A total of $3.69 million has been invested in this race, $2.49 million was contributed directly to the candidates and $1.20 million in outside spending.
photo credit: CalMatters District 2 is one of several key CA Assembly races this election.
By unexpectedly passing on his final term representing this safely Democratic district on the north coast, Assemblymember Jim Wood set off one of the most contentious legislative races of the year.
California Democratic Party Chairperson Rusty Hicks, who recently moved to Arcata, is now seeking to make his first foray into public office — frustrating longtime critics in the progressive wing of the party, who have unsuccessfully called on Hicks to step down from his post while he campaigns.
A former Los Angeles labor leader, Hicks is a well-connected insider who quickly pulled in influential endorsements, including from Wood and the California Labor Federation.
He faces stiff competition, including Chris Rogers, a council member in Santa Rosa, by far the largest city in the district. Rogers has racked up his own lengthy list of supporters from local labor and political circles, led by Rep. Mike Thompson, who represents Santa Rosa in Congress and soon-to-be state Senate leader Mike McGuire.
Other Democrats pursuing the seat include former Healdsburg mayor Ariel Kelley, Yurok Tribe Vice Chairperson Frankie Myers and Mendocino County Supervisor Ted Williams.
The strong liberal lean of the district means there’s an outside chance two of them make it through the primary and face off in the November general election.
But with only one Republican in the race — Michael Greer, a school district trustee in Del Norte County — that’s unlikely, making the primary potentially decisive.
This vast coastal district, which reaches from Santa Rosa up to the Oregon border, is a major agricultural region, with dairy, wine grapes and the struggling cannabis farms of the Emerald Triangle . Though overwhelmingly white, it includes California’s largest indigenous tribe, the Yurok. The District 2 voter registration breakdown: 51.0% Democratic, 21.8% Republican, 18.8% no party preference.
Rank-and-file Assemblymembers are paid $128,215 a year, plus $214 a day for expenses when the Legislature is in session. Party leaders get higher pay.
The top two finishers in March, regardless of party, move on to the November general election.
Click here to see CalMatters' complete run-down of the race.
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