis Carpenter (R) |
| 27 | July 20, 1971 | George Danielson (D) | David Roberti (D) |
| 36 | June 6, 1972 | Gordon Cologne (R) | W. Craig Biddle (R) |
| 22 | February 27, 1973 | Tom Carrell (D) | Alan Robbins (D) |
| 38 | March 6, 1973 | Clair Burgener (R) | John Stull (R) |
| 20 | January 15, 1974 | William Coombs (R) | Ruben Ayala (D) |
| 24 | July 2, 1974 | Robert Lagomarsino (R) | Omer Rains (D) |
| 29 | April 1, 1975 | Mervyn Dymally (D) | Bill Greene (D) |
| 6 | June 8, 1976 | George Moscone (D) | John Foran (D) |
| 22 | March 8, 1977 | Anthony Beilenson (D) | Alan Sieroty (D) |
| 31 | April 17, 1979 | George Deukmejian (R) | Ollie Speraw (R) |
| 14 | June 9, 1979 | George Zenovich (D) | Kenneth Maddy (R) |
| 12 | June 5, 1980 | Jerry Smith (D) | Dan O'Keefe (R) |
| 35 | April 13, 1982 | John Briggs (R) | John Seymour (R) |
| 33 | May 12, 1987 | Paul Carpenter (D) | Cecil Green (D) |
| 39 | December 5, 1989 | Larry Stirling (R) | Lucy Killea (D) |
| 31 | April 10, 1990 | Bill Campbell (R) | Frank Hill (R) |
| 26 | April 10, 1990 | Joseph Montoya (D) | Charles Calderon (D) |
| 5 | January 8, 1991 | John Garamendi (D) | Patrick Johnston (D) |
| 1 | May 14, 1991 | John Doolittle (R) | Tim Leslie (R) |
| 35 | May 14, 1991 | John Seymour (R) | John Lewis (R) |
| 20 | June 2, 1992 | Alan Robbins (D) | David Roberti (D) |
| 32 | March 2, 1993 | Ed Royce (R) | Rob Hurtt (R) |
| 2 | April 27, 1993 | Barry Keene (D) | Mike Thompson (D) |
| 16 | April 27, 1993 | Don Rogers (R) | Phil Wyman (R) |
| 4 | November 2, 1993 | Mike Thompson (D) | Maurice Johannessen (R) |
| 11 | November 2, 1993 | Becky Morgan (R) | Tom Campbell (R) |
| 40 | December 28, 1993 | Wadie Deddeh (D) | Steve Peace (D) |
| 29 | November 8, 1994 | Frank Hill (R) | Dick Mountjoy (R) |
| 35 | May 9, 1995 | Marian Bergeson (R) | Ross Johnson (R) |
| 11 | March 26, 1996 | Tom Campbell (R) | Byron Sher (D) |
| 9 | September 1, 1998 | Barbara Lee (D) | Don Perata (D) |
| 32 | March 7, 2000 | Joe Baca (D) | Nell Soto (D) |
| 24 | March 6, 2001 | Hilda Solis (D) | Gloria Romero (D) |
| 35 | June 6, 2006 | John Campbell (R) | Tom Harman (R) |
| 26 | May 19, 2009 | Mark Ridley-Thomas (D) | Curren Price (D) |
| 37 | June 8, 2010 | John Benoit (R) | Bill Emmerson (R) |
| 15 | August 17, 2010 | Abel Maldonado (R) | Sam Blakeslee (R) |
| 1 | January 4, 2011 | Dave Cox (R) | Ted Gaines (R) |
| 17 | February 15, 2011 | George Runner (R) | Sharon Runner (R) |
| 28 | February 15, 2011 | Jenny Oropeza (D) | Ted Lieu (D) |
| 4 | January 8, 2013 | Doug LaMalfa (R) | Jim Nielsen (R) |
| 40 | March 2, 2013 | Juan Vargas (D) | Ben Hueso (D) |
| 32 | May 14, 2013 | Gloria Negrete McLeod (D) | Norma Torres (D) |
| 16 | July 23, 2013 | Michael Rubio (D) | Andy Vidak (R) |
| 26 | September 17, 2013 | Curren Price (D) | Holly Mitchell (D) |
| 23 | March 25, 2014 | Bill Emmerson (R) | Mike Morrell (R) |
| 35 | December 9, 2014 | Rod Wright (D) | Isadore Hall, III (D) |
| 21 | March 17, 2015 | Steve Knight (R) | Sharon Runner (R) |
| 37 | March 17, 2015 | Mimi Walters (R) | John Moorlach (R) |
| 7 | May 19, 2015 | Mark DeSaulnier (D) | Steve Glazer (D) |
| 32 | August 7, 2018 | Tony Mendoza (D) | Vanessa Delgado (D) |
| 1 | June 4, 2019 | Ted Gaines (R) | Brian Dahle (R) |
| 33 | June 4, 2019 | Ricardo Lara (D) | Lena Gonzalez (D) |
| 28 | May 12, 2020 | Jeff Stone (R) | Melissa Melendez (R) |
| 30 | March 2, 2021 | Holly Mitchell (D) | Sydney Kamlager (D) |

