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Phillip Chen (California)

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Phillip Chen
Republican Party
Candidate, California State Assembly District 59
California State Assembly District 59
Tenure
2022 - Present
Term ends
2026
Years in position
3
Predecessor: Reginald Jones-Sawyer (D)
Prior offices:
California State Assembly District 55
Years in office: 2016 - 2022
Predecessor: Ling Ling Chang (R)
Successor: Isaac Bryan (D)
Walnut Valley Unified School District school board At-large
Years in office: 2012 - 2016
Compensation
Base salary
$132,703/year
Per diem
$236/day
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 5, 2024
Next election
June 2, 2026
Education
Bachelor's
California State University, Fullerton
Ph.D
University of Southern California
Graduate
University of Southern California
Personal
Profession
Policy advisor
Contact
Official website
Official Facebook
Official Instagram
Personal Facebook
Personal YouTube

Phillip Chen (Republican Party) is a member of the California State Assembly, representing District 59. He assumed office on December 5, 2022. His current term ends on December 7, 2026.

Chen (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the California State Assembly to represent District 59. He declared candidacy for the primary scheduled on June 2, 2026.[source]

Biography

Phillip Chen graduated from Servite High School. Chen earned a bachelor's degree in communications from California State University at Fullerton, a master's degree in public administration from the University of Southern California, and a doctorate in education psychology from the University of Southern California. His career experience includes working as a health deputy to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and a Los Angeles County reserve sheriff’s deputy. Chen served on the board of the California Physical Therapy Board and in the Governor’s Office of Criminal Justice Planning.[1]

Committee assignments

2025-2026

Chen was assigned to the following committees:

2023-2024

Chen was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Chen was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Chen was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

California committee assignments, 2017
• Banking and Finance, Vice chair
• Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials
• Revenue and Taxation
• Rules
• Utilities and Energy
• Rules

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 59

Incumbent Phillip Chen (R) and Victor Hernandez (G) are running in the primary for California State Assembly District 59 on June 2, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Phillip Chen
Phillip Chen (R)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Victor Hernandez (G)

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed 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 59

Incumbent Phillip Chen defeated Dave Obrand in the general election for California State Assembly District 59 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Phillip Chen
Phillip Chen (R)
 
60.5
 
139,113
Image of Dave Obrand
Dave Obrand (D) Candidate Connection
 
39.5
 
90,834

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

Total votes: 229,947
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for California State Assembly District 59

Incumbent Phillip Chen and Dave Obrand advanced from the primary for California State Assembly District 59 on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Phillip Chen
Phillip Chen (R)
 
63.8
 
75,179
✔
Image of Dave Obrand
Dave Obrand (D) Candidate Connection
 
36.2
 
42,719

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

Total votes: 117,898
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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Campaign finance

Endorsements

Chen received the following endorsements.

2022

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2022

General election

General election for California State Assembly District 59

Incumbent Phillip Chen defeated Leon Sit in the general election for California State Assembly District 59 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Phillip Chen
Phillip Chen (R)
 
70.0
 
113,363
Image of Leon Sit
Leon Sit (Independent) Candidate Connection
 
30.0
 
48,602

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

Total votes: 161,965
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 59

Incumbent Phillip Chen and Leon Sit defeated David Naranjo in the primary for California State Assembly District 59 on June 7, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Phillip Chen
Phillip Chen (R)
 
99.2
 
75,555
✔
Image of Leon Sit
Leon Sit (Independent) (Write-in) Candidate Connection
 
0.7
 
551
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
David Naranjo (L) (Write-in)
 
0.1
 
58

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

Total votes: 76,164
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 55

Incumbent Phillip Chen defeated Andrew Rodriguez in the general election for California State Assembly District 55 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Phillip Chen
Phillip Chen (R)
 
54.9
 
125,212
Image of Andrew Rodriguez
Andrew Rodriguez (D) Candidate Connection
 
45.1
 
102,683

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

Total votes: 227,895
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 55

Incumbent Phillip Chen and Andrew Rodriguez advanced from the primary for California State Assembly District 55 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Phillip Chen
Phillip Chen (R)
 
56.2
 
64,785
✔
Image of Andrew Rodriguez
Andrew Rodriguez (D) Candidate Connection
 
43.8
 
50,458

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

Total votes: 115,243
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.

