Central Coast voters to cast ballots in race to fill Maldonado’s vacant seat.

Central Coast voters go to the polls in a special election Tuesday to fill a vacant seat in the state Senate, and the outcome could affect how difficult it will be for lawmakers to approve a budget this year.

The budget crisis in Sacramento has added heat to the contest involving four candidates. Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo) is trying to keep the 15th District seat in the hands of the GOP but faces a well-financed campaign by Democrat John Laird, a former assemblyman from Santa Cruz.

A shift in voter registration now gives Democrats a six-percentage-point edge in the district, which was represented in the state Senate by Republican Abel Maldonado before he was appointed lieutenant governor — creating a vacancy.

Money and volunteers have poured into the district as Democrats see a chance to build on their majority in the upper house. A victory for Democrats would put them within one vote of the two-thirds needed in the Senate to pass a budget and tax increase without Republican support.

A Republican victory would mean at least two Republicans would have to be persuaded to support the Democrats’ budget proposal for it to pass.

“It’s very much a seat in play. There’s a lot at stake other than just partisan pride,” said Allan Hoffenblum, a former Republican consultant who publishes the California Target Book.

More than $2.3 million have been plowed into the contest by the candidates and independent expenditure efforts, including $790,000 opposing Laird by JobsPAC, a committee whose major donors include the California Building Industry Assn., the Personal Insurance Federation and Chevron Corp.

Laird has raised more than $1.2 million for his campaign, while Blakeslee has brought in $730,000.

The Democratic and Republican parties have also flooded the district with hundreds of thousands of dollars and dozens of volunteers.

Laird remains open to proposals that would increase revenue, including a tax on oil drilled from the ground and a vehicle license fee to cover the costs of operating state parks.

He continues to support eliminating the two-thirds vote requirement for approving state budgets. “It would lessen the gridlock in Sacramento,” he said.

Blakeslee said giving one political party control of the Legislature would be perilous to taxpayers and discourage cooperation.

“I am a moderate problem-solver who is someone able to operate in the middle,” Blakeslee said.

Both Laird and Blakeslee say they oppose oil drilling off the coast of California.

The other candidates for the seat are Jim Fitzgerald, an Independent and retired transportation manager from Nipomo, and Mark Hinkle, a Libertarian and small business owner from Morgan Hill.

With four candidates in the race, Tuesday may not be the final word. If one of the candidates wins 50% of the vote plus one, he will win the seat outright Tuesday. If not, there will be a runoff in August.

patrick.mcGreevy@latimes.com