Gail Pellerin
Gail Pellerin (Democratic Party) is a member of the California State Assembly, representing District 28. She assumed office on December 5, 2022. Her current term ends on December 7, 2026.
Pellerin (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the California State Assembly to represent District 28. She is on the ballot in the primary on June 2, 2026.[source]
Biography
Gail Pellerin graduated from Santa Ynez Valley High School in 1980. Pellerin earned a B.S. in journalism from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo in 1984. Her career experience includes working as the assistant director for the California State Assembly speaker's office of majority services and as the Santa Cruz County Clerk. Before that, she worked as a campaign assistant to political campaigns, a newspaper reporter and photographer, and a community college instructor. Pellerin volunteered as a committee member of the Cabrillo College Foundation, an executive committee member and a member of the cannabis initiative for Community Prevention Partners, a member of the Santa Cruz development committee for Girls Inc., and a board member for NAMI.[1][2]
Committee assignments
2025-2026
Pellerin was assigned to the following committees:
- Appropriations Committee
- Business and Professions Committee
- Elections Committee, Chair
- Natural Resources Committee
- Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee
2023-2024
Pellerin was assigned to the following committees:
- Appropriations Committee
- Natural Resources Committee
- Rules Committee
- Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee
- Rules Committee
- Elections Committee, Chair
Sponsored legislation
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
2026
See also: California State Assembly elections, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Nonpartisan primary
Nonpartisan primary election for California State Assembly District 28
Incumbent Gail Pellerin (D) and Carol Pefley (R) are running in the primary for California State Assembly District 28 on June 2, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Gail Pellerin (D) | |
| Carol Pefley (R) | ||
| ||||
 = 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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Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2024
See also: California State Assembly elections, 2024
General election
General election for California State Assembly District 28
Incumbent Gail Pellerin defeated Liz Lawler in the general election for California State Assembly District 28 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Gail Pellerin (D) | 66.9 | 151,419 |
 | Liz Lawler (R) | 33.1 | 75,069 | |
| Total votes: 226,488 | |||
| = 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 28
Incumbent Gail Pellerin and Liz Lawler advanced from the primary for California State Assembly District 28 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Gail Pellerin (D) | 69.2 | 85,600 |
| ✔ | | Liz Lawler (R) | 30.8 | 38,166 |
| Total votes: 123,766 | |||
| = 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 Pellerin in this election.
2022
See also: California State Assembly elections, 2022
General election
General election for California State Assembly District 28
Gail Pellerin defeated Liz Lawler in the general election for California State Assembly District 28 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Gail Pellerin (D) | 68.0 | 121,119 |
| Liz Lawler (R) | 32.0 | 56,917 | |
| Total votes: 178,036 | |||
| = 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 28
Gail Pellerin and Liz Lawler defeated Rob Rennie and Joe Thompson in the primary for California State Assembly District 28 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Gail Pellerin (D) | 35.9 | 41,575 |
| ✔ | | Liz Lawler (R) | 29.4 | 34,065 |
 | Rob Rennie (D) | 24.7 | 28,592 | |
 | Joe Thompson (D) | 10.1 | 11,664 | |
| Total votes: 115,896 | |||
| = 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
To view Pellerin's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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2024
Gail Pellerin did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Gail Pellerin completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Pellerin's responses.
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My experience as a public servant makes me uniquely qualified to meet these challenges as your State Assemblymember. For the last 27 years I served as chief elections official and then was elected four times as the Santa Cruz County Clerk. Prior to that, I held various positions of increasing responsibility within the California State Assembly for over seven years. Given this experience, I know what the job requires and am ready to hit the ground running.
As County Clerk, I ensured everyone had access to voting by commissioning a nationally recognized VoteMobile program, implementing transparent and verifiable audits, and expanding voting hours and locations. Ensuring that your voice is heard remains my number one priority. I intend to strengthen that voice in Sacramento as your Assemblymember.
I respectfully ask for your vote to represent you as Assemblymember for the 28th Assembly District and look forward to our working together.
- Tackling the Housing Shortage and Homelessness
- Stimulating Jobs, Wages and our Economy
- Addressing Environmental Impacts and Climate Change
Stimulating Jobs, Wages and our Economy
Addressing Environmental Impacts and Climate Change
Investing in Quality Affordable Education
Fighting for Equality
Strengthening Public Safety
Improving Physical and Mental Healthcare
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.
Scorecards
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.
- California Chamber of Commerce — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the chamber.
- California Environmental Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- California Labor Federation — Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to labor.
- Children's Advocacy Institute — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to family issues.
- Equality California — Legislators are scored on their votes on LGBT issues.
- Health Access California — Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to the interests of health care consumers.
- Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association — Legislators are scored on how they voted on taxpayer-related issues.
- Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California — Legislators are scored on issues related to sexual and reproductive health.
- Sierra Club California — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental policy.
- The Freedom Index — Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2024.
- California Chamber of Commerce — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the chamber.
- California Environmental Justice Alliance — Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- California Environmental Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- California Labor Federation — Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to labor.
- Children's Advocacy Institute — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to family issues.
- Equality California — Legislators are scored on their votes on LGBT issues.
- Health Access California — Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to the interests of health care consumers.
- Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association — Legislators are scored on how they voted on taxpayer-related issues.
- National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California — Legislators are scored on issues related to sexual and reproductive health.
- Reproductive Freedom For All — Legislators are scored on issues related to sexual and reproductive health.
- Sierra Club California — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental policy.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2023.
- ACLU California Action — Legislators are scored on their votes on the association's position legislation.
- California Chamber of Commerce — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the chamber.
- California Environmental Justice Alliance — Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- California Environmental Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- California Labor Federation — Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to labor.
- Children's Advocacy Institute — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to family issues.
- Equality California — Legislators are scored on their votes on LGBT issues.
- Health Access California — Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to the interests of health care consumers.
- Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association — Legislators are scored on how they voted on taxpayer-related issues.
- Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California — Legislators are scored on issues related to sexual and reproductive health.
- Sierra Club California — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental policy.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Officeholder California State Assembly District 28 |
Personal |
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Evan Low (D) |
California State Assembly District 28 2022-Present |
Succeeded by - |
