Republican Assemblymember Josh Hoover called it over on Tuesday, conceding California's 7th Assembly District race to Democratic challenger Amy Slavensky after fresh vote totals left him trailing by double digits. The Folsom lawmaker had held out for days, refusing to concede even after Slavensky declared victory, but new numbers from Sacramento County finally closed the door on his bid for another term.
Hoover's concession came after Sacramento County released its latest vote totals, according to the Sacramento Bee, which reported Slavensky had climbed to 53.2% of the vote as of Tuesday afternoon. The paper noted Hoover had declined to concede the previous Friday, even after Slavensky publicly declared victory on Nov. 6. By Tuesday, though, he said he had called his opponent to congratulate her, adding that his team no longer saw a viable path to closing the gap, though many ballots remained to be counted.
Unofficial numbers reported by Folsom Times put Slavensky at 90,313 votes, or 53.20%, against Hoover's 79,450 votes, or 46.80% — a lead of 10,863 votes. Hoover, in his statement carried by the outlet, acknowledged the math plainly: “While there are still many ballots left to count, our team no longer sees a viable path to closing the gap.” He also said he intends to keep serving out his term, telling the outlet, “I will continue to serve as the representative for the 7th District through November 30.”
A District Spanning Folsom, Fair Oaks and Rancho Cordova
The 7th Assembly District covers Folsom, Fair Oaks and Rancho Cordova, the territory Hoover has represented as its Republican assemblymember. Slavensky, the Democratic challenger who unseated him, brings four decades of experience in California public schools as a teacher, principal and superintendent, according to her campaign website cited by the Sacramento Bee. CalMatters, in its own coverage, described the broader district as covering areas of northeast Sacramento County, including Citrus Heights alongside Folsom and Rancho Cordova.
Slavensky's operation leaned heavily on grassroots organizing to get there. Her campaign reported that volunteers knocked on more than 16,700 doors, roughly 400 people signed up to volunteer, and the campaign sent out 150,000 text messages, per Folsom Times. When she declared victory the prior week, she thanked volunteers, small-dollar donors and her campaign team for the effort.
Money Poured In, But the Count Told a Different Story
The race wasn't cheap. Independent expenditure committees spent close to $3.5 million supporting Hoover and opposing Slavensky, according to CalMatters, which also reported the district's voter registration as 37% Democratic, 32% Republican and 22% no party preference. CalMatters reported Hoover trailing by 5 percentage points with about 43% of the vote counted Wednesday. KCRA put the gap at six points. Neither figure matches the later-reported unofficial totals, which remained pending canvass and certification as Sacramento County kept working through ballots.
Slavensky's win adds to what the Sacramento Bee described as an expected widening Democratic supermajority in the Legislature. KCRA reported that projected Democratic gains could give the party 64 Assembly seats statewide, a total that would exceed the previous modern record of 62 seats set in 2022. Hoover's seat becomes one more data point in that statewide shift, even as the Sacramento County results page notes its 2026 Statewide General Election totals remain unofficial, last updated Tuesday night.
