Politics

Sakakihara Leads in State Senate Race, Wicks Ahead in Assembly Contest

By Kyle Martin

Early returns on Tuesday night showed Scott Sakakihara ahead of Republican Linda Price in the race for Rep. Aisha Wahab’s former state Senate seat. Incumbent Assemblymember Buffy Wicks also faced progressive Green Party challenger Mark Rendón and appeared ahead with votes. Wahab ran in Tuesday’s election as the incumbent in Congressional District 14 after leaving the Senate to replace disgraced former Congressman Eric Swalwell, who resigned from the House of Representatives earlier this year amid sexual misconduct allegations. Early returns showed Sakakihara with about 75% of the vote compared to Price’s 25%, according to the Secretary of State’s office. Wicks also appeared ahead with more than 80% of the vote compared to Rendón’s 19%. Senate District 10 stretches across parts of Alameda and Santa Clara counties, including the cities of Fremont, Hayward, Newark, Union City, Milpitas, Fairview, San Jose and Sunnyvale. In the June primary election, Sakakihara received 29% of the vote compared to Price’s 23%. The Union City councilmember campaigned to fight against the Trump administration’s ICE crackdowns, make housing more affordable and to invest in renewable energy sources. Price, who also previously lost a 2022 bid for the Fremont Union High School District Board of Education, wrote on her campaign website that she wants to bring “integrity, professionalism, practical experience and common sense to Sacramento while ensuring every community has a voice.” Assembly District 14 spans parts of Alameda and Contra Costa counties, from Piedmont to just outside of Crockett, and includes the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, and Richmond. In the June primary election, Wicks received 81% of the vote to Rendón’s 10%. Rendón, a former Oakland Unified School District music teacher, campaigned to divest the state’s resources from fossil fuels, bolster California’s use of renewable energy and impose higher taxes on billionaires. He also proposed transforming the Richmond Chevron oil refinery away from fossil fuels into a renewable energy plant. If elected, another key issue for Rendón, opposes President Donald Trump’s recent investments into bolstering coal business in Oakland’s harbor. Wicks, 48, is currently in her fourth term in the Assembly. She represented District 15 after she won her first election in 2018. In 2024, she was reelected for the newly redrawn District 14. Prior to that, Wicks served in both the Obama Administration and his presidential campaigns of 2008 and 2012. Along the campaign trail, she vowed to support legislation and projects that build housing, prevent gun violence and protect kids from AI and dangerous exposure online.