Review note: William Brown for California's 12th Senate District and Nathan Magsig for State Senate may have more bias because they are advocacy voter guides compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.
- sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)CA Secretary of State — Statement of Vote, June 2, 2026 primary (certified 2026-07-10)
- ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab)Ballotpedia — June 2026 California primary
- fresnocountyca.gov (opens in a new tab)Fresno County — Board of Supervisors, District 5, Supervisor Nathan Magsig biography
- nathanmagsig.com (opens in a new tab)Nathan Magsig for State Senate — campaign site
- gvwire.com (opens in a new tab)GV Wire — op-ed, "Nathan Magsig: Why Our Second Amendment Resolution Matters to the People of the Central Valley"
- thesungazette.com (opens in a new tab)The Sun-Gazette — "Senate District 12 candidates emphasize deregulation"
- williambrownsd12.com (opens in a new tab)William Brown for California's 12th Senate District — campaign site
- sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)Cal-Access raw data export — California Secretary of State
Last updated September 24, 2026.
State of California
State Senator, District 12
This person holds your district's seat in the California State Senate (4-year term).
This is an open seat. Republican Nathan Magsig led the June 2 primary with 59.5%. Libertarian William Brown Jr. took 26.5%. No Democrat advanced. The November choice is between a Republican and a Libertarian. The district covers the central Sierra and eastern San Joaquin Valley.
The winner holds one of 40 State Senate seats for a four-year term, inside a 12-year lifetime cap on service in Sacramento. Senate districts are twice the size of Assembly districts, terms run twice as long, and the Senate confirms the Governor's appointments. Whoever wins here enters the minority, where moving legislation requires majority-party support.
Neither candidate has held state office and no Democrat is on the ballot, so the choice is between two candidates who would both sit outside the majority. One assembled a million-dollar campaign with substantial individual backing; the other has reported no funding. Weigh whether you are choosing a legislator or registering a preference.
Nathan Magsig
Nathan Magsig is a Republican running for this open seat. He has served on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors since 2016. Before that he spent sixteen years on the Clovis City Council. He was mayor of Clovis twice. He holds a master's degree in criminology and an MBA. He also works as a licensed general contractor. He says he helped bring a medical school and hospital to Clovis by cutting development fees.
He calls himself a leader ready to fight for the Central Valley. As a county supervisor, he wrote in support of a Second Amendment resolution. The county board adopted it. He said gun rights matter most in rural areas, where police can take a long time to arrive. He also backs looser water rules and more oil drilling.
He promises to cut what he calls wasteful government spending. He wants to hand more control back to local communities. He wants looser water rules for farmers and more oil production. He wants more forest thinning to cut wildfire risk and insurance costs. He also says he will fight for stronger law enforcement.
William Brown Jr.
William Brown Jr. is a Libertarian running for this open seat. He is a social worker and Marine Corps veteran who lives in Visalia. He describes himself as a middle class dad who believes in individual liberty and fiscal responsibility.
He says he is running because tax dollars vanish into a bureaucratic system while roads and schools struggle. Drawing on his social work background, he says bloated bureaucracies often hurt the people they are meant to help. He has not held elected office.
He promises to cut government barriers to small business, including lowering LLC and corporation fees for businesses making less than 250,000 dollars a year. He wants to remove limits on independent contractor work and ease licensing rules so more health care providers can practice in the Central Valley.
Record in office
This is an open seat: no candidate on the November ballot currently serves in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress, so there is no legislative record to compare here. These records cover only those offices.
Financial info
- Small donors
- Individuals
- PACs & committees
- Businesses & other orgs
Nathan Magsig
Primary — $1,084,673
- Small donors$6,1171%
- Individuals$357,86033%
- PACs & committees$246,15023%
- Businesses & other orgs$476,80644%
November — $16,775
- Individuals$3,87523%
- PACs & committees$6,50039%
- Businesses & other orgs$6,40038%
1William Brown Jr. has no contributions reported to Cal-Access for this race.
2Figures are CA Form 460 filings through June 30, 2026 by committees controlled by each candidate, and can include transfers from a candidate's earlier committees. Semi-annual reports covering January–June 2026 were due July 31, 2026, so some totals lag a period behind. Per the California Secretary of State's Cal-Access raw data export, retrieved 2026-09-21.
3William Brown Jr. has no itemized contributions dated after the June 2, 2026 primary reported to Cal-Access yet.
4Total is itemized (Schedule A) contributions and self-funding loans dated after the June 2, 2026 primary, through June 30, 2026 — small-dollar unitemized (under $100) contributions aren't independently dated in Cal-Access's raw export, so they aren't reflected here and this may undercount true small-donor activity since the primary. This also doesn't include money reported only on 24-hour late-contribution reports (Form 497) that haven't yet appeared in a periodic Form 460 filing. Per the California Secretary of State's Cal-Access raw data export, retrieved 2026-08-30.