• Home
  • About Us
    • JoinCalifornia
    • Use as a Reference
  • Political History
    • 2021 Senate to Assembly District Table
    • Term Limits in California
    • Legislative Committee Reports
    • Notable No Votes
    • Redistricting
    • Scott Lay’s Sofa Degree
    • Legislative Staff
  • Nelson S. Dilworth Collection
    • California’s Military History
  • Leroy F. Greene Collection
  • Covering the Capitol
  • Article Topics
    • Top Stories
    • 2014 Election
    • 2012 Election
    • Current Research
    • Constitutional Officers
    • Congress
    • State Senate
    • State Assembly
    • Deaths

One Voter Project

The Online Home of California's Political History

December 2, 2012 By Alex Vassar Leave a Comment

Steve Fox pulls ahead, will be sworn in Monday

 

The door to Capitol Room 3149, which was to become the office of Assemblyman Ron Smith on Monday morning.

The Sacramento Bee is reporting that Steve Fox (D) pulled ahead of Ron Smith (R) in the Assembly District 36 race. The last minute update, released about 20 hours before the new Legislature is due to be sworn in, is guaranteed to shake up Monday’s celebrations. At the Capitol, Smith’s photo had been hung on the second floor with those of the other 2013-14 legislators and a sign identified room 3149 as his office.

Steve Fox

While Fox’s margin of 145 votes over Smith was not the smallest ever,it appears to have beat all races in the past three decades. The most recent election with a smaller margin of victory was 1980’s AD-26 race between Adrian Fondse and Patrick Johnston. In 1980, Fondse was sworn in as a member of the 1981-82 legislature (with a narrow lead that had disappeared before the Legislature returned in January to begin it’s work). Fondse served in the Assembly for 35 days, the shortest term for a legislator in the full-time legislature era.

There will likely be a recount in the Fox-Smith race, which could push out the final election results even further. What remains unclear is how a well-funded Republican (Smith out-fundraised Fox better than 10 to 1) was defeated in what had been a fairly conservative district.

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Current Research, JoinCalifornia, State Assembly, Top Stories

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent News

What Happened in the 2022 Election

November 13, 2022

[Updated 12/12] That was interesting. An election season that roared by in … [Read More...]

Running Unopposed in 2022

March 26, 2022

The California State Capitol According the Notice to Candidates, issued by … [Read More...]

Dilworth Video

October 8, 2021

An introduction to the story of State Senator Nelson Dilworth and the amazing … [Read More...]

NEW BOOK: California Lawmaker 2021

February 12, 2021

From confrontations in the tense years before the Civil War to the recent work … [Read More...]

Women in Statewide Office

January 29, 2021

As an update to a post from 2018, which noted that three was the highest number … [Read More...]

Latest Tweets

  • Just now
  • More Tweets by Alex Vassar

Fun Fact

The first person to ever resign from the Assembly after winning a Senate special election was Allen G. Thurman in 1947.

California Lawmaker 2021

Now Available on Amazon

Recent Posts

  • Mike McGuire to be California’s next Senate pro Tem August 29, 2023
  • 2011 Senate District to Assembly District Conversion Table (2012-2024) August 14, 2023
  • State Medals February 7, 2023
  • What Happened in the 2022 Election November 13, 2022

Copyright © 2023 · Education Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in