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California State Assembly elections, 2026
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| 2026 California Assembly Election |
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| Election info |
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Seats up: 80 |
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Party control |
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Elections for the California State Assembly will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026.
The California State Assembly is one of 88 state legislative chambers with elections in 2026. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.
Party control
| Party | As of September 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 60 | |
| Republican Party | 20 | |
| Independent | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 80 | |
Candidates
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
Primary
Democratic
RepublicanGeneral election
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate ConnectionVoting information
- See also: Voting in California
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Competitiveness
This section will be updated with information about the competitiveness of state legislative elections in California. For more information about Ballotpedia's Competitiveness Analysis of state legislative elections, please click here.
Process to become a candidate
See statutes: 8020-8028 and Section 8100-8107 of the California Elections Code
Before accepting or spending money related to campaigning for office, a candidate for state office must file a candidate intention statement with the California Secretary of State. Note that this requirement does not apply to candidates for congressional office; federal campaign finance requirements apply to candidates for federal office. Candidates may qualify to run for office either by paying a filing fee or by submitting a petition in lieu of the filing fee.[1][2][1]
In addition to the candidate intention statement, a candidate is required to file nomination forms with his or her home county. These forms become available as early as the 113th day prior to the primary election and must be filed no later than the 88th day prior to the primary election.[3][4]
Nomination forms include a statement of economic interests, a declaration of candidacy, and nomination papers. Nomination papers require a certain number of signatures from registered voters. If a candidate qualifies by submitting an in-lieu-of-filing-fee petition, the signatures on that petition will be counted towards the requirement for the nomination paper. Registered voters may sign both the in-lieu-of-filing-fee petition and the nomination paper, unless the candidate is using the signatures on the in-lieu-of-filing-fee petition to count toward the nomination paper requirement. If that is the case, a registered voter can sign only one of the documents.[4]
The number of signatures required for nomination papers are as follows:[4][5][6]
- 65-100 for candidates seeking the office of United States Senator or a state executive office
- 40-60 for candidates seeking the office of United States Representative, state senator, or state assembly member
If an individual is running as a write-in candidate, the only nomination forms required are the nomination papers and a statement of write-in candidacy. These forms should be filed in the candidate's home county.[1]
Qualifying by payment of fee
The filing fee for a candidate seeking a seat in the United States Senate or a state executive office (e.g., governor or treasurer) is 2 percent of the first year's salary for that office. The filing fee for a candidate seeking the office of United States Representative, state senator, or state assembly member is 1 percent of the first year's salary for that office. The fee is paid to the California Secretary of State through the candidate's home county election office.[4]
Qualifying by petition in lieu of filing fee
Instead of paying a filing fee, a candidate may submit a petition. Signatures may be collected to cover all or any prorated portion of the filing fee.[1]
A candidate seeking the office of state assembly member must file signatures from 1,000 registered voters. Those seeking the office of state senator or United States Representative must file 2,000 signatures, and those seeking statewide office must file 7,000 signatures.[4][7][8]
If the number of registered voters in the district in which the candidate seeks nomination is less than 2,000, a candidate may submit a petition containing four signatures for each dollar of the filing fee, or 20 percent of the total number of registered voters in the district in which he or she seeks nomination, whichever is less.[4]
Completed petitions must be submitted 15 days before the end of the qualifying period to the counties in which the signers reside.[4]
Qualifications
According to Article IV of the California Constitution, the candidate must be a United States Citizen, a resident of California for three years, a resident of the legislative district for one year and a registered voter in that district by the time nomination papers are filed.[9]
Salaries and per diem
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[10] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $128,215/year | $214/day |
When sworn in
California legislators assume office the first Monday in the December following their election.[11]
California political history
Trifectas
A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.
California Party Control: 1992-2025
Twenty years with Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Assembly | D | D | D | S | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Presidential politics in California
2024
- See also: Presidential election, 2024
Presidential election in California, 2024
Candidate/Running mate |
% |
Popular votes |
Electoral votes |
||
| ✔ |
 
