Assemblyman Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, won the special election for the 40th Senate District seat with 52 percent of the vote, according to the California Secretary of State's Office. He will replace Juan Vargas, who was elected to Congress last November.
The victory restores a Democrat supermajority in the state senate.
Hueso garnered enough votes to avoid a May runoff against one of the other three candidates in the race; Two Republicans -- real estate agent Hector Gastelum had 22 percent of the vote, and author Xanthi Gionis, 15 percent. Democrat Anna Nevenic, a registered nurse, was fourth with 10 percent.
Hueso's win will cause another special election to fill his Assembly seat.
The election was held in the southern and eastern portions of San Diego County and Imperial County, including Coachella Valley, Blythe, Cathedral City, Indio, Mecca and Thousand Palms.
