Angelique Ashby issues statement in District 8 State Senate race as Dave Jones takes lead; the Raffa Garcia factor
Late last night Sacramento City Councilmember and District 8 State Senate candidate Angelique Ashby issued a statement on her current second-place ranking in the hotly contested race against former California State Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and Rafa Garcia.
Ashby follows front runner Jones but noted current State Senator Dr. Richard Pan was behind his opponent but managed to win in the November 2014 general election.
The statement said, “In the last State Senate primary election for this seat, Dr. Richard Pan trailed his opponent by nearly 10 percentage points before ultimately winning the general election.”
Currently, Ashby has 18,832 votes for 42.03-percent of the total, while Jones has 45.76-percent with 21,488 votes. The third candidate, Raffa Garcia, has 5,643 votes for 12.02-percent.
Even though political newcomer Garcia had little name recognition and not nearly the financial resources of Ashby or Jones, should his 12-percent of the electorate be maintained, his voters will be a factor in the November election. Garcia’s progressive Democratic stances were closer to Jones’ positions than Ashby’s, who is viewed as a moderate Democrat.
As the top two finishers, Ashby and Jones’ sharp-elbowed campaign will continue until the November election. The winner could well be determined by which candidate can woo Garcia voters to their column.