Assembly opposes Abel Maldonado’s nomination for lieutenant governor; Republicans put off second vote

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The nomination of Sen. Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) to be the state’s next lieutenant governor was turned down on a preliminary 36-34 vote Thursday by the state Assembly, leaving Republicans scrambling to try to salvage Maldonado’s bid. [Updated at 12:06 p.m.: An earlier version of this post, along with the headline, said Maldonado had been rejected for the job; as the post explains, though, the vote was preliminary.]
Through a procedural maneuver, the Assembly was set to vote a second time on Maldonado’s nomination, but Republicans opted to huddle with members of their caucus to figure out how to proceed. A second vote to reject Maldonado’s nomination would have sealed his political fate.

Stay tuned to PolitiCal as the story develops.

-- Anthony York in Sacramento