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California Legislature · Statewide General Election

State Senator, District 20

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 Caroline Menjivar took 62.0% of the June 2 vote and Republican Tony Rodriguez took 27.8% to claim the second slot. The district covers the northern San Fernando 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.

The incumbent has one of the stronger enacted records in the Legislature this session; her opponent has raised under $7,000, more than half of it his own money. The practical question here is what this district is getting from a safe seat over four years.

Caroline Menjivar

Democrat, the sitting Senator for this district. She is lead author of 34 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 8 of them signed into law — among the stronger conversion rates in the Legislature. She took 62.0% of the June vote.

Strengths

Eight bills signed into law this session, and $123,915 from individual donors alongside the institutional money.

Trade-offs

About half her money came from PACs and committees, an institutional base of the usual size for this chamber.

Keep in mind

A 62% primary is a fact about this district's registration as much as about her record.

Tony Rodriguez

Republican, who advanced with 27.8% of the June vote. He raised $6,680, of which $3,680 is his own money. He has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.

Strengths

He took more than a quarter of the vote on under $7,000, giving this district a contested ballot.

Trade-offs

More than half his funding is his own, and he has no record in office to be judged on.

Keep in mind

Coverage surfaced almost no biographical or platform detail about him. That gap is what was available to us on 2026-08-10, not a comment on his candidacy.

Record in office

Caroline Menjivar (Democratic) is the sitting State Senator for this district and is lead author of 34 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 8 of them signed into law. Tony Rodriguez 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

Menjivar — SB 20 (2025): Occupational safety: high-exposure trigger tasks on artificial stone. Menjivar — SB 68 (2025): Major food allergens. Menjivar — SB 62 (2025): Health care coverage: essential health benefits. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.

Financial info

Tony Rodriguez

$6,680raised
  • Individuals$3,00045%
  • Self-funding$3,68055%

Caroline Menjivar

$865,362raised
  • Small donors$1,318<1%
  • Individuals$123,91514%
  • PACs & committees$391,65045%
  • Businesses & other orgs$345,65040%

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

Caroline Menjivar (Democratic)62.0% · 97,191 votes
Tony Rodriguez (Republican)27.8% · 43,622 votes
Roberto David LaCarra (Democratic)10.1% · 15,832 votes
Source review: Very strong (97/100) · 4 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

Last updated August 10, 2026.