### List of recall elections

When applicable, the candidate who succeeded the recalled state senator is listed. If the recall election was not successful the winner is listed as "none".
| District | Date | Recall target | Replacement |
| 20 | April 12, 1994 | David Roberti (D) | Not applicable, recall failed |
| 12 | June 3, 2008 | Jeff Denham (R) | Not applicable, recall failed |
| 29 | June 5, 2018 | Josh Newman (D) | Ling Ling Chang (R) |

## Results
### 2006 35th State Senate district special election

California's 35th State Senate district special election, 2002 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Tom Harman | 89,408 | 67.61 |
| | Democratic | Larry Caballero | 42,838 | 32.39 |
| Valid ballots | Valid ballots | Valid ballots | 132,246 | 90.66 |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | 13,629 | 9.34 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 145,875 | 100.00 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 28.18 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### 2008 12th State Senate district recall election

California's 12th State Senate district recall election, 2008 :
| Vote on recall | Vote on recall | Vote on recall | Votes | Percentage |
| No | No | No | 61,309 | 75.36% |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | 20,043 | 24.64% |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 81,352 | 95.11% |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | 4,183 | 4.89% |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | 85,535 | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 28.44% | 28.44% |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
| | Democratic | Simon Salinas | 30,946 | 100.00% |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 30,946 | 36.18% |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | 54,589 | 63.82% |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | 85,535 | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 28.44% | 28.44% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### 2009 26th State Senate district special election

California's 26th State Senate district special election, 2009 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Curren Price | 37,677 | 70.72 |
| | Republican | Nachum Shifren | 11,097 | 20.83 |
| | Peace and Freedom | Cindy Henderson | 4,501 | 8.45 |
| Valid ballots | Valid ballots | Valid ballots | 53,275 | 83.24 |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | 10,726 | 16.76 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 64,001 | 100.00 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 18.59 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### 2010 37th State Senate district special election

California's 37th State Senate district special election, 2010 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Bill Emmerson | 81,655 | 59.66 |
| | Democratic | Justin Blake | 41,243 | 30.13 |
| | American Independent | Matt Monica | 13,965 | 10.20 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 136,863 | 100.00 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 29.18 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### 2010 15th State Senate district special election

California's 15th State Senate district special election, 2010 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Sam Blakeslee | 86,873 | 48.47 |
| | Democratic | John Laird | 79,835 | 44.54 |
| | Independent | Jim Fitzgerald | 8,937 | 4.99 |
| | Libertarian | Mark Hinkle | 3,592 | 2.00 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 179,237 | 100.00 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 39.43 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### 2011 17th district special election

California's 17th State Senate district special election, 2011 Vacancy resulting from the resignation of George Runner :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Sharon Runner | 44,238 | 65.3 |
| | Democratic | Darren W. Parker | 23,534 | 34.7 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 67,772 | 100.0 |

