Early this morning, it was determined that Democratic candidate Marty Block has won the 39th California State Senate District Race with 57.1%, compared to George Plescia's 42.9%. The incumbent, Block, has defeated his opponent with 139,610 votes to Plescia's 104,904. During the July1-September 30 campaign filing period, Block received $139,506 in campaign contributions, compared to Plescia's $183,894. In the June primary, Block collected 85,930 votes compared to Plescia's 81,214.
This was not an astounding victory, as there are 200,903 registered Democrats is Senate District 39. A great deal behind Democratic Party registration, as there are only 157,111 registered Republicans in Senate District 39. Furthermore, San Diego maintains a large population of undecided voters totaling 147,509, and a slew of third-party-oriented voters.
Within the 39th State Senate District, there are 17,184 voters are registered with the American Independence Party, 3,399 registered Green Party voters, 4,363 are registered Peace and Freedom Party members, and 1,947 voters are classified as other or "unaffiliated" voters. In a district that is so widely spread, with a total of 533,660 registered voters, this was an unsurprising win in a highly Democratic state.
It is a possibility that Block's Democratic affiliation may have appealed to the large third party presence in the district.
Blocks campaign website expounds that:
"For 30 years, Marty Block has lived in our neighborhoods and as an active community volunteer, respected elected official, and experienced professional, he is uniquely qualified to tackle the issues that are important to the communities of the 39th Senate District. As the Senator for the 39th Senate District, Marty will build upon his legislative accomplishments in the Assembly and reflect upon his years of service in our communities to improve our education systems, economic activity, environmental health, and our quality of life."
While it is relatively simple for a candidate to make promises during the election cycle, Block's legislative efforts should be aimed not only to benefit the 39th District, but the state of California as well.