Mike McGuire
2014 - Present
2026
10
Mike McGuire (Democratic Party) is a member of the California State Senate, representing District 2. He assumed office on December 1, 2014. His current term ends on December 7, 2026.
McGuire (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the California State Senate to represent District 2. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
McGuire was elected as Senate president pro tempore on February 5, 2024, succeeding the retired Toni Atkins (D).[1] McGuire's election was the first time a senator from California's northern coast was chosen to lead the senate since 1866.[2] Following McGuire's election, Cal Matters' Alexei Koseff wrote, "Termed out of the Legislature in 2026, McGuire must rush to make his mark on the Senate."[3]
McGuire is a third-generation resident of Sonoma County whose family farmed in the Alexander Valley for 50 years. He received his B.A. in political science from Sonoma State University in 2002.[4] McGuire was first elected to public office in 1998 at age 19, when he was elected to the Healdsburg School Board. He was elected to the Healdsburg City Council in 2004 and then elected to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors in 2010.[5]
McGuire was elected to the Senate in 2014, defeating Lawrence R. Wiesner (R) 70%-30%. He was re-elected in both 2018 and 2022 with more than 66% of the vote in each election. In January 2022, Atkins selected McGuire to serve as state Senate majority leader.[6] The Associated Press reported that during his time in the Senate, McGuire "authored legislation to protect marine life, support cannabis farmers, make cellphone service more reliable during power outages and fight the impacts of wildfires."[2]
The Associated Press reported that "[p]olicy advocates and fellow lawmakers described McGuire as an honest, hard-working leader who is willing to listen to a variety of opinions." Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R) said, "He’s respectful of our opinions even when he disagrees with them." Kristina Bas Hamilton, a Sacramento labor lobbyist, said McGuire and Atkins were both "down-to-earth lawmakers that have always been accessible and open doors to conversations.”[2]
Biography
Senator Mike McGuire is a third generation Northern Californian. Mike attended Santa Rosa Junior College and graduated from Sonoma State University. In his career, he served in both the radio and television industries. Mike was first elected to the Healdsburg School Board when he was 19. In 2004, Mike was elected to the Healdsburg City Council. In 2010 Mike was elected to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.[7]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at:editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
McGuire was assigned to the following committees:
- Budget and Fiscal Review Committee
- Senate Education Committee
- Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee
- Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee
- Housing Committee
- Senate Transportation Committee
- Fisheries and Aquaculture Committee, Chair
- Rules Committee
- Emergency Management Committee
2021-2022
McGuire was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Transportation Committee
- Emergency Management Committee
- Fisheries and Aquaculture Committee, Chair
- Rules Committee
- Budget and Fiscal Review Committee
- Senate Education Committee
- Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee
- Governance and Finance Committee, Chair
- Housing Committee
2019-2020
McGuire was assigned to the following committees:
- Emergency Management Committee
- Fisheries and Aquaculture Committee, Chair
- Rules Committee
- Budget and Fiscal Review Committee
- Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee
- Senate Education Committee
- Governance and Finance Committee, Chair
- Housing Committee
- Transportation and Housing Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| California committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Budget and Fiscal Review |
| • Energy, Utilities and Communications |
| • Governance and Finance, Chair |
| • Transportation and Housing |
| • Fisheries and Aquaculture, Chair |
| • Rules |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, McGuire served on the following committees:
| California committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Energy, Utilities and Communications |
| • Governmental Organization |
| • Human Services, Chair |
| • Public Safety |
| • Transportation and Housing |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2022
See also: California State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for California State Senate District 2
Incumbent Mike McGuire defeated Gene Yoon in the general election for California State Senate District 2 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mike McGuire (D) | 73.3 | 283,689 | |
| Gene Yoon (R) | 26.7 | 103,333 | ||
| Total votes: 387,022 | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 2
Incumbent Mike McGuire and Gene Yoon advanced from the primary for California State Senate District 2 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mike McGuire (D) | 75.1 | 197,999 | |
| ✔ | Gene Yoon (R) | 24.9 | 65,762 | |
| Total votes: 263,761 | ||||
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Campaign finance
2018
- See also: California State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for California State Senate District 2
Incumbent Mike McGuire defeated Veronica Jacobi in the general election for California State Senate District 2 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mike McGuire (D) | 67.2 | 233,688 | |
| Veronica Jacobi (D) | 32.8 | 114,184 | ||
| Total votes: 347,872 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 2
Incumbent Mike McGuire and Veronica Jacobi advanced from the primary for California State Senate District 2 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mike McGuire (D) | 76.2 | 163,723 | |
| ✔ | Veronica Jacobi (D) | 23.8 | 51,186 | |
| Total votes: 214,909 | ||||
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2014
- See also: California State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the California State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 3, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 7, 2014. Mike McGuire (D) and Lawrence R. Wiesner (R) defeated Derek Knell (D) and Harry V. Lehmann (I) in the blanket primary. McGuire defeated Wiesner in the general election.[8][9][10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Mike McGuire |
70% | 188,142 | |
| Republican | Lawrence R. Wiesner | 30% | 80,778 | |
| Total Votes | 268,920 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |
Mike McGuire |
57.9% | 104,670 | |
| Republican | Lawrence R. Wiesner |
26.8% | 48,401 | |
| Democratic | Derek Knell | 10.9% | 19,733 | |
| Independent | Harry V. Lehmann | 4.5% | 8,060 | |
| Total Votes | 180,864 | |||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Mike McGuire did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2014
McGuire's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[11]
Jobs and Economic Development
- Excerpt: "In the State Senate, I will ask this question first when considering legislation: “Will this law help give every Californian who is willing and able to work hard a path to the middle class?” There is no greater priority than building a thriving local economy."