### 2011 28th district special election

California's 28th State Senate district special election, 2011 Vacancy resulting from the death of Jenny Oropeza :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Ted Lieu | 31,723 | 56.7 |
| | Republican | Bob Valentine | 14,141 | 25.3 |
| | Republican | Martha Flores Gibson | 3,885 | 6.9 |
| | No party preference | Mark Lipman | 1,912 | 3.4 |
| | Democratic | Kevin Thomas McGurk | 1,416 | 2.5 |
| | Republican | James P. Thompson | 1,301 | 2.3 |
| | Republican | Jeffrey E. Fortini | 1,246 | 2.2 |
| | No party preference | Michael Chamness | 309 | 0.6 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 55,933 | 100.0 |

### 2013 4th district special election

California's 4th State Senate district special election, 2013 Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Doug LaMalfa :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Jim Nielsen | 188,207 | 49.8 |
| | Democratic | Michael "Mickey" Harrington | 104,572 | 27.7 |
| | Republican | Dan Logue | 43,303 | 11.5 |
| | No party preference | Jann Reed | 24,966 | 6.6 |
| | No party preference | Dan Levine | 9,882 | 2.6 |
| | No party preference | Benjamin "Ben" Emery | 7,146 | 1.9 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 378,076 | 100.0 |
| General election |||||
| | Republican | Jim Nielsen | 97,849 | 66.6 |
| | Democratic | Michael "Mickey" Harrington | 49,004 | 33.4 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 146,853 | 100.0 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### 2013 40th district special election

California's 40th State Senate district special election, 2013 Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Juan Vargas :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Ben Hueso | 29,367 | 53.1 |
| | Republican | Hector Raul Gastelum | 11,951 | 21.6 |
| | Republican | Xanthi Gionis | 8,243 | 14.9 |
| | Democratic | Anna Nevenic | 5,740 | 10.4 |
| | Democratic | Craig Fiegener (write-in) | 39 | 0.1 |
| | Democratic | Rafael Estrada (write-in) | 20 | 0.0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 55,360 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### 2013 32nd district special election

California's 32nd State Senate district special election, 2013 Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Gloria Negrete McLeod :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Norma Torres | 15,021 | 44.0 |
| | Republican | Paul S. Leon | 8,961 | 26.4 |
| | Democratic | Larry Walker | 4,620 | 13.6 |
| | Democratic | Joanne T. Gilbert | 2,327 | 6.9 |
| | Republican | Kenny Coble | 2,178 | 6.4 |
| | Democratic | Paul Vincent Avila | 845 | 2.5 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 33,952 | 100.0 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | Norma Torres | 21,251 | 59.6 |
| | Republican | Paul S. Leon | 14,432 | 40.4 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 35,683 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### 2013 16th district special election

California's 16th State Senate district special election, 2013 Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Michael Rubio :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Andy Vidak | 31,610 | 49.8 |
| | Democratic | Leticia Perez | 27,854 | 43.9 |
| | Democratic | Francisco "Frank" Ramirez | 1,890 | 3.0 |
| | Democratic | Paulina Miranda | 1,623 | 2.6 |
| | Peace and Freedom | Mohammed "O" Arif | 471 | 0.7 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 63,448 | 100.0 |
| General election |||||
| | Republican | Andy Vidak | 42,224 | 51.9 |
| | Democratic | Leticia Perez | 39,140 | 48.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 81,364 | 100.0 |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic |

### 2013 26th district special election

California's 26th State Senate district special election, 2013 Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Curren Price :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Holly Mitchell | 19,481 | 81.0 |
| | Democratic | Mervin Evans | 4,579 | 19.0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 24,060 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### 2014 23rd district special election

California's 23rd State Senate district special election, 2014 Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Bill Emmerson :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Mike Morrell | 43,447 | 62.6 |
| | Democratic | Ronald J. O'Donnell | 10,531 | 15.2 |
| | Democratic | Ameenah Fuller | 6,705 | 9.7 |
| | Libertarian | Jeff Hewitt | 4,479 | 6.5 |
| | Republican | Crystal Ruiz | 4,187 | 6.0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 69,349 | 100.0 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### 2014 35th district special election

