Darin DuPont, a Republican, is running for California’s 14th State Senate District in November 2026 against Democratic Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, in a race to succeed term-limited Senator Anna Caballero; Sanger City Councilwoman Esmeralda Hurtado finished third in the June 2026 primary and did not advance. A Merced/Atwater native, DuPont earned a bachelor’s degree in public administration from George Mason University and a law degree, with coursework in water and environmental law, from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law. He works as an attorney at a Merced law firm and was elected to the Merced City Council’s District 1 seat in November 2024 at age 28, a seat he continues to hold and is not up for re-election this cycle.
DuPont announced his Senate campaign in February 2026 under the slogan “A New Generation for a Stronger Valley,” campaigning on affordability for young Central Valley families, water security and infrastructure investment, and what he calls restoring accountability to a legislature under one-party Democratic control. He has been endorsed by the Merced County Sheriff.
