Kim Carr, who recently completed a term as mayor of Huntington Beach, announces state Senate run

Huntington Beach City Councilwoman Kim Carr on Tuesday announced she’s running for the newly redrawn state Senate seat in District 36.

Carr, 51, has been a member of the City Council since 2018 and served as mayor last year.

The newly redrawn District 36 encompasses all of coastal Orange County including Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Laguna Beach. It also goes inland to include cities like Fountain Valley, Westminster, Garden Grove, Cypress and Buena Park. Huntington Beach is the largest city in the district.

“I was looking at the district lines as they were being redrawn, and looking at what could be a possible next step for me,” Carr said during a phone interview Tuesday. “When this particular district opened up and there was no incumbent ... I really felt, who has a better match for this district than me? I grew up in this district. I was raised in Garden Grove, graduated from Pacifica High School. I’ve lived in Huntington Beach for over 25 years and served this particular community locally in government for the past decade. I felt like this was an opportunity that I could not pass up. I needed to make a choice, whether that was to run for City Council or run for state Senate, and I really felt like I was ready to take it to the next step and run for state Senate.”

The primary for the seat will be held in June, with the top two candidates advancing to a run-off election in November.

The new District 36 has no incumbents from either party living within its boundaries. The only other person who has formally announced a candidacy is Assemblywoman Janet Nguyen, a Republican from Fountain Valley who previously served as a state senator from 2014 through 2018. Nguyen currently represents northwestern Orange County in the state Assembly.

Carr, a Democrat, has early endorsers including Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, state Sens. Dave Min and Tom Umberg, O.C. Supervisor Katrina Foley and four members of the Huntington Beach City Council, including Mayor Barbara Delgleize.

A former media sales manager, Carr holds a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Cal State Fullerton. Her year as mayor of Huntington Beach was challenging, including the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the oil spill in October. Now, she said she’s ready for a new challenge.

“It’s really exciting,” Carr said. “People are really excited about the opportunity to have someone like me up in Sacramento, who’s pragmatic, rational, thoughtful, can get things done, works across the aisle, is a moderate. I think that’s something that a lot of people feel is missing in Sacramento, and I fill that niche.”

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