2014 California's 35th State Senate district special election Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Rod Wright :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Isadore Hall, III | 17,951 | 55.9 |
| | Republican | James Spencer | 8,014 | 25.0 |
| | Democratic | Louis L. Dominguez | 4,067 | 12.7 |
| | Democratic | Hector Serrano | 2,069 | 6.4 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 32,101 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### 2015 7th district special election

2015 California's 7th State Senate district special election Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Mark DeSaulnier :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Steve Glazer | 38,411 | 33.7 |
| | Democratic | Susan Bonilla | 28,389 | 24.9 |
| | Democratic | Joan Buchanan | 25,534 | 22.4 |
| | Republican | Michaela M. Hertle (withdrawn) | 18,281 | 16.1 |
| | Democratic | Terry Kremin | 3,242 | 2.8 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 113,857 | 100.0 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | Steve Glazer | 68,996 | 54.5 |
| | Democratic | Susan Bonilla | 57,491 | 45.5 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 126,487 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### 2015 21st district special election

2015 California's 21st State Senate district special election Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Steve Knight :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Sharon Runner | 26,360 | 94.1 |
| | Democratic | Steve Hill (write-in) | 996 | 3.6 |
| | Democratic | Joshua Conaway (write-in) | 252 | 0.9 |
| | Republican | Jerry J. Laws (write-in) | 120 | 0.4 |
| | No party preference | Joshua C. Chandler (write-in) | 108 | 0.4 |
| | Democratic | Richard E. Macias (write-in) | 91 | 0.3 |
| | No party preference | Jason Zink (write-in) | 90 | 0.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 28,017 | 100.0 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### 2015 37th district special election

2015 California's 37th State Senate district special election Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Mimi Walters :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John Moorlach | 38,125 | 50.3 |
| | Republican | Don Wagner | 33,411 | 44.0 |
| | Republican | Naz Namazi | 2,621 | 3.5 |
| | Democratic | Louise Stewardson (write-in) | 1,696 | 2.2 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 75,853 | 100.0 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### 2018 29th district special recall election

2018 California's 29th State Senate district special recall election :
| Choice | Votes | % |
| Yes | 91,892 | 58.13 |
| No | 66,197 | 41.87 |
| Total votes | 158,089 | 100.00 |
2018 California's 29th State Senate district special recall election Successor of Josh Newman if a majority vote in favor of recall :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Ling Ling Chang | 50,215 | 33.80 |
| | Democratic | Joseph Cho | 31,726 | 21.36 |
| | Republican | Bruce Whitaker | 28,704 | 19.32 |
| | Democratic | Josh Ferguson | 17,745 | 11.95 |
| | Democratic | Kevin Carr | 12,713 | 8.56 |
| | Republican | George C. Shen | 7,442 | 5.01 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 148,545 | 100.0 |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic |

### 2018 32nd district special election

The first round of the special election was consolidated with the regularly scheduled primary election. Although most of the candidates in the two contests were the same, the results were very different. Rita Topalian finished first in both races, but different candidates finished in second place. Vanessa Delgado finished in 2nd place in the special election, but 3rd place in the regularly scheduled primary election. She received a similar number of votes in both races, but candidate Bob Archuleta received about 54% more votes in the regularly scheduled election than he did in the special election. The different results have been attributed to the different order in which the candidates were listed on the ballot.
2018 California's 32nd State Senate district special election Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Tony Mendoza :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Rita Topalian | 29,135 | 25.0 |
| | Democratic | Vanessa Delgado | 18,898 | 16.2 |
| | Democratic | Tony Mendoza | 16,779 | 14.4 |
| | Democratic | Bob Archuleta | 13,593 | 11.7 |
| | Republican | Ion Sarega | 10,720 | 9.2 |
| | Democratic | Vicky Santana | 7,960 | 6.8 |
| | Democratic | Ali S. Taj | 6,961 | 6.0 |
| | Democratic | Vivian Romero | 5,379 | 4.6 |
| | Democratic | Rudy Bermudez | 5,117 | 4.4 |
| | Democratic | John Paul Drayer | 1,294 | 1.1 |
| | Democratic | Darren Joseph Gendron | 599 | 0.5 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 116,435 | 100.0 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | Vanessa Delgado | 26,635 | 52.4 |
| | Republican | Rita Topalian | 24,240 | 47.6 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 50,875 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### 2019 1st district special election

