California State Assembly District 51
California State Assembly District 51 is represented by Rick Chavez Zbur (D).
As of the 2020 Census, California state representatives represented an average of 494,709 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 466,775 residents.
About the office
Members of the California State Assembly serve two-year terms with term limits.[1] California legislators assume office the first Monday in the December following their election.[2]
Qualifications
According to Article IV of the California Constitution:[3]
| “ | A person is ineligible to be a member of the Legislature unless the person is an elector and has been a resident of the legislative district for one year, and a citizen of the United States and a resident of California for 3 years, immediately preceding the election, and service of the full term of office to which the person is seeking to be elected would not exceed the maximum years of service permitted by subdivision (a) of this section.[4] | ” |
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[5] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $128,215/year | $214/day |
Term limits
- See also: State legislatures with term limits
The California legislature is one of 16 state legislatures with term limits. Since the passage of Prop 28 in 2012, legislators first elected on or after November 6, 2012, are limited to a maximum of 12 years of service. Prop 140, passed in 1990, affects any members elected prior to November 6, 2012, limiting them to a maximum of three two-year terms (six years total).[6]
Vacancies
If there is a vacancy in the California State Legislature, the governor must call for a special election. The governor must call the election within 14 calendar days of the vacancy. No special election shall be held if the vacancy occurs after the nominating deadline has passed in the final year of the term of office.[7]
See sources: California Code, 1773 and California Cons. Art. IV, § 2
District map
Redistricting
2020 redistricting cycle
The California Citizens Redistricting Commission voted 14-0 in favor of a new state Assembly and Senate district maps on December 20, 2021, and delivered those maps to the secretary of state on December 27, 2021.[8][9] These maps took effect for California's 2022 state legislative elections.
How does redistricting in California work? In California, a non-politician commission draws both congressional and state legislative district lines. Established in 2008 by ballot initiative, the commission comprises 14 members: five Democrats, five Republicans, and four belonging to neither party. A panel of state auditors selects the pool of nominees from which the commissioners are appointed. This pool comprises 20 Democrats, 20 Republicans, and 20 belonging to neither party. The majority and minority leaders of both chambers of the state legislature may each remove two members from each of the aforementioned groups. The first eight commission members are selected at random from the remaining nominees. These first eight comprise three Democrats, three Republicans, and two belonging to neither party. The first eight commissioners appoint the remaining six, which must include two Democrats, two Republicans, and two belonging to neither party.[10]
Commissioners must meet the following requirements in order to serve:[10]
- Members must have voted in at least two of the last three statewide elections.
- Members cannot have switched party affiliation for at least five years.
- "Neither commissioners nor immediate family may have been, within 10 years of appointment, a candidate for federal or state office or member of a party central committee; an officer, employee, or paid consultant to a federal or state candidate or party; a registered lobbyist or paid legislative staff; or a donor of more than $2,000 to an elected candidate."
- Members cannot be "staff, consultants or contractors for state or federal government" while serving as commissioners. The same prohibition applies to the family of commission members.
In order to approve a redistricting plan, nine of the commission's 14 members must vote for it. These nine must include three Democrats, three Republicans, and three belonging to neither party. Maps drawn by the commission may be overturned by public referendum. In the event that a map is overturned by the public, the California Supreme Court must appoint a group to draw a new map.[10]
The California Constitution requires that districts be contiguous. Further, the state constitution mandates that "to the extent possible, [districts] must ... preserve the geographic integrity of cities, counties, neighborhoods and communities of interest." Districts must also "encourage compactness." State Senate and Assembly districts should be nested within each other where possible.[10]
California State Assembly District 51
until December 4, 2022
Click a district to compare boundaries.
