1st Senate District

Audrey Denney grew up in Central California, south of California's First Congressional District.  According to campaign materials, she is running for Congress to represent Northern Californians’ values and vision by fighting for access to healthcare, addressing income inequality and discrimination, and ensuring that all humans are treated with dignity and respect. 

Denney is a Senior Learning Designer, where she develops curriculum for agriculture companies and nonprofits to streamline institutional knowledge. Denney currently sits on the board of directors at Cristosal, an international human rights organization, and serves on Bidwell Presebyterian Church’s mission committee. Throughout her career, Denney has utilized her agriculture knowledge to help local farmers, as well as farmers in developing countries and other rural areas. 

Denney is running against Doug LaMalfa (R), who is the incumbent and has held the seat since 2013. Other challengers include Rob Lydon (D), Gregory Cheadle (NPP), and Joseph LeTourneau IV (NPP). According to recent election results, it will be very difficult for a Democrat to win this seat. Denney is the progressive choice because of her track record of supporting and lifting up vulnerable populations, and her pledge represent her community by putting people over politics and special interests.  

According to our analysis, Denney is a strong choice for progressive leadership in office.
 

Representative John Garamendi was first elected to Congress in a special election in 2009 and was re-elected to the seat in 2010. California’s subsequent redistricting shifted most of the district to California’s 3rd District, a seat which Garamendi has held since.

Prior to his election to Congress, Rep. Garamendi served in numerous public offices. He was elected to the California legislature in 1974 and went on to successfully run for California’s Insurance Commissioner in 1990. He was Appointed Deputy Secretary of the Interior in 1995 by then President Bill Clinton, and was elected California Lieutenant Governor in 2007 before his run for Congress. 

Rep. Garamendi strongly supports strengthening the Affordable Care Act, protecting access to healthcare in rural areas, and efforts to reduce prescription drug prices, including allowing Medicare to directly negotiate drug prices. He also supports bold action on climate change including the adoption of zero-emission vehicles, green infrastructure investments, and investments in renewable energy. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, he has worked to push the military to be a leader on climate change. He’s been active in efforts to protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, including working to pass legislation to designate it as California’s first National Heritage Area Act. While he expressed concerns about the Green New Deal, he ultimately signed on as a co-sponsor of the House Resolution. 

Rep. Garamendi has long supported nuclear nonproliferation, and has co-sponsored legislation to require separate authorizations from Congress in order to utilize nuclear weapons, and legislation to prohibit the research, development, production and deployment of low-yield nuclear warheads.

Rep. Garamendi is challenged by Sean Feucht (R), and Tamika Hamilton (R). The 3rd Congressional District has been a swing district, though it has been leaning more Democratic in the last few election cycles. Rep. Garamendi has strong support from labor, environmental and social justice organizations in the district.

Rep. Garamendi is the strongest choice for progressive leadership in office.

Elizabeth Betancourt is a longtime resident of the North State, and lives in Happy Valley. According to campaign materials, she is running for State Senate because she wants to bring her small business and environmental advocacy experience to Sacramento to provide more productive representation for District 1.

Betancourt has worked in the private and public sector throughout her career to provide leadership in resource management and planning. In a variety of positions, Betancourt has built her resume in the Sierra-Cascade region on issues surrounding forest resources and drinking water supplies. To fulfill her responsibilities, she has built collaborative relationships with a variety of stakeholders, including tribes, business and tourism advocates, environmental protection organizations, and water and timber companies. Betancourt has advocated for job creation and Native American Indian tribal empowerment, and was an integral part of the state’s response to the Carr Fire in 2018. As an active member of her community, Betancourt served a four year term as the Director of the Western Shasta Resource Conservation District Board, and on the Community Development Advisory Committee for the City of Redding. These opportunities allowed her to use her professional expertise to advocate for local funding distribution, projects, and rural values.

Betancourt is running against candidate Megan Dahle (R), who is the incumbent and has held the seat since 2019, as well as PK Dhanuka (NPP). According to recent election results, it's challenging for Democrats to win this seat. Betancourt is the progressive choice because of her long history of advocating for environmental improvements, and working to find thoughtful compromises with a broad group of stakeholders.

According to our analysis, Elizabeth Betancourt is the strongest choice for progressive leadership in office.
 

Jim R. Henson (D) is the current chair of the Paradise Ridge Democratic Club and the only Democrat in this race. While we do not have sufficient information about this candidate to confirm his viability, we recommend supporting Henson as a more progressive alternative to the current incumbent, Assemblymember James Gallagher (R).

Assemblymember Gallagher has represented District 3 in the State Assembly since 2014. Based on our Courage Score analysis, Assemblymember Gallagher has shown that he does NOT advocate for the needs of constituents or face down corporate lobbyists and interest groups that exploit Californians. He scored just 1 out of 100 on this year’s Courage Score, our annual analysis of legislator's progressive voting records. In summary, Assemblymember Gallagher is not serving his constituents with progressive solutions.

According to our analysis, Jim R. Henson has potential to provide stronger progressive leadership in office.
 

Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry grew up in Yolo County and lives in Winters, CA. She is the incumbent, having served as Assemblymember for the 4th District in the State Assembly since 2016. According to campaign materials, she is running for re-election to continue to be a fierce advocate for Democratic values and for the small cities and towns that make up District 4.

During her tenure, Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry has worked to serve the interests of rural residents, farmers and agricultural workers, and local government. She has authored successful legislation to protect small family farm homesteads, improve the quality of recycling programs by local governments, and to improve voter registration in counties throughout the state. Through her efforts, she helped establish the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument to protect environmental lands across five counties. In the Assembly, Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry currently chairs the Local Government Committee and the Select Committee on Wine. She also currently serves as Chair of the Yolo Housing Commission, Vice-Chair of the Yolo County Water Association, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Sacramento Council of Governments. Prior to her election to the State Assembly, Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry served as the first woman Mayor of Winters.

Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry is being challenged by Sophia Racke (D) and Matthew Nelson (R). Based on Courage Score, our annual analysis of a legislator's progressive voting records, Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry has a mixed record advocating for the needs of constituents and facing down corporate lobbyists and interest groups that exploit Californians. In 2019, she scored a 90 out of 100 on Courage Score. That said, in 2017, she received a 79, and in 2018, she received a 61. According to our analysis, Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry is the strongest choice for progressive leadership in office, although we will continue to closely watch her voting record.

Pamela Dawn Swartz (D) is the only Democrat in this race. While we do not have sufficient information about this candidate to confirm her viability, we recommend supporting Swartz as a more progressive alternative to the current incumbent, Senator Brian Dahle (R).

Senator Dahle has represented District 1 in the State Senate since 2019, and previously served in the assembly. Based on our Courage Score analysis, Dahle has shown that he does NOT advocate for the needs of constituents or face down corporate lobbyists and interest groups that exploit Californians. He scored just 9 out of 100 on this year’s Courage Score, our annual analysis of legislator's progressive voting records. In summary, Senator Dahle is not serving his constituents with progressive solutions.

Swartz is also being challenged by Linda Kelleher (NPP). According to our analysis, Pamela Dawn Swartz has the potential to provide stronger progressive leadership in office.