District 24 Assemblyman Jim Beall Jr. garnered 110,790 votes Tuesday night, beating out opponent Joe Coto by more than 30,000 votes. Beall cemented his seat, representing State Senate District 15, which includes Campbell, Los Gatos, Cupertino, Saratoga and parts of San Jose.
Beall had also edged out Coto in the primaries, with 69,179 votes, or 55.5 percent compared to Coto's 55,387 votes, or 44.5 percent.
Beall was first elected into office in 2006 and re-elected in 2010.
Coto, 72, was an assemblyman from 2006 until he was termed out in 2010.
The two came together for their only debate in Campbell on Sept. 17, hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Southwest Santa Clara Valley. The Democratic candidates have attacked each other during the campaign with accusations of ethical violations.
Coto, a longtime superintendent of San Jose's East Side Union High School District, said that for the communities included in the newly drawn Senate District 15, education is a high priority and with his experience and skill set, he's a good match to the position.
He's received the endorsement from Campbell Vice Mayor Evan Low and Cupertino Councilman Gilbert Wong.
Beall received the endorsements from Campbell Mayor Mike Kotowski, councilmen Jason Baker, Jeff Cristina and Rich Waterman and former Campbell councilmembers Dan Furtado and Jane Kennedy as well as Saratoga Mayor Chuck Page, Saratoga councilmen Manny Cappello and Howard Miller; Los Gatos councilman Joe Pirzynski; and Cupertino councilmen Barry Chang, Orrin Mahoney and Kris Wang.
A link to the new senate districts is found here.
