Emotion regarding social issues is clouding the political judgment of political observers and the local press in the race for the 5th Assembly District between Republican Small Business Owner Andy Pugno, Democrat Community Physician/Educator Richard Pan, and Peace and Freedom College Student Elizabeth Martinez.
So the Pugno campaign will attempt to provide some facts for people to consider about the race, the district and the candidates.
Pugno Fact #5
As of the 60-day close of voter registration, the makeup of Assembly District 5 is now 40% Republican, 37% Democrat. Under the 2001 redistricting plan, no Democrat has won a legislative seat when Republican registration was 40% or above.
Just a short time ago, this district had more Democrats than Republicans. Today Republicans have a margin of almost 6,000 and the drive to register more Republicans continues.
Total Voters 253,825
Republicans 101,846
Democrats 95,920
DTS 45,293
Pugno Fact #4
According to a poll completed Sunday night in Assembly District 5, when likely voters were asked if they were likely or unlikely to vote for a candidate who was endorsed by the Sacramento Bee:
37% responded likely
54% responded unlikely
9% had no opinion
Note: The Pugno campaign congratulates Dr. Pan on his Sacramento Bee endorsement yesterday and encourages him to let everyone in the district know about it.
Pugno Fact #3
Proposition 8 passed in Assembly District 5 by a margin of 55-45 in the best turn out year for Democrats in more than a decade. Note: This is the same margin that it passed in Speaker Perez’ District.
Pugno Fact #2
In 2008, Peace & Freedom candidate Karen Martinez won 8% of the vote for Assembly District 5 in a 3-way race. This year it is again a 3-way race with Peace & Freedom candidate Elizabeth Martinez (her daughter) on the ballot. Polling shows the third-party candidate pulling 10% of the vote, almost totally from liberal voters.
Pugno Fact #1
In the June primary election more than 42,000 votes were cast for Republican candidates compared to just 35,000 for Democrats. 7,000 votes is a substantial difference.
