Andreas Borgeas (born March 7, 1974) is an American attorney, politician, and academic who served as a member of the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

from the 8th district, which included parts of the Central Valley and the

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. Prior to being elected to the state Senate, he was a member of the

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populo ...

Board of Supervisors. He represented all or portions of Amador, Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Madera, Mariposa, Mono, Sacramento, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne counties.

Early life and education

Borgeas is a native of

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. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

, a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Georgetown University Law School Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment, with over ...

, and a PhD in international affairs from

Panteion University The Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences (PUSPS; , ΠΠΚΠΕ), usually referred to simply as the Panteion University (Πάντειο Πανεπιστήμιο), is a university located in Athens, Greece. Founded in 1927, it is the ...

. He conducted his PhD field research in, and published extensively on, China and the neighboring Central Asian republics.

Career

Academics and law

Borgeas conducted his PhD field research in, and published extensively on, China and the neighboring Central Asian Republics, receiving his graduate education at

Georgetown Law School Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment, with over ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and

(

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

) of Political Sciences. After graduating, Borgeas was a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

for Judge Oliver Wanger of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of California The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California (in case citations, E.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appe ...

. Borgeas then practiced law at Luce Forward. For over a decade he has been a professor in the fields of international law and security affairs at the San Joaquin College of Law in

Clovis, California Clovis is a city in Fresno County, California, United States. It was established in 1890 as a freight stop for the San Joaquin Valley Railroad by a group of Fresno businessmen and Michigan railroad speculator Marcus Pollasky. The railroad bou ...

and is an adjunct professor at the

Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey Established in 1955, the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS), formerly the Monterey Institute of International Studies, located in Monterey, California, is a Postgraduate education, graduate institute and satellite ...

. As an educator, he has worked in numerous international professional and academic capacities; including, as a Fulbright Scholar, Contributing Fellow for the Woodrow Wilson Center, Policy Specialist Fellow at the U.S. Embassy in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

and was appointed by House Minority Leader

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 55th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January until he was Remova ...

as commissioner on the

United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

Local politics

In 2008, Borgeas started his political career by running successfully for the

Fresno City Council Fresno City Council is the legislative body of Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the great ...

. In 2012, Borgeas was elected to the

Board of Supervisors; he was re-elected in 2016.

California State Senate

In November 2018, Borgeas was elected as a Republican to the

, representing the 8th district. Borgeas defeated

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Paulina Miranda with 59.6% of the votes. Borgeas serves as chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee and vice chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. On January 11, 2022, Borgeas announced he would not seek a second term in the state Senate.

White House visit

In October 2019, Borgeas was invited by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

to witness the signing of two executive orders at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

2022 congressional special election

After incumbent Congressman

Devin Nunes Devin Gerald Nunes (; born October 1, 1973) is an American businessman and politician who serves as the Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board since January 20, 2025, and as chief executive officer of the Trump Media & Technolog ...

announced that he would resign from

California's 8th congressional district California's 8th congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, congressional district in the U.S. state of California. As of 2023, Democratic Party (United States), Democrat John Garamendi represents the district. Cu ...

to become CEO of the

Trump Media & Technology Group Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (TMTG) is an American media and technology company headquartered in Sarasota, Florida. It runs the Truth Social social-media platform and is majority-owned by U.S. president Donald Trump. Founded by Trump, ...

, Borgeas formed an exploratory committee to consider a campaign for the seat. On January 6, 2022, Borgeas announced that he was suspending his campaign for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

Political positions

Bipartisanship

Borgeas has been lauded for his bipartisan leadership when it comes to addressing regional issues on numerous occasions. The Fresno Bee has acknowledged Borgeas' objective and deft handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Borgeas also successfully spearheaded, with his Democratic colleague, Anna Caballero, a bipartisan effort to deliver $2.6 billion to small businesses impacted by COVID-19. Borgeas has been praised by ''The Modesto Bee'', ''The Fresno Bee'', and ''The Sacramento Bee'' for being one of the few Republicans to condemn the

2021 storming of the United States Capitol On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup,Multiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * * two months after his defea ...

. The Sacramento Bee noted: "...state Sen. Andreas Borgeas, R-Fresno, who is apparently the only one of California’s nine Republican state senators willing to directly say the truth."

CEQA reform

Borgeas has been a staunch advocate for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reform. In an op-ed Borgeas stated "...CEQA has morphed into a legal weapon for lawyers and activist groups to stall essential projects..." and narrowly passed Senate Bill 659 through the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Assembly Bill 5

Borgeas has been an opponent of California Assembly Bill 5, passed by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez in 2019. In a tweet, Borgeas claimed AB 5 "...limit an individual's ability for flexible employment and destroys entire industries across California. Independent contractors and small businesses are the backbone of a thriving California economy." He organized a town hall at Clovis Community College to discuss the bill's impact on freelancers and independent contractors.

Water

Borgeas has advocated for state and federal support to improve the Friant-Kern Canal, which is critical for water delivery to the agricultural industry in the San Joaquin Valley. Senate Bill 559 introduced by state Senator

Melissa Hurtado Melissa Hurtado (born March 6, 1988) is an American Democratic politician currently representing the 16th Senate District, encompassing Bakersfield, Kings County, and parts of Tulare County, in the California State Senate. Prior to being electe ...

would have allocated $400 million in state funding to make necessary repairs to the canal as a result of subsidence from groundwater overdraft. Borgeas has also vocalized support for the federal government's plan to increase water deliveries to California farmers. During then-President Donald Trump's visit to the San Joaquin Valley in February 2020, Borgeas stated,"The ball is now in Governor Newsom's court to provide clean, reliable and ample water supplies to Valley farmers and communities. The state must ensure that infrastructure and storage are a top priority. It's simple: no water, no farms, and no food."

Taxes and the economy

Borgeas has received high marks from the

Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is a California-based nonprofit lobbying and policy organization that advocates for Proposition 13 and Proposition 218. Officially nonpartisan, the organization also advocates against raising taxes in Cali ...

and the

California Chamber of Commerce The California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) is a broad-based business advocacy group in California, United States, originating as the California State Board of Trade in 1890. Its membership includes large and small firms from every industry, ...

Personal life

Borgeas and his wife, Anna, have two sons. Borgeas and his family live in

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

. Borgeas has said growing up in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

helped shape his political views at an early age. Borgeas is known to be heavily involved in Fresno's Greek and Armenian communities. He is also known for his involvement with the Fresno Greek Fest and as an advocate for the recognition of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

References

External links

*
Andreas Borgeas at ballotpedia.org

Join California Andreas Borgeas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borgeas, Andreas 1974 births American people of Greek descent Republican Party California state senators California State University, Fresno alumni County supervisors in California Georgetown University Law Center alumni Greek Orthodox Christians from the United States Living people 21st-century members of the California State Legislature