California, State Assembly, District 15

California State Assembly District 15
Current incumbent	Buffy Wicks

California’s fifteenth state assembly district is represented by Democratic Representative Buffy Wicks.

California state assembly members represent an average of 465,674 residents. After the 2000 Census, each member represented 420,000 residents.

About the office

Members of the California State Assembly serve two-year terms with term limits. California legislators assume office one month after election (December).

Qualifications

According to Article IV of the California Constitution, the candidate must be a United States Citizen, a resident of California for three years, a resident of the legislative district for one year and a registered voter in that district by the time nomination papers are filed.

Salaries

State legislators
Salary	Per diem
$110,459/year	$192/day for each day in session.

Term limits

Since the passage of Prop 28 in 2012, legislators first elected on or after November 6, 2012, are limited to a maximum of 12 years. Prop 140, passed in 1990, affects any members elected prior to November 6, 2012, and limits them to a maximum of three two-year terms (six years).

Vacancies

If there is a vacancy in the assembly, the Governor must call for a special election. The election must be called by the Governor within fourteen days of the vacancy. No special election can be held if the vacancy happened in an election year and the nominating deadline passed.

Elections

2020

Elections for the office of California State Assembly will take place in 2020. The general election will be held on November 3, 2020. A primary is scheduled for March 3, 2020. The filing deadline was December 6, 2019.

2018

General election

General election for California State Assembly District 15

Buffy Wicks (D) defeated Jovanka Beckles (D) in the general election for California State Assembly District 15 on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Buffy Wicks (D)	53.6	104,583
	Jovanka Beckles (D)	46.4	90,405

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 194,988

Primary election

Primary for California State Assembly District 15

The following candidates ran in the primary for California State Assembly District 15 on June 5, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Buffy Wicks (D)	31.4	37,141
✔	Jovanka Beckles (D)	15.8	18,733
	Dan Kalb (D)	15.2	18,007
	Judith Appel (D)	11.5	13,591
	Rochelle Pardue-Okimoto (D)	8.3	9,826
	Pranav Jandhyala (R)	5.9	6,946
	Andy Katz (D)	5.2	6,209
	Ben Bartlett (D)	3.3	3,949
	Cheryl Sudduth (D)	1.3	1,493
	Raquella Thaman (D)	0.9	1,007
	Owen Poindexter (D)	0.7	819
	Sergey Vikramsingh Piterman (D)	0.6	689

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 118,410

2016

Elections for the California State Assembly took place in 2016. The primary election was held on June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was February 25, 2016, for candidates filing with signatures. The deadline for candidates using a filing fee to qualify was March 11, 2016.

Incumbent Tony Thurmond defeated Claire Chiara in the California State Assembly District 15 general election.

California State Assembly, District 15 General Election, 2016

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Tony Thurmond Incumbent	89.38%	189,530
	Republican	Claire Chiara	10.62%	22,528
Total Votes			212,058
Source: California Secretary of State

Incumbent Tony Thurmond and Claire Chiara were unopposed in the California State Assembly District 15 Blanket primary.

California State Assembly, District 15 Blanket Primary, 2016

Party	Candidate
	Democratic	Tony Thurmond Incumbent
	Republican	Claire Chiara

2014

Elections for the California State Assembly took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 3, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 7, 2014. Elizabeth Echols (D) and Tony Thurmond (D) defeated Clarence Hunt (D), Sam Kang (D), Pamela Price (D), Rich Kinney (R), Eugene E. Ruyle (Peace & Freedom) and Bernt Rainer Wahl (I) in the blanket primary. Thurmond defeated Echols in the general election.

California State Assembly, District 15, General Election, 2014

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Tony Thurmond	54.3%	66,661
	Democratic	Elizabeth Echols	45.7%	56,071
Total Votes			122,732

California State Assembly, District 15 Blanket Primary, 2014

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Elizabeth Echols	31.1%	21,664
	Democratic	Tony Thurmond	24.4%	16,963
	Democratic	Pamela Price	17.1%	11,898
	Republican	Rich Kinney	10.8%	7,531
	Democratic	Sam Kang	6.7%	4,630
	Democratic	Clarence Hunt	4.8%	3,329
	Peace and Freedom	Eugene E. Ruyle	3.5%	2,426
	Independent	Bernt Rainer Wahl	1.6%	1,132
Total Votes			69,573

2012

Elections for the office of California State Assembly consisted of a primary election on June 5, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 9, 2012. Incumbent Nancy Skinner (D) and Peace and Freedom Party candidate Eugene Ruyle advanced past the June 5 blanket primary unopposed before Skinner defeated Ruyle in the general election.

California State Assembly, District 15, General Election, 2012

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Nancy Skinner Incumbent	86.8%	164,929
	Peace and Freedom Party	Eugene Ruyle	13.2%	25,167
Total Votes			190,096

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2016, candidates for California State Assembly District 15 raised a total of $21,075,128. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $726,729 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, California State Assembly District 15

Year	Amount	Candidates	Average
2016	$1,142,429	2	$571,215
2014	$1,998,252	8	$249,782
2012	$899,726	2	$449,863
2010	$4,548,102	2	$2,274,051
2008	$4,889,730	6	$814,955
2006	$1,932,941	2	$966,471
2004	$1,975,714	2	$987,857
2002	$2,893,935	3	$964,645
2000	$794,299	2	$397,150
Total	$21,075,128	29	$726,729