California State Assembly District 51
starting December 5, 2022
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2024
See also: California State Assembly elections, 2024
General election
General election for California State Assembly District 51
Incumbent Rick Chavez Zbur defeated Stephan Hohil in the general election for California State Assembly District 51 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Rick Chavez Zbur (D) | 75.0 | 154,114 |
 | Stephan Hohil (R) | 25.0 | 51,365 | |
| Total votes: 205,479 | |||
 = 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 51
Incumbent Rick Chavez Zbur and Stephan Hohil defeated Shiva Bagheri in the primary for California State Assembly District 51 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rick Chavez Zbur (D) | 78.3 | 76,838 |
| ✔ | | Stephan Hohil (R) | 10.9 | 10,710 |
 | Shiva Bagheri (R) | 10.8 | 10,610 | |
| Total votes: 98,158 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2022
General election
General election for California State Assembly District 51
Rick Chavez Zbur defeated Louis Abramson in the general election for California State Assembly District 51 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rick Chavez Zbur (D) | 54.9 | 76,110 |
 | Louis Abramson (D) | 45.1 | 62,647 | |
| Total votes: 138,757 | |||
| = 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 51
Rick Chavez Zbur and Louis Abramson advanced from the primary for California State Assembly District 51 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rick Chavez Zbur (D) | 61.6 | 53,522 |
| ✔ | | Louis Abramson (D) | 38.4 | 33,300 |
| Total votes: 86,822 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2020
General election
General election for California State Assembly District 51
Incumbent Wendy Carrillo won election in the general election for California State Assembly District 51 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Wendy Carrillo (D) | 100.0 | 127,026 |
| Total votes: 127,026 | |||
| = 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 51
Incumbent Wendy Carrillo advanced from the primary for California State Assembly District 51 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Wendy Carrillo (D) | 100.0 | 73,578 |
| Total votes: 73,578 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for California State Assembly District 51
Incumbent Wendy Carrillo defeated Christopher Stare in the general election for California State Assembly District 51 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Wendy Carrillo (D) | 86.6 | 102,276 |
 | Christopher Stare (L) | 13.4 | 15,769 | |
| Total votes: 118,045 | |||
| = 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 51
Incumbent Wendy Carrillo and Christopher Stare advanced from the primary for California State Assembly District 51 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Wendy Carrillo (D) | 100.0 | 42,547 |
| ✔ | | Christopher Stare (L) | 0.0 | 4 |
| Total votes: 42,551 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2017
A special election for the position of California State Assembly District 51 was called for December 5, 2017. A special primary election was held on October 3, 2017.[11] The seat became vacant following Jimmy Gomez's (D) election to the U.S. House of Representatives on June 6, 2017.
To qualify for the race, candidates had to obtain nomination documents from election officials in their county of residence by August 10, 2017. Candidates could have qualified by paying a $1,041.18 filing fee. Candidates could have also qualified by submitting 214 petition signatures by July 31, 2017. The filing deadline for write-in candidates was September 19, 2017.[12]
Wendy Carrillo (D) defeated Luis Lopez (D) in the general election on December 5, 2017.[13]
| California State Assembly, District 51, Special Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Wendy Carrillo |
53.5% | 11,100 | |
| Democratic | Luis Lopez | 46.5% | 9,631 | |
| Total Votes | 20,731 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State | ||||
Carrillo and Lopez were the top-two finishers in the primary election. There were 13 candidates qualified to run in the primary election on October 3.[14] The 10 Democrats who filed to run were:
Libertarian Andrew Aguero, Peace and Freedom party candidate John Prysner, and independent Patrick Koppula also filed to run.
| California State Assembly, District 51, Special Primary Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Wendy Carrillo |
22.2% | 5,058 | |
| Democratic | Luis Lopez |
18.6% | 4,243 | |
| Democratic | Ron Birnbaum | 9.7% | 2,213 | |
| Democratic | Alex De Ocampo | 7.9% | 1,803 | |
| Democratic | Mike Fong | 16.1% | 3,675 | |
| Democratic | Mario Olmos | 0.5% | 122 | |
| Democratic | Gabriel Sandoval | 10.4% | 2,370 | |
| Democratic | Barbara Torres | 1.2% | 284 | |
| Democratic | Mark Vargas | 4.5% | 1,022 | |
| Democratic | David Vela | 4.7% | 1,075 | |
| Libertarian | Andrew Aguero | 1.8% | 405 | |
| Peace and Freedom | John Prysner | 1% | 232 | |
| Independent | Patrick Koppula | 1.4% | 328 | |
| Total Votes | 22,830 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State | ||||
2016
Elections for the California State Assembly took place in 2016. The primary election was held on June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was February 25, 2016, for candidates filing with signatures. The deadline for candidates using a filing fee to qualify was March 11, 2016.[15]
