(November 8, 2010) Support from a business-supported independent expenditure committee helped pro-jobs candidates prevail in several legislative districts.

The California Chamber of Commerce is a major supporter of JobsPAC, which has been backing pro-jobs candidates running in open legislative seats since 1992.

In the November general election, JobsPAC helped boost the following candidates to victory:

• In Senate District 12, Anthony Cannella, the Republican mayor of Ceres, defeated Anna Caballero, a Democratic Assembly member and former mayor of Salinas, with 53 percent of the vote to her 47 percent. This was a key race in keeping the Senate at the same balance of 25 Democrats and 15 Republicans.

• In Assembly District 30, David Valadao, a Republican dairy farmer, defeated Fran Florez, a Democrat and longtime community leader, with 62 percent of the vote to her 38 percent.

• In Senate District 34, incumbent Senator Lou Correa (Santa Ana), the Democrat ranking highest in CalChamber vote records, won with 64 percent of the vote.

The general election victories followed a major special election win in Senate District 15 for Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo), which also helped maintain the current party ratio in the Senate, see Pro-Jobs Business Campaign Yields Key Primary Victory (June 25).

In the primary election, JobsPAC support helped former Assemblyman Juan Vargas secure a 22-vote victory over a fellow Democrat, Assemblywoman Mary Salas, in Senate District 40.

General Election

Senate District 12 includes Merced and San Benito counties, along with parts of Madera, Monterey and Stanislaus counties.

The seat is currently held by Jeff Denham (R-Merced), who was elected to Congress and has consistently supported CalChamber positions.

Assembly District 30 includes Kings County and part of Fresno, Kern and Tulare counties.

The seat is currently held by Danny Gilmore (R-Hanford), who chose not to seek re-election.

Campaigns in both Senate District 12 and Assembly District 30 were hard fought. Democrats would have been one-vote closer to a two-thirds, veto-proof majority in both houses of the Legislature if their candidate had won either seat.

Primary Victory

Senate District 40 includes parts of San Diego and Riverside counties, and all of Imperial County. Incumbent Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny of San Diego has reached her term limit.

Vargas served in the Assembly from 2001 to 2006. His CalChamber vote records placed him among the more moderate Democrats in his last term in office, before he reached his term limit in 2006.

Salas, who succeeded Vargas in Assembly District 79, has been among the Democratic Assembly members ranking lower on the CalChamber vote record.