2018

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2018

General election

General election for California State Assembly District 55

Incumbent Phillip Chen defeated Gregg Fritchle in the general election for California State Assembly District 55 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Phillip Chen
Phillip Chen (R)
 
54.9
 
87,928
Image of Gregg Fritchle
Gregg Fritchle (D)
 
45.1
 
72,256

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

Total votes: 160,184
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 55

Incumbent Phillip Chen and Gregg Fritchle defeated Melissa Fazli, James Gerbus, and Scott Lebda in the primary for California State Assembly District 55 on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Phillip Chen
Phillip Chen (R)
 
47.2
 
42,664
✔
Image of Gregg Fritchle
Gregg Fritchle (D)
 
22.6
 
20,441
Image of Melissa Fazli
Melissa Fazli (D) Candidate Connection
 
15.5
 
14,016
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
James Gerbus (R)
 
10.8
 
9,731
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Scott Lebda (R)
 
3.9
 
3,571

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

Total votes: 90,423
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: California State Assembly elections, 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.[2] Incumbent Ling-Ling Chang (R) did not seek re-election.

Phillip Chen defeated Gregg D. Fritchle in the California State Assembly District 55 general election.[3][4]

California State Assembly, District 55 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Phillip Chen 57.73% 98,960
     Democratic Gregg D. Fritchle 42.27% 72,471
Total Votes 171,431
Source: California Secretary of State


Gregg D. Fritchle and Phillip Chen defeated Mike Spence, Ray Marquez and Steve Tye in the California State Assembly District 55 Blanket primary.[5][6]

California State Assembly, District 55 Blanket Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Gregg D. Fritchle 35.91% 32,439
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Phillip Chen 21.79% 19,684
     Republican Mike Spence 20.74% 18,737
     Republican Ray Marquez 12.04% 10,881
     Republican Steve Tye 9.52% 8,600
Total Votes 90,341

2015

See also: Walnut Valley Unified School District elections (2015)

Two seats on the Walnut Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees were up for general election on November 3, 2015.[7][8] The seats held by incumbents Larry Redinger and Phillip Chen were on the ballot.[9] The two incumbents defeated challenger S. Sean Monemi.[10][11]

Results

Walnut Valley Unified School District, At-large, General Election, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Phillip Chen Incumbent 37.9% 2,676
Green check mark transparent.png Larry Redinger Incumbent 35.2% 2,487
S. Sean Monemi 26.8% 1,894
Total Votes 7,057
Source: Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "NOVEMBER 03, 2015 - LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL CONSOLIDATED ELECTIONS: Final Official Election Returns," accessed November 24, 2015

Funding

See also: Campaign finance in the Walnut Valley Unified School District election

At the time of this election, the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk did not publish school board candidate campaign finance reports online. Ballotpedia staffers requested this information, but the only free method of viewing the files was at their office.

The Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk targeted the end of 2018 to make school board candidate campaign finance reports available online for free. From that point forward, Ballotpedia began including campaign finance data for Los Angeles County school board candidates.[12][13][14]

The first campaign finance reporting deadline was September 24, 2015, and the second one was October 22, 2015. If candidates raised or spent more than $1,000 from a single source, including their own funds, between August 5, 2015, and November 2, 2015, they had to file a campaign finance report within 24 hours.[15]

School Board badge.png

If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Endorsements

Chen was endorsed by the Hispanic 100 Political Action Committee.[16]

2014

See also: California State Assembly elections, 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. Gregg D. Fritchle (D) and Ling-Ling Chang (R) defeated Phillip Chen (R) and Steve Tye (R) in the blanket primary. Chang defeated Fritchle in the general election.[17][18][19]

California State Assembly, District 55, General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngLing-Ling Chang 63.7% 54,313
     Democratic Gregg D. Fritchle 36.3% 30,895
Total Votes 85,208
California State Assembly, District 55 Blanket Primary, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngLing-Ling Chang 28.7% 13,242
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngGregg D. Fritchle 26.5% 12,243
     Republican Phillip Chen 23.1% 10,659
     Republican Steve Tye 21.6% 9,987
Total Votes 46,131

