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Aaron Draper
Aaron Draper (Democratic Party) ran for election to the California State Assembly to represent District 3. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Draper completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Aaron Draper was born in Yuba City, California. He earned a bachelor's degree from the California State University, Chico in 2012, a graduate degree from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco in 2014, and a law degree from the Cal Northern School of Law in 2021. His career experience includes working as an educator.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: California State Assembly elections, 2024
General election
General election for California State Assembly District 3
Incumbent James Gallagher defeated Aaron Draper in the general election for California State Assembly District 3 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | James Gallagher (R) | 66.3 | 131,578 |
 | Aaron Draper (D)  | 33.7 | 66,962 | |
| Total votes: 198,540 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for California State Assembly District 3
Incumbent James Gallagher and Aaron Draper advanced from the primary for California State Assembly District 3 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | James Gallagher (R) | 68.4 | 76,570 |
| ✔ | | Aaron Draper (D) | 31.6 | 35,434 |
| Total votes: 112,004 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Draper in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Aaron Draper completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Draper's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Just three years later his family returned to California due to instability in construction in Washington. In Jr. High Aaron worked as a paperboy for the Appeal-Democrat in Marysville. He had three routes and was carrier of the month twice. For this honor he was gifted a bike.
After high school Aaron served a two-year mission for the LDS Church in Milan, Italy. It is still one of the most defining experiences of his life.
After returning from Italy, Aaron worked at Oroville Funeral Home as a funeral director assistant and did removals and was deputized by the Butte County Sheriff’s Office. He later worked as a special needs aid at Nelson Elementary, a forklift driver for Wal-Mart in Red Bluff and as a writer for the Mercury-Register newspaper in Oroville.
After a 20-year career running his photography business, Aaron returned to Chico State and finished his English degree. In the span of the next seven years, he finished an MFA at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, began teaching photography at Chico State and finished a law degree.
- Middle Class Support: This is not only a policy objective, but a commitment to the spirit of America. A thriving middle class is the backbone of a strong and resilient economy. We believe in fostering an environment where hardworking families can prosper, providing affordable education, accessible healthcare, and fair wages. By investing in small businesses, supporting labor and vocational training and creating opportunities for upward mobility, we can ensure that the middle class continues to be the driving force behind our state's and nation's success. Together, we need to build a future where every individual has the chance to achieve their dreams and contribute to the prosperity of our district and state.
- Water and Natural Resources: In our district, water is the lifeblood of our agriculture, sustaining the farms and livelihoods that define our community. Our campaign is dedicated to safeguarding this precious resource and fortifying the backbone of our local economy. In addition, we need increased fire mitigation so that we can do our part to help avoid the wildfire disasters that have become common over the last 10 years.
- Education Reform: Almost everyone involved in the education sector can agree on one thing - the system needs help. Mental health among college students is the number one issue many faculty members face. Students from K-12 to college are homeless. Teachers are leaving the profession due to working conditions and pay. Parents are unhappy with the educational environment and their children's learning. There must be a way to reconcile the one goal that we can all agree on: a safe educational environment where our students can prosper. This means educational policy needs to change and the budget needs to be examined to ensure taxpayers are funding policies that actually work.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 29, 2024
