California Legislature · Statewide General Election
Member of the State Assembly, District 21
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
- Diane Papan — Democratic · Incumbent
- Jabra J Muhawieh — Republican
This person holds your district's seat in the California State Assembly (2-year term).
Assemblymember Diane Papan took 78.7% of the June 2 vote and Republican Jabra J Muhawieh took 21.3%; they were the only two candidates on the primary ballot. The district covers San Mateo County's bayside cities.
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. Committee assignment is where most of the leverage sits, and it is handed out by the majority's leadership.
A wide June margin and a two-candidate ballot mean the practical question is what the incumbent does with a seat she is likely to keep. Her bill count is high and her signed-into-law count is comparatively low, which is worth reading as a pair rather than separately — authoring is not the same as enacting. Weigh that against a challenger about whom little has been published.
Diane Papan
Democrat, the sitting Assemblymember for this district. She is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 4 of them signed into law. She took nearly four in five votes in the June primary.
Strengths
Thirty-five bills authored this session is among the highest counts on this ballot, and she holds the committee standing that comes with multiple terms.
Trade-offs
Four of those 35 bills were signed into law, a lower conversion rate than most incumbents here — volume authored is not the same as law made.
Keep in mind
A high authored count with a low enacted count can mean ambitious bills or crowded ones; the record alone does not say which.
Jabra J Muhawieh
Republican, and the only other candidate on this district's ballot, with 21.3% of the June vote. He has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.
Strengths
He gave this district a contested race rather than an unopposed one, and took roughly a fifth of the June vote doing it.
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
Coverage surfaced almost no biographical or platform detail about him. That gap is what was available to us on 2026-08-10, not a comment on his candidacy.
Record in office
Diane Papan (Democratic) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 4 of them signed into law. Jabra J Muhawieh 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
Papan — AB 1250 (2025): Transit operators: paratransit: recertification of eligibility. Papan — AB 411 (2025): Livestock carcasses: disposal: composting. Papan — AB 60 (2025): Cosmetic safety. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.
Financial info
- Individuals
- PACs & committees
- Businesses & other orgs
Diane Papan
$540,609 raised
- Individuals$19,9004%
- PACs & committees$300,40056%
- Businesses & other orgs$216,50040%
1Jabra J Muhawieh 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.