Incumbent Jimmy Gomez defeated Mike Everling in the California State Assembly District 51 general election.[16][17]
| California State Assembly, District 51 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Jimmy Gomez Incumbent |
86.13% | 110,036 | |
| Libertarian | Mike Everling | 13.87% | 17,724 | |
| Total Votes | 127,760 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Jimmy Gomez and Mike Everling were unopposed in the California State Assembly District 51 Blanket primary.[18][19]
| California State Assembly, District 51 Blanket Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Jimmy Gomez Incumbent | |
| Libertarian | Mike Everling | |
2014
Elections for the California State Assembly took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 3, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 7, 2014. Incumbent Jimmy Gomez (D) and write-in candidate Stephen Smith (R) were unopposed in the blanket primary.[20] Gomez defeated Smith in the general election.[21][22][23]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jimmy Gomez Incumbent |
83.6% | 42,261 | |
| Republican | Stephen Smith | 16.4% | 8,277 | |
| Total Votes | 50,538 | |||
2012
Elections for the office of California State Assembly consisted of a primary election on June 5, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 9, 2012. Jimmy Gomez (D) and Luis Lopez (D) defeated Richard Friedberg (D), Arturo Chavez (D) and Oscar Gutierrez (D) in the June 5 blanket primary. Gomez went on to defeat Lopez in the general election.[24] [25]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jimmy Gomez |
59.8% | 63,292 | |
| Democratic | Luiz Lopez | 40.2% | 42,618 | |
| Total Votes | 105,910 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Arturo Chavez | 23% | 6,422 | |
| Democratic | Richard Friedberg | 11% | 3,059 | |
| Democratic | Jimmy Gomez |
37.4% | 10,452 | |
| Democratic | Oscar Gutierrez | 4% | 1,128 | |
| Democratic | Luis Lopez |
24.6% | 6,871 | |
| Total Votes | 27,932 | |||
Campaign contributions
From 2000 to 2024, candidates for California State Assembly District 51 raised a total of $12,333,470. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $352,385 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, California State Assembly District 51 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2024 | $1,464,919 | 3 | $488,306 |
| 2022 | $2,407,250 | 2 | $1,203,625 |
| 2020 | $722,515 | 1 | $722,515 |
| 2016 | $1,241,582 | 2 | $620,791 |
| 2014 | $854,766 | 2 | $427,383 |
| 2012 | $1,517,124 | 5 | $303,425 |
| 2010 | $466,364 | 2 | $233,182 |
| 2008 | $655,189 | 3 | $218,396 |
| 2006 | $981,255 | 4 | $245,314 |
| 2004 | $736,118 | 2 | $368,059 |
| 2002 | $610,793 | 2 | $305,397 |
| 2000 | $675,595 | 7 | $96,514 |
| Total | $12,333,470 | 35 | $352,385 |
See also
- California State Legislature
- California State Senate
- California State Assembly
- California state legislative districts
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ California State Constitution, accessed December 16, 2013
- ↑ California Constitution, "Article 4, Section 2. (a)(3)," accessed November 1, 2021
- ↑ California Legislature, "Qualifications for State Legislature," accessed May 21, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ California Legislative Information, "Article IV Legislative (Sec. 1 - Sec. 28)," accessed February 9, 2021
- ↑ California Legislative Information, "California Code," accessed February 9, 2021 (Statute, 1773-California Government Code)
- ↑ Politico, "California’s new congressional map boosts Democrats," Dec. 21, 2021
- ↑ Lake County News, "California Citizens Redistricting Commission delivers maps to California Secretary of State," Dec. 28, 2021
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 All About Redistricting, "California," accessed April 21, 2015
- ↑ U.S. News and World Report, "California Governor Sets December Election to Replace Gomez," July 24, 2017
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Information Sheet: Qualifications and Requirements," accessed July 25, 2017
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Labor activist Wendy Carrillo will be L.A.'s newest Assembly member," December 6, 2017
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official Certified List of Candidates," August 16, 2017
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Key Dates and Deadlines," accessed April 18, 2017
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates for the November 8, 2016, General Election," accessed September 7, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "2016 General Election results," accessed December 23, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates for Voter-Nominated Offices," accessed April 4, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Statement of Vote," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Write-in Candidates for the June 3, 2014, Statewide Direct Primary Election," accessed May 24, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official 2014 Primary election candidate list," accessed March 27, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed July 15, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed December 14, 2014
- ↑ " California Secretary of State, "2012 General Election," November 7, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "2012 General Primary,” November 7, 2013
