1978 general · November 7, 1978
1978 California State Senate election results, district by district
Every California State Senate district in the 1978 general election: winners, margins, unopposed seats and seats that changed party.
Seats after the election
Democrats controlled the chamber · 40 seats
After the electionD 25 · R 15
Races20
Changed party3
Unopposed0%0 races
Incumbents defeated2
Every district
D 16 · R 4
| Race | Winner | Won by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SD-2 | Barry Keene (D) | 5.4 | Flipped |
| SD-4 | James W. Nielsen (R) | 6.9 | FlippedIncumbent lost |
| SD-6 | John F. Foran (D) | 36.1 | |
| SD-8 | John W. Holmdahl (D) | 41.7 | |
| SD-10 | Marz Garcia (R) | 0.1 | FlippedIncumbent lost |
| SD-12 | Jerry Smith (D) | 22.2 | |
| SD-14 | George N. Zenovich (D) | 43.4 | |
| SD-16 | Walter W. Stiern (D) | 18.3 | |
| SD-18 | Omer L. Rains (D) | 31.6 | |
| SD-20 | Alan Robbins (D) | 40.7 | |
| SD-22 | Alan Sieroty (D) | 37.6 | |
| SD-24 | Alex P. Garcia (D) | 42.9 | |
| SD-26 | Joseph B. Montoya (D) | 29.3 | |
| SD-28 | Ralph C. Dills (D) | 72.4 | |
| SD-30 | Diane Watson (D) | 37.8 | |
| SD-32 | Ruben S. Ayala (D) | 24.5 | |
| SD-34 | Robert Presley (D) | 11.4 | |
| SD-36 | John G. Schmitz (R) | 4.9 | |
| SD-38 | William A. Craven (R) | 25.9 | |
| SD-40 | James R. Mills (D) | 42.9 |
California State Senate
Results are each source's final count; margins are the winner's lead over the runner-up in points of the vote. Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl Klarner