Strong Public Schools
- Excerpt: "As a state senator, I will fight hard to reinvest in California’s public education system. Educating our kids and future workforce is more than just fulfilling a promise to California’s youth and families – it’s also one of the smartest investments we can make to build an economy that works for everyone."
Environmental and Coastal Protection
- Excerpt: "I fiercely oppose fracking and I will fight to protect our rivers, watersheds and coastline. I strongly support policies that address impacts of the drought on our water supply at Lake Mendocino and Lake Sonoma and I will partner with local leaders to ensure that Clearlake thrives."
Responsible State Budgets
- Excerpt: "In the State Senate, I’ll work to ensure that we move forward as a state together – sharing both the benefits of our growing economy and the sacrifices that are necessary to ensure that the promise of California is available to all of our children, families and seniors. "
Investment in Infrastructure
- Excerpt: "As a state senator, I’ll continue to fight for investments in our infrastructure, not just on Highway 101, but also on Highways 20, and 175, Highways 199 and 299, and roads and bridges throughout Northern California."
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Endorsements
2014
In 2014, McGuire's endorsements included the following:[12]
- Congressman Jared Huffman
- Congressman Mike Thompson
- Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (ret.)
- Tom Torlakson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Darrell Steinberg, President pro Tem, California State Senate
- John Perez, Speaker, California State Assembly
- Noreen Evans, State Senator
- Mark Leno, State Senator
- Wes Chesbro, State Assemblyman
- Mariko Yamada, State Assemblywoman
- Patty Berg, Assemblywoman (ret.)
- Dan Hauser, Assemblyman (ret.)
- Virginia Strom-Martin, Assemblywoman (ret.)
- Martha McClure, Del Norte County Supervisor
- Mike Sullivan, Del Norte County Supervisor
- Jerry Cochran, Del Norte County Assessor (ret.)
- Virginia Bass, Humboldt County Supervisor
- Rex Bohn, Humboldt County Supervisor
- Estelle Fennel, Humboldt County Supervisor
- Mark Lovelace, Humboldt County Supervisor
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of California scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the California State Legislature was in session from January 3 to August 31. A special session in the Assembly was from August 31, 2024 to October 14, 2024 and another special session started on December 2, 2024.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the California State Legislature was in session from January 1 to September 14.
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2022
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In 2022, the California State Legislature was in session from January 3 to August 31.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the California State Legislature was in session from December 7 to September 10.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the California State Legislature was in session from January 6 to August 31.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the California State Legislature was in session from January 7 through September 13.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the California State Legislature was in session from January 3, 2018 through August 31, 2018.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the California State Legislature was in session from December 5, 2016 through September 15, 2017.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the California State Legislature was in session from January 4 through August 31. The formal session ended on August 31, but constitutionally the session adjourned sine die on November 30.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the California State Legislature was in session from December 1, 2014, through September 12, 2015.
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See also
2022 Elections
External links
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Candidate California State Senate District 2 |
Officeholder California State Senate District 2 |
Footnotes
- ↑ KCRA, "Mike McGuire is sworn in as the new leader of California's State Senate," accessed July 22, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Associated Press, "New California Senate leader says his priorities are climate change, homelessness and opioid crises," February 2, 2024
- ↑ Cal Matters, "Mike McGuire wants to ‘lift up every person’ as new California Senate leader," February 5, 2024
- ↑ Sonoma State University', "McGuire Distinguished Alum," November 20, 2015
- ↑ Cal Matters, "Mike McGuire," accessed March 4, 2025
- ↑ The Press Democrat, "Mike McGuire named California Senate majority leader," January 19, 2022
- ↑ California State Senate, “Senator Mike McGuire” accessed September 29, 2019
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official 2014 Primary election candidate list," accessed March 27, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed July 15, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed December 14, 2014
- ↑ mikemcguireforsenate.com, "Six Priorities to Move California Forward," accessed May 2, 2014
- ↑ mikemcguireforsenate.com, "Supporters," accessed May 2, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
California State Senate District 2 2014-Present |
Succeeded by - |