| Kamala D. Harris/Tim Walz (D) |
58.5
|
9,276,179 | 54 |
 
| Donald Trump/J.D. Vance (R) |
38.3
|
6,081,697 | 0 | |
 
| Robert F. Kennedy Jr./Nicole Shanahan (American Independent Party) |
1.2
|
197,645 | 0 | |
 
| Jill Stein/Butch Ware (G) |
1.1
|
167,814 | 0 | |
 
| Claudia De La Cruz/Karina Garcia (Peace and Freedom Party) |
0.5
|
72,539 | 0 | |
 
| Chase Oliver/Mike ter Maat (L) |
0.4
|
66,662 | 0 | |
 
| Peter Sonski/Lauren Onak (No party preference) (Write-in) |
0.0
|
2,939 | 0 | |
 |
Total votes: 15,865,475 |
2020
- See also: Presidential election, 2020
Presidential election in California, 2020
Candidate/Running mate |
% |
Popular votes |
Electoral votes |
||
| ✔ |
| Joe Biden/Kamala D. Harris (D) |
63.5
|
11,110,250 | 55 |
| Donald Trump/Mike Pence (R) |
34.3
|
6,006,429 | 0 | |
 
| Jo Jorgensen/Spike Cohen (L) |
1.1
|
187,895 | 0 | |
 
| Howie Hawkins/Angela Nicole Walker (G) |
0.5
|
81,029 | 0 | |
 
| Roque De La Fuente/Ye (American Independent Party of California) |
0.3
|
60,160 | 0 | |
 
| Gloria La Riva/Sunil Freeman (Peace and Freedom Party) |
0.3
|
51,037 | 0 | |
 
| Brian T. Carroll/Amar Patel (Unaffiliated) (Write-in) |
0.0
|
2,605 | 0 | |
 
| Jesse Ventura/Cynthia McKinney (Unaffiliated) |
0.0
|
611 | 0 | |
 
| Mark Charles/Adrian Wallace (Unaffiliated) |
0.0
|
559 | 0 | |
 
| Brock Pierce/Karla Ballard (Unaffiliated) (Write-in) |
0.0
|
185 | 0 | |
 
| Joseph Kishore/Norissa Santa Cruz (Unaffiliated) |
0.0
|
121 | 0 | |
|
Total votes: 17,500,881 |
2016
- See also: Presidential election, 2016
| U.S. presidential election, California, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic |  Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine |
61.7% | 8,753,788 | 55 | |
| Republican | Donald Trump/Mike Pence | 31.6% | 4,483,810 | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 3.4% | 478,500 | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka | 2% | 278,657 | 0 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Gloria Estela La Riva/Dennis J. Banks | 0.5% | 66,101 | 0 | |
| - | Write-in votes | 0.9% | 120,739 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 14,181,595 | 55 | |||
| Election results via: Federal Election Commission | |||||
California presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 16 Democratic wins
- 15 Republican wins
- 1 other win
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | R | R | R | P[12] | D | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Redistricting following the 2020 census
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.[13][14] These maps took effect for California's 2022 state legislative elections.
See also
| California | State Legislative Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 California Secretary of State, "Candidate Checklist," accessed February 25, 2025
- ↑ California Government Code, "Section 85100-85802," accessed February 25, 2025
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Phone call with Office of the California Secretary of State," October 9, 2013
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 California Elections Code, "Section 8000-8700," accessed February 25, 2025
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Summary of Qualifications and Requirements for the Office of United States Senator," February 25, 2025
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Summary of Qualifications and Requirements for the Office of State Senate," accessed February 25, 2025
- ↑ California Legislative Information, "AB 469," accessed February 25, 2025
- ↑ Ballot Access News, "California Reduces Number of Signatures Needed on Petitions in Lieu of Filing Fee," October 16, 2017
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Qualifications for State Legislature," accessed December 16, 2013
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ California Constitution, "Article 4, Section 2. (a)(3)," accessed November 1, 2021
- ↑ Progressive Party
- ↑ 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
