Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani, D-Livingston, has decided against running for state Senate in 2010.
The move is significant because the seat she was expected to seek -- that of termed-out Republican Sen. Jeff Denham -- is expected to be the Democrats' top target next year. Galgiani, who had been widely expected to run, moved two years ago from Stockton (not in the Senate seat) to Livingston (in the Senate district as well as in the middle of her Assembly seat).
"In the best of times, a campaign demands a great amount of attention," Galgiani said in a brief interview. "But given the suffering that's going on in my district ... I don't want anything to take my attention away from giving 200 percent to the district I was elected in."
Galgiani can serve until 2012 in the Assembly, where she represents the cities of Stockton and Merced, among the hardest hit communities by the housing bust and subsequent recession.
"About two weeks ago, I made a decision not to run. My reasoning is when I was looking at running, that was before the economic downturn," she said.
The decision by the moderate Democrat from the Central Valley could clear the way for Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, who is expected to make a bid for the seat.
Other potential Democratic candidates include Monterey County Supervisor Simon Salinas, a former assemblyman himself, and Wiley Nickel, the 2006 Democratic nominee against Denham.
Denham's seat was originally drawn for a Democrat, but the Atwater Republican won in a bruising 2002 campaign against former Assemblyman Rusty Areias. Denham swept fairly easily to reelection in 2006, but is serving his final term.
Now the Democrats want back what they've always viewed as rightfully theirs.
Allan Hoffenblum, who handicaps political races for the California Target Book, called the seat "safely Democratic" in 2010, despite the fact that it is currently held by a Republican.
Hoffenblum pointed out that GOP registration dropped from 37 percent to 33 percent in the last election cycle, while Democratic registration in the district gained a percentage and a half, giving Democrats a 14-point edge.
Still, Republicans are likely to try to heavily defend the seat in 2010.
Map courtesy of the California State Senate
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