Tony Strickland
2025 - Present
2026
0
Tony Strickland (Republican Party) is a member of the California State Senate, representing District 36. He assumed office on March 11, 2025. His current term ends on December 7, 2026.
Strickland (Republican Party) won election to the California State Senate to represent District 36 outright in the primary on February 25, 2025, after the general election was canceled.
Biography
Tony Strickland earned his B.A. in political science from Whittier College. His professional experience includes working as the vice president of Green Wave Energy Solutions, LLC.
Committee assignments
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Strickland served on these committees:
- Business, Professions and Economic Development
- Energy, Utilities and Communications
- Environmental Quality Committee, California State Senate, Vice Chair
- Governmental Organization Committee, California Senate
- Health Committee, California Senate, Vice Chair
- Human Services Committee, California Senate
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Strickland served on these committees:
- Health
- Budget and Fiscal Review
- Energy, Utilities and Communications
- Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments
Elections
2025
See also: California state legislative special elections, 2025
Nonpartisan primary election
Special nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 36
Tony Strickland won election outright against Jimmy Pham, Julie Diep, and John Briscoe in the special primary for California State Senate District 36 on February 25, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Tony Strickland (R) | 51.3 | 81,133 |
 | Jimmy Pham (D) | 27.7 | 43,730 | |
 | Julie Diep (D) | 14.3 | 22,647 | |
 | John Briscoe (R) | 6.7 | 10,588 | |
| Total votes: 158,098 | |||
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Endorsements
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2014
Strickland ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. House to represent California's 25th District. Strickland and Stephen Knight (R) advanced past the blanket primary on June 3, 2014, defeating Lee Rogers (D), Evan Thomas (D), Troy Castagna (R), Navraj Singh (R), David Bruce (L) and Michael Mussack (I). Strickland was then defeated in the general election on November 4, 2014.[1][2]
Strickland initially planned to run for the 26th Congressional District seat of California. However, he dropped out of the race and endorsed assemblyman Jeff Gorell once Gorell entered the race.[3]
The National Republican Congressional Committee added Strickland to their "On the Radar" list in November 2013. According to the NRCC, candidates that made this list were set to receive "...the tools they need to run successful, winning campaigns against their Democratic opponents."[4]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Steve Knight |
53.3% | 60,847 | |
| Republican | Tony Strickland | 46.7% | 53,225 | |
| Total Votes | 114,072 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |
Tony Strickland |
29.6% | 19,090 | |
| Republican | Steve Knight |
28.4% | 18,327 | |
| Democratic | Lee Rogers | 22.2% | 14,315 | |
| Democratic | Evan Thomas | 9.5% | 6,149 | |
| Republican | Troy Castagna | 5.9% | 3,805 | |
| Libertarian | David Bruce | 1.9% | 1,214 | |
| Independent | Michael Mussack | 1.4% | 933 | |
| Republican | Navraj Singh | 1.1% | 699 | |
| Total Votes | 64,532 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State |
||||
2012
Strickland ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent California's 26th District. Redistricting combined a portion of Strickland's senate district with that of Fran Pavley. Because of this, they could have met in the 2012 general election this November, but Strickland decided to run for the U.S. House instead of running for re-election against Pavley.[5] He and Julia Brownley (D) advanced past the blanket primary on June 5, 2012, defeating Albert Maxwell Goldberg (D), Jess Herrera (D), David Cruz Thayne (D), and Linda Parks (Ind). They faced off in the November 6, 2012, general election and Brownley won.[6][7][8]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Julia Brownley |
52.7% | 139,072 | |
| Republican | Tony Strickland | 47.3% | 124,863 | |
| Total Votes | 263,935 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Tony Strickland (R) |
44.1% | 49,043 |
| Julia Brownley (D) |
26.9% | 29,892 |
| Linda Parks (NPP) | 18.3% | 20,301 |
| Jess Herrera (D) | 6.5% | 7,244 |
| David Cruz Thayne (D) | 2.5% | 2,809 |
| Albert Maxwell Goldberg (D) | 1.7% | 1,880 |
| Total Votes | 111,169 | |
2008
In 2008, Strickland was elected to the California State Senate, District 19. In a close race Strickland finished with 207,976 votes just barely edging out his opponent Hannah-Beth Jackson who finished with 201,119 votes.[9] Strickland raised $4,196,857 in campaign funds.
