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Christopher Ward (California)

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Christopher Ward
Democratic Party
California State Assembly District 78
Tenure
2020 - Present
Term ends
2026
Years in position
5
Predecessor: Todd Gloria (D)
Prior offices:
San Diego City Council District 3
Years in office: 2016 - 2020
Successor: Stephen Whitburn (Nonpartisan)
Compensation
Base salary
$132,703/year
Per diem
$236/day
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 5, 2024
Education
Bachelor's
Johns Hopkins University, 1998
Graduate
Harvard University, 2006
Personal
Profession
Researcher
Contact
Official website
Official Facebook
Official X
Official Instagram
Official YouTube
Campaign website
Campaign Facebook
Campaign X
Personal Facebook
Personal X
Personal LinkedIn

Christopher Ward (Democratic Party) is a member of the California State Assembly, representing District 78. He assumed office on December 7, 2020. His current term ends on December 7, 2026.

Ward (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the California State Assembly to represent District 78. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Christopher Ward earned a B.A. from John Hopkins University and a master's degree in public policy and urban planning from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. Ward's career experience includes working as an environmental planner, a researcher with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the University of California at San Diego, and the chief of staff to former state senator Marty Block.[1]

Committee assignments

2025-2026

Ward was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Ward was assigned to the following committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Elections

2024

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2024

General election

General election for California State Assembly District 78

Incumbent Christopher Ward won election in the general election for California State Assembly District 78 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward (D)
 
100.0
 
175,178

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 175,178
Candidate Connection = 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.

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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for California State Assembly District 78

Incumbent Christopher Ward advanced from the primary for California State Assembly District 78 on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward (D)
 
100.0
 
79,090

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 79,090
Candidate Connection = 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

Ward received the following endorsements.

2022

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2022

General election

General election for California State Assembly District 78

Incumbent Christopher Ward defeated Eric Gonzales in the general election for California State Assembly District 78 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward (D)
 
68.6
 
118,215
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Eric Gonzales (R)
 
31.4
 
54,234

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 172,449
Candidate Connection = 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 78

Incumbent Christopher Ward and Eric Gonzales advanced from the primary for California State Assembly District 78 on June 7, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward (D)
 
68.2
 
76,917
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Eric Gonzales (R)
 
31.8
 
35,857

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 112,774
Candidate Connection = 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

2020

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2020

General election

General election for California State Assembly District 78

Christopher Ward defeated Sarah Davis in the general election for California State Assembly District 78 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward (D) Candidate Connection
 
56.2
 
123,755
Image of Sarah Davis
Sarah Davis (D) Candidate Connection
 
43.8
 
96,486

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 220,241
Candidate Connection = 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.

Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for California State Assembly District 78

Christopher Ward and Sarah Davis defeated Micah Perlin in the primary for California State Assembly District 78 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward (D) Candidate Connection
 
55.6
 
69,125
✔
Image of Sarah Davis
Sarah Davis (D) Candidate Connection
 
27.7
 
34,410
Image of Micah Perlin
Micah Perlin (D) Candidate Connection
 
16.7
 
20,741

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 124,276
Candidate Connection = 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.

2016

See also: Municipal elections in San Diego, California (2016)

The mayor's chair and five of the nine seats on the San Diego City Council were up for election on June 7, 2016.

While the June election was called a primary, it was functionally a general election. The only races where no candidate won a majority (50 percent plus one) of the votes cast in the primary advanced to the election on November 8, 2016. The November election was called a general election, but it was functionally a runoff election. Christopher Ward defeated Anthony Bernal and Scott Sanborn in the primary election for San Diego City Council District 3.

San Diego City Council District 3, Primary Election, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Christopher Ward 59.23% 15,029
Anthony Bernal 27.02% 6,856
Scott Sanborn 13.75% 3,489
Total Votes (100% reporting) 25,374
Source: San Diego County Registrar of Voters, "Presidential Primary Election, Tuesday, June 7, 2016," June 8, 2016

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Christopher Ward did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Christopher Ward did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Candidate Connection

Christopher Ward completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Ward's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

First and foremost, I am a parent of two young children who motivate me every day to make the world a better place for all of our kids to grow up.

I was elected to the San Diego City Council in 2016, and have focused on housing, homelessness, economic development, public safety and other critical local goals. In addition, I am the author of San Diego's landmark Equal Pay Ordinance, and wrote a law to make San Diego the largest city in California to ban Styrofoam. As Chair of the San Diego County Regional Task Force on the Homeless, my top goals have been to transform our outdated programs and services to align with national best practices and meaningfully address and respond to homelessness at a time when other cities are experiencing double-digit growth. On the City Council, I also serve as Chair of the Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations Committee, focusing on support for local business and help create good paying jobs.

I previously served as the Chief of Staff to State Senator Marty Block, representing most of the 78th Assembly District. In these capacities, I was committed to constituent services, facilitating public participation in policymaking, and organizing state and local resources to make our schools, universities, and neighborhoods a better place.
  • A Leader on the Enviornment
  • A Key Voice in the Fight Against Homelessness
  • A Parent Fighting for All of our Children
Childcare

Averaging nearly $12,000 per year, the cost of childcare is one of the largest economic barriers for working families. Impoverished and working-class parents often find it impossible to find jobs allowing them to both care for their children and pay the bills. California's children deserve a strong start, and families need support to create an equitable and healthy workplace, and an even happier and healthier home.

Homelessness
As Chair of the Regional Taskforce on the Homeless I have worked tirelessly to update systems of care, identify funding streams, and increase housing supply for our most vulnerable San Diegans. Taking best practices to Sacramento, I will fight for a permanent stream of homelessness funding, comprehensive statewide planning, and updated care and services so the most vulnerable Californians have a path out of poverty.

Climate Change

Coastal flooding and erosion threaten our district; wildfires ravage communities, tragically take lives, and destroy homes and businesses. Droughts are getting longer and more severe. California needs to protect ourselves from these threats and continue our leadership in greenhouse reduction. As the author of the state's largest Styrofoam Ban, I have the experience building coalitions to get bold, progressive solutions passed into law.

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.

Christopher Ward campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024California State Assembly District 78Won general$956,126 $1,191,512
2022California State Assembly District 78Won general$795,427 $807,314
2020California State Assembly District 78Won general$1,136,755 N/A**
Grand total$2,888,309 $1,998,826
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Election Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards, State legislative scorecards in California

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2025.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2024.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2023.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2022.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2021.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2020.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2019.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2018.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2017.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2016.

See also

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External links

Candidate

California State Assembly District 78
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    		•

    Officeholder

    California State Assembly District 78
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    Personal

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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey, 2016, "Christopher Ward's responses," April 4, 2016

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    Todd Gloria (D)     		California State Assembly District 78
    2020-Present    		 Succeeded by
    -
    Preceded by
    -     		San Diego City Council District 3
    2016-2020    		 Succeeded by
    Stephen Whitburn


    Current members of the California State Assembly
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    Majority Leader:Cecilia Aguiar-Curry
    Minority Leader:Heath Flora
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