Esmeralda Soria takes early lead in California Assembly race. Other results in key races

Democrat Esmeralda Soria captured a small lead over Republican Mark Pazin early in their race for California’s newly drawn Assembly District 27, preliminary election results showed.

Soria collected 51.1% of the votes as of Tuesday night, or 22,782 votes total. Soria watched results roll in from Bella Luna in downtown Merced, where she and state Sen. Anna Caballero, D-Merced, cohosted their election night party.

Pazin wasn’t far behind Soria, with 48.9% the votes, according to preliminary results. That put him about 1,000 behind Soria with all precincts reporting. Pazin and his supporters watched the results from the Courtyard Marriott hotel.

“It’s going to be a long night, and we’ll await final results after a long 10 months of campaigning,” Pazin told The Bee shortly before 11 p.m.

District 27 covers western Fresno County, most of Madera County and all of Merced County. The largest number of voters are in Merced County.

While Soria said she was waiting for final results, she said she was proud of her campaign.

“I’m just proud because we’ve worked hard. You know, I haven’t been at this alone. It’s been really a community,” Soria said. “I think that the results will show that the community wants someone that is going to be effective and is going to be a leader in Sacramento delivering real solutions.”

Soria said she set up her campaign headquarters in Merced to demonstrate to that community that it has equal weight in the district as Madera and Fresno.

“We will continue to have a tremendous amount of presence in this area because we’re going to also represent them,” Soria said.

Forty-three percent of voters in the 27th District are registered as Democrats, compared with the GOP’s 27% share. No-party preference is third with 22.5% of voters.

In the primary, Soria finished first with 40.1% of the votes, despite having another Democratic opponent. Pazin finished second, with 35%, and also faced a challenger from his party.

Soria, 40, is closing out her final term on the Fresno City Council. She was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to his state task force on homelessness. Soria raised nearly $2.9 million.

Pazin, 66, was the Merced County Sheriff until 2015, when then-California Gov. Jerry Brown appointed him head of the law enforcement branch of the Office of Emergency Services in Sacramento. He raised over $1.2 million for his campaign.

During the campaign, Pazin attempted to tie Soria to indicted former Rep. TJ Cox, D-Fresno. He touted support from law enforcement and first responder groups and highlighted his time as sheriff. Pazin was one of the only California sheriffs who supported AB 109, which sent nonviolent offenders from state prison to county jail.

Soria also capitalized on Pazin’s record as sheriff, using it in a number of attack ads while promoting her law enforcement endorsements. On the Fresno City Council, Soria has been a vocal advocate for affordable housing, decriminalizing homelessness and improving and adding parks.

Other state assembly races

Assembly District 8: Jim Patterson (R) 74.4%, Thomas Nichols 25.6%

Assembly District 31: Joaquin Arambula (D) 59.1%, Dolce Misol Calandra 40.9%

Assembly District 33: Devon Mathis (R) 62%, Jose Sigala 38%

State senate races

Senate District 12: Shannon Grove (R) 66.5%, Susanne Gundy 33.5%

Senate District 14: Anna Caballero (D) 56%, Amnon Shor 44%

Senate District 16: Melissa Hurtado (D) 48.5%, David Shepard 51.5%