Joshua Botts Newman(born October 17, 1964) is an American politician who serves in theCalifornia State Senate.ADemocrat,he represents the29th Senate District,which encompasses parts ofLos Angeles,Orange,andSan Bernardinocounties. He was previously recalled from the same office in June 2018.
Josh Newman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theCalifornia State Senate from the29thdistrict | |
| In office December 7, 2020 – November 30, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Ling Ling Chang |
| Succeeded by | Eloise Reyes(redistricted) |
| In office December 5, 2016 – June 24, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Huff |
| Succeeded by | Ling Ling Chang |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 16, 1964 |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Darcy Lewis |
| Children | 1 |
| Residence(s) | Fullerton, California,U.S. |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Profession | Nonprofit director veterans advocate |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1986–1990 |
Newman was elected to the State Senate by a very narrow margin in November 2016, providing Democrats with a ⅔ supermajority of 27 seats. In June 2018, he was successfully recalled by the voters of the 29th Senate District, and replaced by his 2016 opponent, formerRepublicanAssemblywomanLing Ling Chang.In November 2020, Newman once again defeated Chang to return to the State Senate.
Prior to being elected to the State Senate, Newman was a veterans' advocate and executive director of a nonprofit for veterans.
Newman graduated fromYale Universityand served as an officer in theUnited States Army.
Career
edit2016 election
editIn Newman's first election, he defeated formerIrvineMayorSukhee Kangin the primary, then narrowly defeated Republican stateAssemblywomanLing Ling Changto succeed term-limited RepublicanBob Huffin the general election.[1]
2018 recall
editIn June 2018, Newman wasrecalled from office,[2][3]ostensibly for his affirmative vote on Senate Bill 1, which increased gas and diesel taxes and raised DMV registration fees in California.[4][5]The recall effort was heavily pushed by influential radio personalitiesJohn and Ken.He was replaced by RepublicanLing Ling Chang,whom he had defeated in the 2016 election.[6]
2020 election
editOn March 4, 2019, Newman announced that he would be a candidate to return to theCalifornia State Senatein the 2020 elections.[7]
He came in second in the primary election, defeating Democratic challenger Joseph Cho. In the general election, he won office with 51.3% of the vote to retake the seat from Chang.[3]
2024 election
editFollowing redistricting, Newman announced that he would run for the37th Senate district,going up against fellow DemocratDave Min.[8]Later, Senator Min announced that he would not seek re-election to the State Senate and would instead run forCalifornia's 47th congressional district.In the general election, Min would win the congressional seat, but Newman would end up narrowly losing the Senate seat to Republican former AssemblymanSteven Choi.
Personal life
editElection results
edit2020
edit| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Ling Ling Chang(incumbent) | 98,687 | 47.4 | |
| Democratic | Josh Newman | 69,732 | 33.5 | |
| Democratic | Joseph Cho | 39,643 | 19.1 | |
| Total votes | 208,062 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Josh Newman | 214,456 | 51.3 | |
| Republican | Ling Ling Chang(incumbent) | 203,762 | 48.7 | |
| Total votes | 418,218 | 100.0 | ||
| DemocraticgainfromRepublican | ||||
2018 (Recall)
edit| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 Yes
|
91,892 | 58.13 |
| No | 66,197 | 41.87 |
| Total votes | 158,089 | 100.00 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ling Ling Chang | 50,215 | 33.80 | |
| Democratic | Joseph Cho | 31,726 | 21.36 | |
| Republican | Bruce Whitaker | 28,704 | 19.32 | |
| Democratic | Josh Ferguson | 17,745 | 11.95 | |
| Democratic | Kevin Carr | 12,713 | 8.56 | |
| Republican | George C. Shen | 7,442 | 5.01 | |
| Total votes | 148,545 | 100.00 | ||
| RepublicangainfromDemocratic | ||||
2016
edit| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Ling Ling Chang | 73,514 | 44.0 | |
| Democratic | Josh Newman | 48,754 | 29.2 | |
| Democratic | Sukhee Kang | 44,766 | 26.8 | |
| Total votes | 167,034 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Josh Newman | 160,230 | 50.4 | |
| Republican | Ling Ling Chang | 157,732 | 49.6 | |
| Total votes | 317,962 | 100.0 | ||
| DemocraticgainfromRepublican | ||||
References
edit- ^Jordan Graham (November 23, 2016)."Josh Newman takes lead in 29th state Senate race, bringing Democrats close to supermajority".The Orange County Register.RetrievedJune 11,2017.
- ^"The Latest: Recall denies Democrats California supermajority".13 WTHR Indianapolis.June 6, 2018. Archived fromthe originalon April 23, 2020.RetrievedAugust 6,2019.
- ^ab"Once recalled, newly reelected Sen. Josh Newman pitches bills to tighten process".OC Register.March 12, 2021.
- ^"State Sen. Josh Newman Targeted By Recall Over California Gas Tax Vote".CBS Sacramento.May 9, 2017.
- ^"Info for tomorrow's recall Josh Newman show".KFI AM 640.
- ^"Special Recall Election".California Secretary of State.RetrievedJune 6,2018.
- ^"Recalled former state Sen. Josh Newman running to retake seat in 2020".March 5, 2019.RetrievedAugust 6,2019.
- ^Schallhorn, Kaitlyn (December 13, 2022)."Two OC Senate incumbents prepare to face off in 2024".The Orange County Register.RetrievedMarch 14,2024.
- ^Arom, Eitan (January 6, 2017)."Jewish state legislators ready to make an impact".Jewish Journal.
- ^"May 5th luncheon honoring Senator Josh Newman".RetrievedAugust 6,2019.