California Legislature · Statewide General Election
State Senator, District 40
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
- Kristie Bruce-Lane — Republican
- Mara Elliott — Democratic
This person holds your district's seat in the California State Senate (4-year term).
This is an open seat. Democrat Mara Elliott led the June 2 primary with 47.9% and Republican Kristie Bruce-Lane took 27.7%. The district covers inland San Diego County.
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. Because this seat is open, whoever wins starts without seniority.
Neither candidate has held state office, so there is no legislative record on either side, and this is one of the more evenly matched open seats on the ballot in resources — $430,447 against $230,229. Both drew substantially on individuals. Weigh the candidates rather than the money, because the money does not separate them sharply.
Mara Elliott
Democrat, who led the June primary with 47.9% of the vote, just short of a majority. She raised $430,447, including $273,250 from PACs and committees and $143,444 from individuals. She has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.
Strengths
She led the field by 20 points and nearly took a majority outright in a multi-candidate open-seat primary.
Trade-offs
About two-thirds of her funding came from PACs and committees, and she has no record in state office to be judged on.
Keep in mind
She led with 47.9%, just short of a majority, so November depends on where the rest of the June field's support settles.
Kristie Bruce-Lane
Republican, who advanced with 27.7% of the June vote. She raised $230,229, including $146,882 from individuals, $58,100 from PACs and committees and $5,348 from small donors. She has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.
Strengths
Nearly two-thirds of her funding came from named individuals rather than committees, and she is closer in resources to her opponent than most challengers.
Trade-offs
She finished 20 points behind, and has no record in state office to be judged on.
Keep in mind
Coverage surfaced little detail about her platform. That gap is what was available to us on 2026-08-10, not a comment on her candidacy.
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
- Self-funding
Kristie Bruce-Lane
$230,229 raised
- Small donors$5,3482%
- Individuals$146,88264%
- PACs & committees$58,10025%
- Businesses & other orgs$8,6504%
- Self-funding$10,0004%
Mara Elliott
$430,447 raised
- Small donors$2,7391%
- Individuals$143,44434%
- PACs & committees$273,25064%
- Businesses & other orgs$8,3502%
1Figures 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
Source review: Very strong (94/100) · 3 cited sources
Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.
- 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
- sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)Cal-Access raw data export — California Secretary of State
Last updated August 10, 2026.