# State Senator, District 14 Compare records and positions simply between Darin S. DuPont or Esmeralda Soria for State Senator, District 14 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat in the California State Senate (4-year term). - Jurisdiction: California Legislature - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/state-senate-14 - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: September 24, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 86 out of 100 (Strong), across 11 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Darin S. DuPont** — Councilman/Water Attorney · Republican - **Esmeralda Soria** — State Assemblymember · Democratic Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria led the June 2 primary with 45.8% and Republican Darin S. DuPont took 40.4% — a 5.4-point gap making this one of the closer Senate contests on the ballot. Soria currently represents Assembly District 27 and is seeking this Senate seat rather than re-election. The district covers Fresno, Merced and part of the central 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. A four-year term means the winner will not face voters again until 2030. One candidate brings a legislative record made in the Assembly — a genuine basis for judgment, earned in a different chamber — and raised roughly sixteen times what her opponent did, yet finished under 46% in June. Weigh the record against that softness, and against a challenger who came within six points on a fraction of the money. ## Esmeralda Soria Esmeralda Soria is a Democrat and the Assemblymember for District 27, and before that a Fresno City Councilmember. In Sacramento she has worked on rural health care and housing. On her campaign site she says she is "fighting for the Valley," pointing to her own history working the fields and packing houses alongside her parents before putting herself through college and law school (campaign site). She is giving up her Assembly seat to run for this one, and says the fight is for working families, housing and health care in the Valley (campaign site). This year her bill updating the state's Distressed Hospital Loan Program, with new funding meant to keep hospitals from closing, passed the Assembly Health Committee; she said the risk of losing health care access in California has never been greater (Sierra Sun Times). She promises to keep fighting for affordable housing, health care and jobs for Valley families, and says her path from the fields to law school is why those issues come first (campaign site). **Strengths:** A sitting Assemblymember with an active health care and housing record, including a hospital-funding bill that cleared committee this session. **Trade-offs:** Her legislative record is mostly bills carried inside a large majority, and independent coverage of her positions beyond health care is thin. **Keep in mind:** Coverage of her Assembly work centers on health care legislation; what is documented about her positions on other issues comes mostly from her campaign. ## Darin S. DuPont Darin DuPont, a Republican, is a Merced City Councilmember representing District 1. He was elected in November 2024 at age 28. He is a partner at Robbins, Browning, Godwin & Marchini in Merced. His practice covers water law, municipal law and litigation. He earned his law degree at McGeorge School of Law, with concentrations in water and environmental law (campaign site; law firm bio). He is a Merced County native and a Buhach Colony High School graduate, and he also holds a public administration degree from George Mason University. DuPont says he is running because "I was raised in the Central Valley, and I know how hard our families work just to get by." He frames the race around his daughter: "My daughter deserves the same opportunities this Valley gave me. Safe communities, a strong economy, and the chance to build a life right here in California" (Merced County Times). On the council, he cast one of three dissenting votes on an April 2025 revision to Merced's flag policy. He argued: "Is our role, as a government agency and as a council, to force people to believe in an idea that we fly over our city? I just don't see that as the role of government" (GV Wire). He promises to "fight for affordability, restore accountability, protect our water, and make sure the next generation can thrive in the Central Valley" (Los Banos Enterprise). His platform lists more water storage and infrastructure, lower living costs for Valley families, and more oversight of Sacramento after what he calls years of one-party control (campaign site). **Strengths:** A practicing water-law attorney and sitting councilmember who has cast dissenting votes on the council, giving him a short but real record of independent positions. **Trade-offs:** No experience in the Legislature, and his campaign site offers little detail on issues beyond a few broad priorities. **Keep in mind:** His clearest documented position, opposing a city flag policy, is a small local vote. Most of what's public about him is biography and campaign messaging, not a legislative record. ## Record in office This seat is open — no candidate on the November ballot currently holds it. Darin S. DuPont has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress; these records cover only those offices. Esmeralda Soria (Democratic) is a sitting Assemblymember and is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 10 of them signed into law. Per the California Legislature's public bill data (leginfo bulk download), retrieved 2026-09-21. ## Record details Soria — AB 1913 (2026): Licensure: emergency equipment. Soria — AB 1923 (2026): Local ballot measures: County of Fresno. Soria — AB 1441 (2025): County of Merced Citizens Redistricting Commission. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record. ## Financial info - **Darin S. DuPont** - Primary: $102,082 raised (Small donors: $1,746; Individuals: $28,550; PACs & committees: $41,599; Businesses & other orgs: $12,950) - November: $24,900 raised (Individuals: $5,100; PACs & committees: $12,050; Businesses & other orgs: $7,750) - **Esmeralda Soria** - Primary: $1,701,839 raised (Small donors: $2,445; Individuals: $205,351; PACs & committees: $813,620; Businesses & other orgs: $665,300) - November: $43,750 raised (PACs & committees: $16,550; Businesses & other orgs: $27,200) Figures 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. Total 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. ## Review notes - Dupont For Senate, Esmeralda Soria for State Senate, and Robbins, Browning, Godwin & Marchini may have more bias because they are advocacy voter guides compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources. ## Sources 1. [CA Secretary of State — Statement of Vote, June 2, 2026 primary (certified 2026-07-10)](https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/prior-elections/statewide-election-results/primary-election-june-2-2026/statement-vote) 2. [Ballotpedia — June 2026 California primary](https://ballotpedia.org) 3. [Dupont For Senate — campaign homepage and priorities (used for his platform)](https://dupontforsenate.com/) 4. [Robbins, Browning, Godwin & Marchini — Darin S. DuPont attorney bio (used for legal background)](https://rbgmlaw.com/darin-s-dupont/) 5. [Merced County Times — Merced Councilman DuPont jumps into race for State Senate (used for his announcement quotes)](https://mercedcountytimes.com/merced-councilman-darin-dupont-announces-campaign-for-state-senate-district-14/) 6. [GV Wire — Merced Revises Flag Policy After Debate (used for DuPont's dissenting vote and quote)](https://gvwire.com/2025/04/10/merced-revises-flag-policy-after-debate-i-just-dont-see-that-as-the-role-of-government/) 7. [Los Banos Enterprise — Merced City Councilmember Darin DuPont Announces Run for California State Senate (used for platform quote)](https://losbanosenterprise.com/california/2026/merced-city-councilmember-darin-dupont-announces-run-for-california-state-senate/) 8. [Esmeralda Soria for State Senate — campaign homepage (used for her platform and biography language)](https://soriaforcalifornia.com/) 9. [GoldRushCam/Sierra Sun Times — Soria's AB 1923 Distressed Hospital Loan Program bill passes Assembly Health Committee (used for her healthcare record and quote)](https://goldrushcam.com/sierrasuntimes/index.php/news/local-news/77594-california-assemblywoman-esmeralda-soria-s-bill-an-updated-distressed-hospital-loan-program-with-new-funding-to-prevent-hospitals-from-closing-passes-assembly-health-committee) 10. [California Legislative Information — public bill data (bulk download)](https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/) 11. [Cal-Access raw data export — California Secretary of State](https://www.sos.ca.gov/campaign-lobbying/helpful-resources/raw-data-campaign-finance-and-lobbying-activity) ## The rest of the ballot State Senator, District 14 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "State Senator, District 14 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/state-senate-14 (sources last retrieved September 24, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.