Endorsements

In 2014, Chen's endorsements included the following:[20]

  • California Republican Assembly (CRA)
  • Crime Victims United of California (CVUC)
  • California Small Business Association
  • Assemblyman Curt Hagman – our current Assemblyman
  • Sheriff Sandra Hutchens – Orange County
  • Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas
  • Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson
  • Orange County Clerk-Recorder Hugh Nguyen
  • Assemblyman Travis Allen – Orange County
  • Assemblywoman Diane Harkey – Orange County
  • Michael Schroeder, California Republican Party Chairman, (ret.)
  • Denis Bilodeau, City of Orange Councilmember
  • Monica Faith Choi, La Habra Community Service Commissioner
  • Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
  • District Attorney Steve Cooley (ret.)
  • Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca
  • Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe
  • Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich
  • State Senator Steve Knight – Los Angeles County
  • Curt Hagman, Assembly Member – Los Angeles County

2011

Walnut Valley Unified School District,
At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2011
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngPhillip Chen 42.6% 3,121
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngLarry L. Redinger 36.2% 2,649
     Nonpartisan Ben Yip 21.2% 1,548
Total Votes 7,318
Source: Smart Voter.org, "Governing Board Member; Walnut Valley Unified School District Voter Information" accessed October 29, 2013

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Phillip Chen has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Phillip Chen, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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2024

Phillip Chen did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Phillip Chen did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Phillip Chen did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

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.

Phillip Chen campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024California State Assembly District 59Won general$1,163,280 $896,762
2022California State Assembly District 59Won general$1,098,837 $676,659
2020California State Assembly District 55Won general$1,640,766 N/A**
2016California State Assembly, District 55Won $501,507 N/A**
Grand total$4,404,390 $1,573,421
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.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2015.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2014.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2013.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2012.

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External links

Officeholder

California State Assembly District 59
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Assemblymember Phillip Chen, "Biography," accessed December 19, 2022
    2. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Key Dates and Deadlines," accessed April 18, 2017
    3. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates for the November 8, 2016, General Election," accessed September 7, 2016
    4. ↑ California Secretary of State, "2016 General Election results," accessed December 23, 2016
    5. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates for Voter-Nominated Offices," accessed April 4, 2016
    6. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Statement of Vote," accessed August 22, 2016
    7. ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, “2015 Scheduled Elections,” accessed January 27, 2015
    8. ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, “Running for Office,” accessed January 27, 2015
    9. ↑ Walnut Valley Unified School District, "Board of Trustees," accessed January 29, 2015
    10. ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "NOVEMBER 03, 2015 - LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL CONSOLIDATED ELECTIONS: Semi-Final Official Election Returns," accessed November 9, 2015
    11. ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Candidate List Local And Municipal Consolidated Elections - 11/3/2015," accessed August 10, 2015
    12. ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed July 2, 2014
    13. ↑ Daniel Anderson, “Email communication with Brenda Duran, Los Angeles County Public Information Officer," October 7, 2016
    14. ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Brenda Duran, Los Angeles County Public Information Officer," January 2, 2018
    15. ↑ Fair Political Practices Commission, "Filing Schedule for Candidates and Controlled Committees for Local Office Being Voted on November 3, 2015," accessed August 5, 2015
    16. ↑ Hispanic 100 Political Action Committee, "Endorsements," accessed October 30, 2015
    17. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official 2014 Primary election candidate list," accessed March 27, 2014
    18. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed July 15, 2014
    19. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed December 14, 2014
    20. ↑ phillipchen.org, "Endorsements," accessed May 13, 2014

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    Reginald Jones-Sawyer (D)     		California State Assembly District 59
    2022-Present    		 Succeeded by
    -
    Preceded by
    Ling Ling Chang (R)     		California State Assembly District 55
    2016-2022    		 Succeeded by
    Isaac Bryan (D)
    Preceded by
    -     		Walnut Valley Unified School District school board At-large
    2012-2016    		 Succeeded by
    -


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