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California Legislature · Statewide General Election

Member of the State Assembly, District 28

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 Gail Pellerin took 72.0% of the June 2 vote and Republican Carol Pefley took 28.0%; they were the only two candidates on the primary ballot. The district covers Santa Cruz County and part of Santa Clara County.

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.

This race is unusual on one measure worth noticing: both candidates raised real money from small donors, which most contests on this ballot did not. That does not tell you who to prefer, but it does mean both campaigns are answering to individual supporters to a degree that is rare here. Weigh the incumbent's enacted record against a challenger running a genuinely funded campaign rather than a nominal one.

Gail Pellerin

Democrat, the sitting Assemblymember for this district and Santa Cruz County's clerk and elections official for many years before her election. She is lead author of 34 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 9 of them signed into law. She took nearly three-quarters of the June vote.

Strengths

Nine bills signed into law this session, and $12,172 from small donors — one of the larger small-dollar bases among incumbents on this ballot.

Trade-offs

Rather more than half her money came from PACs, committees and business organizations — the ordinary institutional shape for a sitting member.

Keep in mind

A 72% primary is a fact about this district's registration as much as about her record.

Carol Pefley

Republican, and the only other candidate on this district's ballot, with 28.0% of the June vote. She raised $68,216, of which $54,679 came from individuals and $2,787 from small donors — almost none of it from committees or businesses. She has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.

Strengths

A campaign funded almost entirely by individuals rather than institutions, which is rare on this ballot in either party.

Trade-offs

$68,216 against the incumbent's $525,966, and no record in office to be judged on.

Keep in mind

Coverage surfaced little detail about her platform; what we can document is how her campaign is funded and how it polled, not what she would do in office.

Record in office

Gail Pellerin (Democratic) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 34 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 10 of them signed into law. Carol Pefley 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

Pellerin — AB 1919 (2026): Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District: transactions and use tax: qualified voter initiative. Pellerin — AB 2333 (2026): Child welfare nongovernmental organizations. Pellerin — AB 1736 (2026): Political Reform Act of 1974: lobbyist employers: fictitious appearances. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.

Financial info

Gail Pellerin

$525,966raised
  • Small donors$12,1722%
  • Individuals$123,30324%
  • PACs & committees$279,80053%
  • Businesses & other orgs$109,05021%

Carol Pefley

$68,216raised
  • Small donors$2,7874%
  • Individuals$54,67980%
  • PACs & committees$4001%
  • Businesses & other orgs$3501%
  • Self-funding$10,00015%

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

Gail Pellerin (Democratic)72.0% · 94,902 votes
Carol Pefley (Republican)28.0% · 36,949 votes
Source review: Very strong (97/100) · 4 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

Last updated August 10, 2026.