2019 California's 1st State Senate district special election Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Ted Gaines :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Brian Dahle | 57,725 | 29.6 |
| | Republican | Kevin Kiley | 54,290 | 27.9 |
| | Democratic | Silke Pflueger | 49,164 | 25.2 |
| | Republican | Rex Hime | 18,050 | 9.3 |
| | Democratic | Steve Baird | 10,855 | 5.6 |
| | Republican | Theodore Dziuba | 4,672 | 2.4 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 194,756 | 100.0 |
| General election |||||
| | Republican | Brian Dahle | 84,503 | 53.9 |
| | Republican | Kevin Kiley | 72,169 | 46.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 156,672 | 100.0 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### 2019 33rd district special election

2019 California's 33rd State Senate district special election Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Ricardo Lara :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Lena Gonzalez | 10,984 | 31.6 |
| | Republican | Jack M. Guerrero | 4,860 | 14.0 |
| | Democratic | Ali Saleh | 3,334 | 9.6 |
| | Democratic | Ana Maria Quintana | 3,038 | 8.8 |
| | Democratic | José Luis Solache | 2,594 | 7.5 |
| | Democratic | Denise Diaz | 2,404 | 6.9 |
| | Republican | Martha Flores Gibson | 2,225 | 6.4 |
| | Democratic | Leticia Vasquez Wilson | 1,839 | 5.3 |
| | Democratic | Al Austin, II | 1,356 | 3.9 |
| | Democratic | Thomas Jefferson Cares | 824 | 2.4 |
| | Democratic | Chris Garcia | 720 | 2.1 |
| | Green | Cesar Flores | 529 | 1.5 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 34,711 | 100.0 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | Lena Gonzalez | 32,394 | 69.8 |
| | Republican | Jack M. Guerrero | 14,049 | 30.2 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 46,443 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### 2020 28th district special election

2020 California's 28th State Senate district special election Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Jeff Stone :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Melissa Melendez | 81,918 | 40.5 |
| | Democratic | Elizabeth Romero | 47,516 | 23.5 |
| | Democratic | Joy Silver | 42,222 | 20.9 |
| | Republican | John Schwab | 24,536 | 12.1 |
| | Democratic | Anna Nevenic | 5,912 | 2.9 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 202,104 | 100.0 |
| General election |||||
| | Republican | Melissa Melendez | 105,525 | 55.4 |
| | Democratic | Elizabeth Romero | 84,902 | 45.6 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 190,427 | 100.0 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### 2021 30th district special election

2021 California's 30th State Senate district special election Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Holly Mitchell :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Sydney Kamlager | 48,483 | 68.7 |
| | Democratic | Daniel Lee | 9,458 | 13.4 |
| | Republican | Joe Lisuzzo | 4,412 | 6.3 |
| | Democratic | Cheryl C. Turner | 3,799 | 5.4 |
| | Republican | Tiffani Jones | 1,604 | 2.3 |
| | Peace and Freedom | Ernesto Alexander Huerta | 1,570 | 2.2 |
| | No party preference | Renita Duncan | 1,244 | 1.8 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 70,577 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### 2025 36th district special election

Incumbent Republican Janet Nguyen resigned to join the Orange County Board of Supervisors. A special election will be held on February 25, 2025 to fill the vacancy with a runoff, if no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, on April 29, 2025.
2025 California's 36th State Senate district special election Vacancy resulting from the resignation of Janet Nguyen :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John Briscoe | | |
| | Democratic | Julie Diep | | |
| | Democratic | Jimmy Pham | | |
| | Republican | Tony Strickland | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | | |