California's 12th Senate District was born in a bipartisan political deal after the 2000 census. The Legislature tailored the five-county district centered in the upper San Joaquin Valley but stretching west into the Salinas area for a moderate Democrat, Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza. Cardoza instead opted to run for Congress. Democratic leaders quickly shifted to a former assemblyman with a dairy farm background, Rusty Areias, to claim...
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