Connolly is coming off an upset victory in California’s District 12 Assembly race

Early returns in the race for California’s 12th Assembly District showed incumbent Damon Connolly well on his way to a second term.

With just over 40% of the total potential votes counted, Connolly, a Democrat from San Rafael, edged his Republican opponent, Andy Podshadley, from 75.9% to 24.1%.

District 12, redrawn in 2021 and now includes Marin and part of Sonoma County, has 304,330 registered voters, nearly 60% of whom are Democrats.

In addition to authoring eight bills in the past two years that were signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Connolly was a member of the Climate Action Working Group that shaped Proposition 4, the $10 billion state climate bond reported early Tuesday.

“Over the past two years, I have championed North Bay’s priorities, such as investing in wildfire prevention, facilitating access to solar energy and reducing exposure to harmful pesticides,” he said Tuesday evening.

“I’ve also delivered millions of dollars to the North Bay for housing affordability, community colleges, emergency services and more. “I work hard for this region and I am honored that so many 12th District voters agree that I have earned another term.”

Podshadley, a Novato vintner, small business owner and youth sports coach with a passion for backpacking, was a slam dunk against the more experienced Connolly, a former California deputy attorney general, San Rafael City Council member and supervisor of Marin County.

Connolly worked on parts of Prop. 4 that focused on “wildfire prevention and nature-based solutions,” he said.

He successfully advocated for $135 million to be included “for home hardening efforts at the resident and community level. So I think that will be very good.”

You can reach staff writer Austin Murphy at [email protected] or on Twitter @ausmurph88.