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Dave Cortese

D

Senate Democrat

District 15, Campbell

Time in office

Senate: 2020—Present

Background

County Supervisor, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors

Campaign contributions

Senator Dave Cortese has taken at least $152,000 from the Labor sector since he was elected to the legislature. That represents 30% of his total campaign contributions.

Contact Information
Biographical Information
Ideology
Campaign Contributions
Committees
Special Interest Group Ratings
Sponsored travel
Gifts
District Demographics
Most Recent Election
Latest CalMatters Coverage

Contact or follow this legislator

Website
Email
Facebook
Twitter
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Capitol office

1021 O Street, Suite 6630, Sacramento, CA 95814-4900; (916) 651-4015

District office(s)

2105 S. Bascom Avenue, Suite 154, Campbell, CA 95008; (408) 558-1295

Biographical information

Birth Place

Fort Ord, Monterey County, CA

Race/Ethnicity

White

Residence

San Jose, CA

Gender

Male

Born

June 3, 1956

Identifies as

Straight

See our data sources →

How this legislator voted in 2021-2022

Campaign contributions received by sector

OpenSecrets and CalMatters have categorized campaign contributions to legislators based on the economic sector that the donor represents. Methodology →

This is how much money Dave Cortese has taken from the various sectors since he was elected to the legislature.

Broad sector Amount Percent
Labor
$152,725 $152k 30%
Candidate Contributions
$85,350 $85k 17%
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate
$65,428 $65k 13%
Construction
$33,450 $33k 7%
Government Agencies/Education/Other
$25,200 $25k 5%
General Business
$22,350 $22k 4%
Energy & Natural Resources
$18,150 $18k 4%
Health
$17,933 $17k 4%
Ideology/Single Issue
$17,300 $17k 3%
Agriculture
$16,750 $16k 3%
Communications & Electronics
$13,200 $13k 3%
Lawyers & Lobbyists
$10,450 $10k 2%
Transportation
$4,500 $4k <1%
Unitemized Contributions
$1,805 $1k <1%
Defense
$350 $350 <1%
Note: The above percentages might not add up to exactly 100% because we are not displaying any contributions that have not yet been classified.

Committees this legislator serves on

Being on a policy committee means the legislator works on these issues by considering bills relevant to the policy topic. The committee “chair” , chosen by the chamber leader, oversees the discussions of these bills. Members also serve on additional special, select, joint and sub committees, which can be found here.

Education
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Bills relating to K12 education and higher education.
Housing
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Bills relating to housing, including those that affect funding for low- and moderate-income families, homelessness, housing elements and land use approvals for housing developments, building codes and standards and other issues.
Labor, Public Employment and Retirement (Chair)
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Bills relating to labor, industrial safety, unemployment, workers’ compensation and insurance, state and local public agency collective bargaining, state and local nonschool public employees, noncertificated and classified public school employees, public retirement systems, public employees’ compensation and employment benefits, including retirement and health care, and state social security administration.
Transportation
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Bills relating to vehicles, aircraft, and vessels; to the Department of Transportation and the Department of Motor Vehicles; to waterways, harbors, highways, public transportation systems, and airports.

How special interest groups rate this legislator

Special interest groups are organizations that advocate on behalf of shared interests, such as protecting the environment. Many interest groups rate politicians on how well their voting records agree with each group's goals. See a selection of these ratings for this legislator. Methodology →

100%
2022
American Civil Liberties Union
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The ACLU has major chapters in Northern California and Southern California and advocates on criminal justice, free speech and other issues.
20%
2022
California Chamber of Commerce
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The California Chamber of Commerce includes an advocacy arm for employers. It says it has more than 14,000 members representing a quarter of the state’s private sector workforce, and it issues an annual “job killer” list of bills.
66%
2022
California Environmental Voters
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California Environmental Voters advocates for environmental protection and climate change mitigation. It was started in 1972.
100%
2022
California Labor Federation
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The California Labor Federation is an umbrella organization for more than 1,200 labor unions representing 2.1 million workers in manufacturing, retail, construction, hospitality, public sector, health care, entertainment and other industries.
93%
2022
California Teachers Association
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The California Teachers Association is a labor organization representing teachers and other employees at K-12 schools and community colleges. With 310,000 members, it is the largest affiliate of the National Education Association.
96%
2021
Courage California
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Courage California is a progressive advocacy organization seeking policy change on issues including equity, representative democracy and institutional corruption.
100%
2022
Equality California
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Equality California says it has more than 900,000 members and is the largest statewide organization of its kind. It advocates for equal rights and other issues of concern to the LGBTQ community.
D
2022
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
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The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association advocates for limited taxation and for the “economical, equitable and efficient use of taxpayer dollars.” It was founded by Howard and Estelle Jarvis, who championed Proposition 13 in 1978, California’s landmark property tax limit.
100%
2022
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
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Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California represents seven affiliates that run more than 100 health centers serving more than 750,000 patients a year. It advocates on sexual and reproductive health care and education, and access to health care, including abortion.
50%
2022
Sierra Club
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The Sierra Club has 13 chapters with more than 400,000 members in California and advocates on environmental and climate change issues.

Sponsored travel in 2022

Gifts reported in 2022

Senate District 15 demographics

Senate District 15 map
D

Safe Democratic district

Next election: 2024

How to read these charts

District
State

Voter registration

Dem
51%
47%
GOP
18%
24%
No party
26%
23%

Census data on race/ethnicity, household income, age, poverty rate, and education level will be provided when available.

See our methodology and sources →

Most recent election

2020 General
D

Dave Cortese

Democratic
 54.8%
D

Ann M. Ravel

Democratic
 45.2%

CalMatters coverage about this legislator

Newsom’s oil profit penalty passes first test

By Lynn La, March 23, 2023

Court ruling opens door to gig driver unionization bill, union says

By Grace Gedye, March 20, 2023

Family business: Meet the Legacy Caucus in the California Legislature

By Ben Christopher, February 8, 2023

See all articles →

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