California Legislature · Statewide General Election
Member of the State Assembly, District 18
Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.
This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.
On the ballot
- Andre Sandford — Democratic
- Mia Bonta — Democratic · Incumbent
This person holds your district's seat in the California State Assembly (2-year term).
Assemblymember Mia Bonta took 76.9% of the June 2 vote; Andre Sandford took 10.9% to claim the second slot ahead of a Republican and a Green in the four-candidate field. Both finalists are Democrats. The district covers Alameda, Emeryville and part of Oakland.
The winner holds one of 80 Assembly seats for a two-year term, inside a 12-year lifetime cap on service in Sacramento. An Assemblymember authors bills, sits on the policy committees that decide which bills advance, and argues for the district's share of the annual state budget. Seniority compounds, and this district's current member already holds it.
With two Democrats on the ballot, party is not the axis. One candidate has the highest signed-into-law count of any Assembly incumbent on this ballot; the other is running from outside the party structure on housing, healthcare and childcare. Weigh legislative productivity inside the majority against a challenge to how that majority sets its priorities.
Mia Bonta
Democrat, the sitting Assemblymember for this district. She is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 11 of them signed into law — the highest signed-into-law count among Assembly incumbents on this ballot. She took more than three-quarters of the June vote.
Strengths
Eleven bills signed into law in a single session is the strongest legislative output on this ballot, and it comes with the committee standing that produced it.
Trade-offs
About two-thirds of her money came from PACs and committees, so the output that makes her case is produced inside those relationships.
Keep in mind
A 77% primary is a fact about this district's registration as much as about her record.
Andre Sandford
Democrat, a former child protective services and housing program manager who has run for this seat before. Per Ballotpedia he changed his party registration from independent to Democratic in January 2026. He runs on housing, healthcare and childcare, and has not held elected office.
Strengths
Direct working experience of the child-welfare and housing systems the Legislature funds, and a policy platform aimed squarely at them.
Trade-offs
Cal-Access shows no contributions reported for his committee, and he has no record in office to be judged on.
Keep in mind
He registered as a Democrat in January 2026 after previously running as an independent; whether that reads as a change of position or of strategy is a judgment we leave to you.
Record in office
Mia Bonta (Democratic) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 11 of them signed into law. Andre Sandford has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress; these records cover only those offices. Per the California Legislature's public bill data (leginfo bulk download), retrieved 2026-08-10.
Record details
Bonta — AB 224 (2025): Health care coverage: essential health benefits. Bonta — AB 1261 (2025): Immigration: immigrant youth: access to legal counsel. Bonta — AB 55 (2025): Alternative birth centers: licensing and Medi-Cal reimbursement. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.
Financial info
- Small donors
- Individuals
- PACs & committees
- Businesses & other orgs
Mia Bonta
$646,763 raised
- Small donors$1,620<1%
- Individuals$66,65510%
- PACs & committees$413,49864%
- Businesses & other orgs$163,20025%
1Andre Sandford has no contributions reported to Cal-Access for this race.
2Figures are CA Form 460 filings through June 30, 2026 by committees controlled by each candidate, and can include transfers from a candidate's earlier committees. Semi-annual reports covering January–June 2026 were due July 31, 2026, so some totals lag a period behind. Per the California Secretary of State's Cal-Access raw data export, retrieved 2026-08-22.
June 2 primary — how they advanced
Source review: Very strong (97/100) · 4 cited sources
Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.
- sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)CA Secretary of State — Statement of Vote, June 2, 2026 primary (certified 2026-07-10)
- ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab)Ballotpedia — June 2026 California primary
- downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Legislative Information — public bill data (bulk download)
- sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)Cal-Access raw data export — California Secretary of State
Last updated August 10, 2026.