[5] Her opponent in that race was Democratic assemblywoman Lucy Killea, who drew national attention when she was denied communion by the Roman Catholic bishop of San Diego, for her pro-choice position on abortion;[6] the story drew national attention, and increased donations for Killea's winning campaign.

[7][8][9] Reelected in 1990, Bentley opted to leave the assembly two years later and instead make another run for the State Senate.

[10] She faced veteran assemblyman David G. Kelley in the 1992 Republican primary for the open (and redrawn) 37th district.

The race became unexpectedly heated, with Kelley hitting her on ethics (In 1991, she proposed a bill that would directly benefit one of her contributors, Coleman College, by exempting them from state financial oversight),[11] and accused her of taking inappropriate expense reimbursements from the state.

[15] She remarried in 1997, to former state senator Jim Ellis, whose chief of staff she had served as at the start of her political career.