Senate Democrats are going all the way to help retired Gen. Richard Roth win the race against Republican Assemblyman Jeff Miller in California's 31st Senate District, according to state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg.

Steinberg said the newly redrawn districts will give Senate Democrats a chance to raise their seats from 25 to 28, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Roth and Miller are competing for a slot in a district encompassing areas such as Riverside, Corona, Moreno Valley and Perris.

Roth has 32 years of military service behind him, retiring from the Air Force in 2007, and working as an attorney with the National Labor Relations Board before establishing his own law practice.

Roth said in a statement that it was time to end the political bickering in Sacramento and look to delivering results. He is aiming to implement a plan that would include job training for veterans, attracting new startups and a new medical school for the University of California Riverside.

Miller also supports the construction of a new UC Riverside Medical Center, but said in a statement that Sacramento "insiders" killed his legislation to fund it. He believes state spending should be spent wisely and disagrees on the construction of the "high speed bullet train boondoggle." 

The project is expected to cost taxpayers more than $100 billion to build and roughly $700 million a year to finance the debt, according to Miller, who is also a member of the Riverside County Transportation Commission.

He has served as the mayor and councilman of Corona and was re-elected to the State Assembly in 2010 for the 71st Assembly District, which includes parts of Orange and Riverside County.

Miller raked in the votes during the June primaries with 51 percent compared to Roth's 29 percent, which is significant in a district where voter registration between Democrat and Republicans are both at roughly 39 percent.

In the 39th Senate District, Democrat Marty Block and Republican George Plescia are competing to represent a district that includes areas such as Del Mar, La Jolla, San Diego and Coronado.

Block won 46 percent of the June primary votes compared with Plescia's 44 percent in an area with a voter registration of 37 percent Democrat, 30 percent Republican and 27 percent claiming no party affiliation.

Plescia is a supporter of Gov. Jerry Brown's pension reform plan and wants to reduce regulations that he believes dampen job expansion in the state. 

Similar to Plescia, Block's priorities include job creation and an investment in public safety. Block is currently the senator for the 39th Senate District and wants to build on his legislative efforts. He has also served as professor, dean and director at San Diego State University, retiring after 26 years.

 

Click here for full state Senate race coverage.

Reach Staff Reporter Subrina Hudson here.