"Absolutely," she responded, when asked if she thought of trying for the state legislature in the future. "I would run again."

Nesbet squared off with three other Democratic candidates March 2 to represent the 21st Assembly District in Sacramento. The district spans the South Bay, encompassing most of Santa Clara County and parts of San Mateo County. Joe Simitian, who represents the district, will step down later this year to run for a seat in the state Senate. Simitian won his bid for the Democratic nomination March 2, garnering 61.25 percent of the vote to beat Ted Lempert.

The only woman in the race, Nesbet was also the only candidate from the southern tip of the district. A graduate of Los Gatos High School, she grew up watching her mother serve as a Monte Sereno council member during the 1970s. After attending Harvard University and UC-Davis, Nesbet followed in her mother's footsteps and was elected to the Monte Sereno City Council in 1998. A popular politician, Nesbet took first place in her reelection campaign for city council last year, finishing with 29.3 percent of the vote. Her five years on the council has also included a stint as the city's mayor in 2001.

Nesbet placed last in last Tuesday's election, a showing she partly attributed to the media frenzy over the Democratic presidential race and campaign-finance rules.

Although candidates can volunteer to abide by a $435,000 spending limit, individual organizations may print leaflets or hold rallies on behalf of a candidate. Nesbet said these contributions tipped the balance in the District 21 race and led to some of the mudslinging in the final days of the campaign.

"I think the campaign-finance laws need to be looked at again," she said. Nesbet kept her expenditures to the voluntary limit, although an individual group did send $6,000 worth of unsolicited fliers in support of her candidacy.

Nesbet also cited the media's decision to release the results of the East Coast primaries early in the day as another reason for her standing.

"The turnout was incredibly low," she said. "It was unfortunate that the East Coast decided to publicize the presidential votes before our polls were closed."

Despite coming in fourth, Nesbet said she was pleased with the results and thanked her supporters for their work. She will continue her work as a Monte Sereno councilwoman for the next two years, before her term runs out.

Redwood City Councilman Ira Ruskin won the Democratic nomination, with 36.77 percent of the vote. John Carcione came in a close second, with 31.87 percent of the vote. John Barton and Nesbet finished third and fourth, with 16.3 percent of the vote for Barton and 14.82 percent for Nesbet. Results of Tuesday's election may change once all absentee ballots have been counted.

Ruskin will face Los Gatos resident and Republican nominee Steve Poizner in the November general election.