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California Legislature · Statewide General Election

Member of the State Assembly, District 25

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

This person holds your district's seat in the California State Assembly (2-year term).

Assemblymember Ash Kalra took 72.2% of the June 2 vote and Republican Himat Singh Bainiwal took 27.8%; they were the only two candidates on the primary ballot. The district covers central and east San Jose.

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 member is among the longer-serving on the ballot.

This district's incumbent has the highest enacted-bill count of anyone on this ballot — 13 signed into law from 35 authored. That is the clearest single measure of legislative effectiveness available in the public record, and it is the thing to weigh here, alongside how little is published about his opponent.

Ash Kalra

Democrat, the sitting Assemblymember for this district and a San Jose city councilmember before his election. He is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 13 of them signed into law — the highest enacted count of any candidate on this ballot. He took nearly three-quarters of the June vote.

Strengths

Thirteen bills signed into law in one session is the strongest legislative conversion rate on this ballot, built on multiple terms of committee seniority.

Trade-offs

Roughly three-quarters of his money came from PACs and committees, well above the ballot median — that output is produced inside those relationships.

Keep in mind

He raised less than most incumbents here while producing more enacted legislation; the two facts are worth reading together.

Himat Singh Bainiwal

Republican, and the only other candidate on this district's ballot, with 27.8% 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 more than a quarter 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

Ash Kalra (Democratic) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 13 of them signed into law. Himat Singh Bainiwal 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

Kalra — AB 1658 (2026): Local Agency Public Construction Act: change orders: County of Los Angeles: County of Santa Clara. Kalra — AB 1071 (2025): Criminal procedure: discrimination. Kalra — AB 692 (2025): Employment: contracts in restraint of trade. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.

Financial info

Ash Kalra

$465,917raised
  • Small donors$334<1%
  • Individuals$67,77115%
  • PACs & committees$354,02176%
  • Businesses & other orgs$43,7009%

Himat Singh Bainiwal 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 2026-08-22.

June 2 primary — how they advanced

Ash Kalra (Democratic)72.2% · 56,052 votes
Himat Singh Bainiwal (Republican)27.8% · 21,609 votes
Source review: Very strong (97/100) · 4 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

Last updated August 10, 2026.