| California State Senate, District 19 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Tony Strickland (R)
|
207,976 | |||
| Hannah-Beth Jackson (D) | 207,119 | |||
Campaign themes
2025
Tony Strickland did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
2014
Strickland's campaign website listed the following issues:[10]
| “ |
|
” |
| —Tony Strickland's campaign website, http://www.tonystrickland.com/issues | ||
2012
Strickland's campaign website listed the following issues:[12]
- Keeping Ventura County First
- Excerpt: "Too many Ventura County families are struggling to make ends meet. Our local recovery and return to sound policies are necessary in order to get our neighbors working and our County thriving economically again. Creating new jobs and keeping jobs already in Ventura County, here, must be the focus of our government and our elected officials."
- Creating American Jobs
- Excerpt: "Ventura County needs independent leaders who will work to unite our community around economic policies that provide hope and prosperity for families struggling to make ends meet. Over the past three and a half years, our government has failed in its core duty: promoting an economy where lasting, well-paying jobs can be created in America."
- Protecting Medicare and Social Security
- Excerpt: "Social Security and Medicare are a sacred trust with our country’s seniors who have worked and paid into the system their entire lives. I will steadfastly oppose any effort to reduce Social Security or Medicare benefits for America’s retirees or those nearing retirement. I will also oppose any plan that changes the system in any way for those who count on Social Security or Medicare."
- Making America Energy Independent
- Excerpt: "Energy independence isn’t an option, it’s a necessity. America must lead the world in both energy production and renewable energy development. It’s time to transition our economy from traditional fossil fuels and into a renewable energy independent economy that will provide high paying jobs and improve our environment."
- Keeping America Strong
- Excerpt: "Keeping America safe at home is the most important duty for our leaders in government. The enduring flame of liberty was lit on our shores in 1776, and has been transcendent for over two centuries because of the resolve of the American people and the hard work of our men and women in uniform. The United States remains a leader in the world, and a strong national defense will allow America to remain a global force for good. "
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of California scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].
2009
Capitol Weekly, California's major weekly periodical covering the state legislature, publishes an annual legislative scorecard to pin down the political or ideological leanings of every member of the legislature based on how they voted on an assortment of bills in the most recent legislative session. The 2009 scores were based on votes on 19 bills, but did not include how legislators voted on the Proposition 1A (2009). On the scorecard, "100" is a perfect liberal score and "0" is a perfect conservative score.[13][14]
On the 2009 Capitol Weekly legislative scorecard, Strickland ranked as a 20.[15]
See also
2025 Elections
External links
|
Candidate California State Senate District 36 |
Officeholder California State Senate District 36 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Election 2014," November 4, 2014
- ↑ The New York Times, "California Primary Results," May 3, 2014
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedgorell - ↑ Roll Call, "House Republicans Put 36 Recruits ‘On the Radar’," accessed November 21, 2013
- ↑ toacorn.com, "Redistricting may pit Pavley vs. Strickland," October 6, 2011
- ↑ CNN, "California Districts Race - 2012 Election Center," accessed December 1, 2012
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official primary candidate list," accessed March 13, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Unofficial election results," November 6, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ Follow the Money, "California State Senate official election results," accessed October 31, 2010
- ↑ Campaign website, "Issues," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Campaign website, "Issues," accessed August 10, 2012
- ↑ Capitol Weekly, "Capitol Weekly's Legislative Scorecard," December 17, 2009
- ↑ Fox and Hounds Daily, "Random Thoughts on the Political Scene," December 18, 2009
- ↑ Capitol Weekly, "2009 Capitol Weekly State Legislative Scorecard (Archived)," accessed March 13, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Janet Nguyen (R) |
California State Senate District 36 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
California State Assembly District 37 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
California State Senate District 19 |
Succeeded by - |
