Initial results show promising outcome for Democrat in state Senate District 4 race
The lone Democrat in California’s highly contested 4th Senate District, Jaron Brandon, seems to have upset what was expected to be a safe Republican win for incumbent Marie Alvarado-Gil. Newcomer Alexandra Duarte has the second-largest group of votes after initial vote-by-mail results for the county were tallied.
Early and unofficial results released by the Stanislaus County Elections Office show Brandon with 44.2% of the vote, Duarte with 37.0% and Alvarado-Gil with 18.7%.
The California Secretary of State’s Office, with 71.3% of precincts partially reporting, has Brandon with 40.5%, Duarte with 30.9% and Alvarado-Gil with 28.7%.
“This race has been defined by two people tearing each other apart, and I've been happy not to be a part of that and instead go to folks living rooms and talk about housing nor fixing potholes,” Brandon said Tuesday night.
Senate district includes all or parts of 13 Central Valley and foothills counties: Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Inyo, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Stanislaus and Tuolumne.
Alvarado-Gil, who switched parties from Democrat to Republican in 2024, received more campaign contributions than either of her competitors. She raised over $1 million to retain her seat and was the only Republican candidate in the race to receive funds from the Republican Party directly.
Alvarado-Gil received the most out-of-state funding, with donations coming from Utah, Texas, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Georgia, Florida and Washington, D.C.
Alvarado-Gil’s campaign focused on acting as a counterbalance to Democrats’ supermajority in the California Senate, and she defended her record at a Modesto debate in early April.
Her campaign was not without controversy. She still is battling an ongoing lawsuit brought by her former chief of staff, Gary Condit, alleging sexual misconduct.
Duarte raised just shy of $1 million for her run at the seat. Around $12,000 was rollover from husband John Duarte’s unsuccessful 2024 campaign to retain his House seat.
Duarte ran a pro-business, pro-Trump campaign, promising to cut regulation and bring the president’s agenda to Stanislaus County.
Brandon raised around $300,000. He had more small donors than his fellow candidates. Brandon received funds from local Democratic groups in Modesto and Calaveras, Tuolumne, Madera, El Dorado and Mono counties.
Brandon is a Tuolumne County supervisor who pledged to advocate for rural California in terms of funding for higher education and greater access to resources. Results will not be certified until July 10. The two candidates with the highest votes after all votes have been counted in the primary will face each other on Nov. 3.
