Ted Gaines


Edward Moore Gaines is an American politician from California, currently a member of the California Board of Equalization for the 1st district. He previously served as a California State Senator, representing the 1st Senate district from 2011 to 2019.
He won a January 4, 2011, special election to replace the late Dave Cox and took office two days later. Prior to his election to the Senate, Gaines was a California State Assemblyman, who represented the 4th Assembly district; a district centered around the Placer County suburbs east of Sacramento. Gaines succeeded longtime local politician Tim Leslie in the Assembly.

Political philosophy and views

A Republican, Gaines is an opponent of what he describes as "big government social programs." Gaines, a local businessman, holds views on issues that can be generally classified as conservative, which puts him in line with the area's leanings.

Private sector

Gaines is the owner of Gaines Insurance located in Roseville, California.

Early political career

In 1997, Gaines was appointed to the Roseville Planning Commission, where he served for two years. In 2000, he was elected to the Placer County Board of Supervisors. He was reelected to a second term in 2004.

2008 congressional election

Gaines formed an exploratory committee in Fall of 2007 to run against longtime Congressman John Doolittle, who many Republicans feared could not win reelection due to a number of scandals. However, before Doolittle announced he was retiring, Gaines announced he had decided to instead run for a second term in the State Assembly, for which he had neither a primary nor general election opponent.

2014 Insurance Commissioner election

Gaines ran for California Insurance Commissioner in 2014 against Democratic incumbent Dave Jones. They both advanced to the general election, which Jones won by 4,038,165 votes to 2,981,951.

2018 Board of Equalization election

Gaines ran for District 1 of the California Board of Equalization in November 2018 and narrowly won with 52% of the votes.

Private life

Gaines and his wife, Beth, who has also served in politics, currently live in El Dorado Hills with their six children.