Democrats Esmeralda Soria and Brian Pacheco declared victory Tuesday night in their respective races for Merced-area seats in the California state Legislature.
If current results hold, Pacheco will assume Soria’s District 27 seat in the state Assembly, while Soria will succeed outgoing Democrat Anna Caballero in state Senate District 14.
“The Central Valley deserves a real voice in Sacramento and tonight, voters chose me, the daughter of farm workers, to be that voice,” Soria said in an official statement.
Pacheco, currently a Fresno County supervisor, declared victory shortly after Soria.
“I’m honored that the voters across Merced, Fresno, and Madera counties chose me to fight for them in Sacramento,” Pacheco said in a statement sent just after 10 p.m. “I am going to Sacramento for one thing only, to fight for the Valley’s fair share and get things done.”
In both races, the candidate with the highest direct financial contributions currently holds the lead.
Senate District 14
Initial results showed Soria leading Darin DuPont with 64% of the vote compared to DuPont’s 35.8%, according to the California Secretary of State’s election website.
Both Soria and DuPont currently serve in elected positions. Soria is the state Assemblymember for District 27, where she has served since 2022. Her seat was left open this election cycle since she chose to pursue the state Senate in District 14.
DuPont pursued and won his election to become Merced’s District 1 city council member, his first elected position, in 2024. While his city council term is slated to run through Nov. 2028, DuPont declared his candidacy for the state Senate in February.
The Soria campaign proclaimed victory early in the night in an official statement at 9:06 p.m. while early results showed her leading with 63.6% of the vote.
“The trust voters have placed in me once again to fight for them in Sacramento is humbling and incredibly energizing,” Soria said in the statement. “… I’m ready to take on this new role as the Senator for District 14 and look forward to turning campaign promises into California policies.”
DuPont told The Merced FOCUS he felt the statement was unfortunate to voters that went out to the polls the night of the election “because those are the voters that we are waiting to look at.”
He said he would wait for the dust to settle on election night and assess in the morning, but did not rule out conceding. Ultimately, he said he probably wouldn’t make a decision until Wednesday.
If the current results hold, DuPont will continue in his capacity as a member of the Merced City Council. He noted his Merced District 1 constituents were supportive of his bid for the state senate, and told The Merced FOCUS he will take what he learned from the campaign back to his role on the council.
“I’ve learned from this experience is really the connections and the ability to build coalitions with people that you may not always agree with,” he said.
As the first results rolled in around 8:15 p.m., DuPont shared affordability as the biggest concern voiced by voters.
“In California, we have some of the highest gas prices, grocery prices, housing prices,” he said. “… I’m 30 years old. My generation is just struggling, struggling to find that first step and build that sense of family and home, and it’s getting more and more difficult.”
Both candidates watched election results unfold from two separate cities within their district. Soria and her team held their watch party in Moto Delicatessen & Bodega in Fresno, while DuPont followed the results from Five-Ten Bistro in Merced.
The two candidates ran their campaigns in a district with a heavy Latino presence, which includes roughly 664,000 Latino residents, or 66% of the voting district’s population. While Senate District 14 is home to nearly 1 million people, only 458,977 of its residents are registered to vote.
The district covers the counties of Merced, Madera, Fresno and a small portion of Tulare County.
In their pursuit of election to the California State Senate, Soria raised over $2.24 million in direct contributions while DuPont raised $260,000, according to Oct. 30 data assembled by CalMatters.
Assembly District 27
Democratic Fresno County Supervisor Brian Pacheco declared victory in a 10:08 p.m. official statement in his bid for Soria’s open position in the California state Assembly against Republican and former Merced Mayor Mike Murphy.
Initial results show Pacheco leading with 63% of the vote compared to Murphy’s 36.8%, according to the California Secretary of State’s election website.
Pacheco complimented Murphy for a “hard-fought race” in his statement and pledged to work for those who supported his Republican opponent.
“I will work just as hard for you because everyone in the Central Valley deserves financial relief, reliable water and safer neighborhoods,” Pacheco said in the statement.
The two candidates both hold backgrounds in governance but come from different private sector backgrounds. Pacheco is a fourth-generation Central Valley dairyman and farmer who obtained an agricultural economics degree from UC Davis, according to his campaign website.
Prior to serving Fresno County on the Board of Supervisors since 2015, Pacheco served 12 years on the Kerman Unified School District’s Board of Trustees.
Murphy, who grew up in Merced, is an attorney that graduated from Georgetown Law. He served Merced’s residents on the city’s council starting in 2011, then later as Mayor from 2016 until 2020.
Murphy told The Merced FOCUS the election night returns weren’t the result he was hoping for and that he expects to concede shortly. He noted Pacheco ran a good race and a very effective campaign and that he looks forward to speaking with Pacheco.
The former Merced mayor also shared what he heard from constituents on the campaign trail, noting one issue remained at the top of the list:
“Certainly how unaffordable California has become, and in particular it’s the cost to fill up your gas tank, fill up your grocery cart, to be able to afford housing,” he said. “It’s just gotten out of reach. The prices have outpaced family incomes.”
Murphy also tied his election results to trends seen nationally, at the state level and locally, as the Democratic Party has made large strides against Republicans.
“It’s clear that voters want change, and that’s what they’re going to get,” Murphy said.
Both candidates watched the results of their elections roll in from Merced County, with Murphy monitoring results from Bella Luna on Merced’s Main Street and Pacheco watching from The Tarmac in Atwater with Rep. Adam Gray, D-Merced.
After its current electoral boundaries were drawn in 2020, Assembly District 27 covers parts of Fresno, Madera and Merced counties. The Latino-heavy district’s constituency totals 512,647 residents, with 66.7% of the population being Hispanic or Latino, according to current AD27 Assemblymember Soria’s website. Just under half – 240,173 – of the district’s residents are registered voters.
Each candidate raised over $1 million in direct contributions for the election, according to Oct. 30 data compiled by CalMatters. Pacheco garnered the most, totalling $5.57 million to Murphy’s $1.21 million.