State Democrats Regain Supermajority In Senate
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Democrats have regained their two-thirds majority in the state Senate with a special election victory in a San Diego-based district.
Ben Hueso, a Democrat from San Diego, will switch from the Assembly to the Senate after receiving 52 percent of the vote in the 40th Senate District race.
He needed a simple majority to avoid a mid-May runoff. Hueso's victory gives Democrats in the Senate the 27 votes they need to raise taxes, pass emergency legislation, override gubernatorial vetoes and put constitutional amendments before voters without Republican cooperation.
Democrats will temporarily keep their narrow supermajority in the Assembly while Democratic Assemblywoman Norma Torres of Pomona heads to a May 14 runoff in the 32nd Senate District.
She received 44 percent of the vote in Tuesday's other special election.
