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California Legislature · Statewide General Election

State Senator, District 18

Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.

This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.

On the ballot

This person holds your district's seat in the California State Senate (4-year term).

Senator Steve Padilla took 63.8% of the June 2 vote and Republican Art Hodges took 36.2%; they were the only two candidates on the primary ballot. The district covers the South Bay of San Diego County and the border communities.

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.

The incumbent has the highest bill count in the Legislature this session at 36 authored, with 6 signed into law, and a heavily institutional funding base. His opponent is running on about six percent of the money. The practical question here is what this district is getting from a safe seat over four years.

Steve Padilla

Democrat, the sitting Senator for this district. He is lead author of 36 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 6 of them signed into law — the highest authored count of any candidate on this ballot outside the Budget chairmanship. He took nearly two-thirds of the June vote.

Strengths

The largest ordinary bill workload in the Legislature this session, with 6 enacted.

Trade-offs

Effectively none of his support came from small donors; the rest is split between committees and business organizations.

Keep in mind

A high authored count with a moderate enacted count can mean ambitious bills or crowded ones; the record alone does not say which.

Art Hodges

Republican, and the only other candidate on this district's ballot, with 36.2% of the June vote. He raised $40,574, mostly from individuals at $28,550. He has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.

Strengths

A campaign funded largely by individuals, and more than a third of the vote on about six percent of the incumbent's money.

Trade-offs

That resource gap is wide, and he has no record in office to be judged on.

Keep in mind

Coverage surfaced little detail about his platform. That gap is what was available to us on 2026-08-10, not a comment on his candidacy.

Record in office

Steve Padilla (Democratic) is the sitting State Senator for this district and is lead author of 36 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 6 of them signed into law. Art Hodges has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress; these records cover only those offices. Per the California Legislature's public bill data (leginfo bulk download), retrieved 2026-08-10.

Record details

Padilla — SB 243 (2025): Companion chatbots. Padilla — SB 461 (2025): State real property: City of Imperial. Padilla — SB 57 (2025): Electrical corporations: data centers: report. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.

Financial info

Art Hodges

$40,574raised
  • Small donors$2,6687%
  • Individuals$28,55072%
  • PACs & committees$7,90020%
  • Businesses & other orgs$2501%
  • Self-funding$2061%

Steve Padilla

$724,167raised
  • Small donors$180<1%
  • Individuals$34,6605%
  • PACs & committees$332,10746%
  • Businesses & other orgs$355,08349%

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 2026-08-22.

June 2 primary — how they advanced

Steve Padilla (Democratic)63.8% · 102,089 votes
Art Hodges (Republican)36.2% · 57,835 votes
Source review: Very strong (97/100) · 4 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

Last updated August 10, 2026.