The race for California’s 24th Senate District seat in Los Angeles County is turning out to be one of the most expensive legislative contests this year, with the two candidates raising more than $3.2 million combined since the June primary election.
At least $5.8 million more has also poured in from outside independent expenditure committees.
This race pits West Hollywood City Councilmember John Erickson, who is chief of staff at Alliance for a Better Community, an L.A.-based organization whose mission is to advance social, economic and racial equity and justice, against Brian Goldsmith, a media consultant and founder of two tech startup companies who previously worked on Hillary Clinton’s 2000 U.S. Senate campaign and advised Pete Buttigieg during his 2020 presidential run.
They’re vying to replace termed-out Democratic Sen. Ben Allen in representing a largely coastal district that stretches from the Santa Monica Mountains — and includes Agoura Hills, Calabasas and Malibu — to L.A.’s Westside and Hollywood area, and on down to the South Bay, taking in Redondo Beach, Torrance and Rancho Palos Verdes.
District 24, along with 26th Senate District, are the only two L.A. County state Senate races where both candidates on the Nov. 3 ballot are Democrats – and the only two Senate contests in which the California Democratic Party did not endorse a candidate because the members of its endorsement caucus could not reach consensus.
Allen hasn’t officially endorsed a candidate to succeed him in the Senate, though he voted for Goldsmith during the California Democratic Party’s endorsement caucus and has publicly stated his support for that candidate.
The issues
Both the 41-year-old Erickson, who was first elected to the West Hollywood City Council in 2020, and the 44-year-old Goldsmith, a Beverly Hills resident who has never served in office, were asked their positions on various issues as part of the Southern California News Group’s voter guide.
Both candidates said they support Proposition 37, a proposed $25 billion bond measure on the November ballot to provide home loans that would make homeownership more affordable for middle-income earners.
On healthcare, Erickson said he’d support an eventual single-payer health plan. Goldsmith said he supports universal healthcare and working toward a federal Medicare for All public option.
And when it comes to California’s controversial high-speed rail project, which has been beset by severe delays and out-of-control costs, Goldsmith said he doesn’t support continuing with it unless he sees a plan showing how the project can proceed on time and on budget.
“We must stop throwing good money after bad,” he said.
Erickson, on the other hand, said he’s not “willing to walk away from 20 years of investment.” He wants to complete the Central Valley portion of the project, saying abandoning it now “would waste billions already spent.” He proposed getting trains running there, then connecting the line to Metrolink and Caltrain.
At the same time, Erickson doesn’t support any new tax for the project. If the authority overseeing the project can’t deliver that segment on its current commitment, he said, then the state “must reconsider the project.”
The candidates also differed on their opinion of Proposition 40, where individuals or trusts with a net worth of over $1 billion would be assessed a one-time, 5% tax. Most of the revenues would go toward healthcare-related programs, though a portion would also fund food assistance and education-related programs.
Goldsmith opposes the measure, calling it “the wrong answer to the right question” — that is, how to address income inequality and fund essential state services. But he called the proposed one-time tax a “short-term fix” that would be unsustainable.
That said, he supports efforts that make sure the state’s wealthiest pay “their fair share,” he said.
Erickson, meanwhile, said he supports Proposition 40 while expressing concerns that it’s only a “one-time bridge tax” to help residents impacted by federal healthcare subsidy cuts. He proposed broadening the tax base and closing the state’s commercial property tax loopholes as more permanent solutions and, similar to Goldsmith, talked about making sure wealthy corporations “pay their fair share.”
To read the candidates’ full responses on these and other issues — including gas and food prices, oil refinery closures and data centers — visit our online voter guide, dailynews.com/voter-guide.
An expensive race
Much like in the primary, when this race stood out as one of the most expensive legislative contests, the 24th Senate District remains one of the most costly Senate races this fall.
From June 3, the day after the primary election, through Thursday, Oct. 15, Erickson raised just over $700,000 for his campaign. Goldsmith raked in a whopping $2.53 million, based on the latest campaign finance figures on the California secretary of state’s website. Goldsmith’s haul during this period, which included $1.6 million of his own money, is over 3.5 times more than his rival’s.
Those figures don’t include the more than $5.8 million spent by outside groups making “independent expenditures” related to this race. These independent expenditure, or IE, groups can’t coordinate with the campaigns but may spend unlimited funds running ads, sending out flyers or text messages, conducting polls or research, or engaging in other activities in support of or opposition to a candidate.
Since the June primary, independent groups have spent more than $1.4 million supporting Erickson or opposing his rival.
Conversely, over $4.4 million have been spent by groups supporting Goldsmith or opposing Erickson during this period.
Generally speaking, Erickson has the support of progressives and a number of labor unions. The progressive California Working Families Party, a group sponsored by Unite Here Local 11, which represents tourism-related employees in hotels, restaurants, airports, sports arenas and convention centers, and another group sponsored by a carpenters union have all spent money in support of his campaign.
Groups sponsored by the California Chamber of Commerce and California Apartment Association have spent money campaigning against Erickson, on the other hand.
Goldsmith, meanwhile, is backed by Keep California Golden, a coalition representing Realtors, the building industry and farmers and ranchers. He also got a boost from the California Apartment Association during the primary election.
At the same time, a group called “Educators and Nurses Say No to Brian Goldsmith,” which is sponsored by labor organizations, has campaigned against the candidate.
Despite Goldsmith’s financial advantage, including during the primary, Erickson was the top vote-getter in June, in what was then a 10-person primary race for the seat. Erickson captured 20.5% of the vote while Goldsmith received 18.3% in that election.
“Voters want representatives with a proven record on the issues that matter, and they look to people they trust for that, not to the slick mailers flooding their mailboxes. … People see that I can deliver a better future because I’ve been doing it in my city, where I helped generate a $31 million budget surplus, reduced street homelessness, made the city safer, and protected renters,” Erickson said in an email.
The West Hollywood councilmember went on to say his opponent “has no record to run on, so they’re spending millions to distort mine.”
“Voters in this district want a senator with the experience to deliver from day one, not one who’s learning on their dime, and they’ll make that choice in November,” he continued.
Goldsmith, in an interview, said running a campaign in the second-most expensive media market in the country — especially as a first-time candidate — requires money.
“My opponent has a significant advantage going into this as a longtime sitting elected official,” whereas Goldsmith said about his own campaign, “we started with no name ID, no name recognition, no political base.”
He also addressed the fact that he partially self-funded his campaign.
“I acknowledge my privilege in being able to spend on this campaign, but I will say it also enables me to say no to powerful interests,” said Goldsmith, who said he refuses to accept donations from the fossil fuel, tobacco or gun industries.
Voting for the general election has already begun, and Monday, Oct. 19, is the last day to register to vote and still receive a ballot in the mail. Voting ends Nov. 3.