# Member of the State Assembly, District 23 Compare records and positions simply between David G. Johnson or Marc Berman for Member of the State Assembly, District 23 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat in the California State Assembly (2-year term). - Jurisdiction: California Legislature - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/assembly-23 - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: September 24, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 97 out of 100 (Very strong), across 5 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **David G. Johnson** — Small Business Owner · Republican - **Marc Berman** — State Assemblymember · Democratic · Incumbent Assemblymember Marc Berman took 77.3% of the June 2 vote and Republican David G. Johnson took 14.6% to claim the second slot in a three-candidate field. The district covers Palo Alto, Mountain View and the northern Santa Clara County peninsula. 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: a member several terms in chairs committees and shapes which bills reach a floor vote at all. June's margin tells you where this district's registration sits, and the choice is between a senior majority member with one of the higher enacted-bill counts on this ballot and a challenger with no reported campaign. Weigh the incumbent's record on its own terms, and note how little has been published about the alternative. ## Marc Berman Marc Berman, a Democrat, is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and served on the Palo Alto City Council before his election. He has worked on youth mental health policy throughout his decade in the Legislature; in 2018 he secured funding for suicide-prevention training that reached more than 20,000 students and staff, and this year he helped secure state funding for a network of youth walk-in mental health centers, including one opening in Half Moon Bay (Coastside Buzz). "Youth in California are facing a serious mental health crisis, and resources like the allcove youth mental health centers provide vital care and support services to young people in our community and across the state," Berman said (Coastside Buzz). He is also the author of Assembly Bill 2003, which would make suicide-prevention training permanent and free for youth 13 and older; that bill has not yet reached the governor's desk. No stated 2026 platform could be located for him. His recent record points to continued work on youth mental health policy and on securing state funding for local infrastructure and services in his district. **Strengths:** He has spent a decade in the Legislature on youth mental health policy, and this year helped secure state funding for a walk-in center opening in Half Moon Bay. **Trade-offs:** No 2026 campaign platform could be located for him. His public record shows continuity with existing work rather than new proposals. **Keep in mind:** His most recent documented achievement is state funding for youth mental health centers, not a statement about his 2026 priorities. ## David G. Johnson David G. Johnson, a Republican, advanced from a three-candidate June primary for this district; they have not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress, and their ballot designation lists them as a small business owner. No accessible news coverage of their campaign or their reasons for running could be located. No campaign website or platform could be located for them. What is known about them comes from their ballot designation and the June primary results. **Strengths:** Johnson gave this district a contested November ballot rather than an uncontested one. **Trade-offs:** No coverage of their platform or record could be located, and they have no experience in the Legislature or Congress. **Keep in mind:** What is known about them comes only from their ballot designation and the June primary results. ## Record in office David G. Johnson has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress; these records cover only those offices. Marc Berman (Democratic) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 14 of them signed into law. Per the California Legislature's public bill data (leginfo bulk download), retrieved 2026-09-21. ## Record details Berman — AB 2153 (2026): Voter registration: residency confirmation. Berman — AB 2003 (2026): Pupil health: suicide prevention. Berman — AB 538 (2025): Public works: payroll records. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record. ## Financial info - **Marc Berman** - Primary: $771,514 raised (Small donors: $325; Individuals: $124,510; PACs & committees: $359,950; Businesses & other orgs: $280,500) - November: $63,200 raised (Individuals: $11,900; PACs & committees: $17,200; Businesses & other orgs: $34,100) David G. Johnson has no contributions reported to Cal-Access for this race. Figures 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 2026-09-21. David G. Johnson has no itemized contributions dated after the June 2, 2026 primary reported to Cal-Access yet. Total is itemized (Schedule A) contributions and self-funding loans dated after the June 2, 2026 primary, through June 30, 2026 — small-dollar unitemized (under $100) contributions aren't independently dated in Cal-Access's raw export, so they aren't reflected here and this may undercount true small-donor activity since the primary. This also doesn't include money reported only on 24-hour late-contribution reports (Form 497) that haven't yet appeared in a periodic Form 460 filing. Per the California Secretary of State's Cal-Access raw data export, retrieved 2026-08-30. ## Sources 1. [CA Secretary of State — Statement of Vote, June 2, 2026 primary (certified 2026-07-10)](https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/prior-elections/statewide-election-results/primary-election-june-2-2026/statement-vote) 2. [Ballotpedia — June 2026 California primary](https://ballotpedia.org) 3. [Coastside Buzz — Assemblymember Berman Secures Funding for Youth Mental Health Resources Centers (source for his mental health work and quote)](https://coastsidebuzz.com/assemblymember-berman-secures-5m-funding-for-youth-mental-health-resources-centers-half-moon-bays-allcove-to-launch-mental-health-support-in-fall/) 4. [California Legislative Information — public bill data (bulk download)](https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/) 5. [Cal-Access raw data export — California Secretary of State](https://www.sos.ca.gov/campaign-lobbying/helpful-resources/raw-data-campaign-finance-and-lobbying-activity) ## The rest of the ballot Member of the State Assembly, District 23 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "Member of the State Assembly, District 23 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/assembly-23 (sources last retrieved September 24, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.