# Member of the State Assembly, District 3 Compare records and positions simply between James "Jamie" Johansson or Dom Belza for Member of the State Assembly, District 3 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-3 - 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: 93 out of 100 (Very strong), across 6 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **James "Jamie" Johansson** — Farmer · Republican - **Dom Belza** — Agricultural Businessman/Father · Republican This is an open seat, and both November candidates are Republicans: Dom Belza led the June 2 primary with 45.2% and James "Jamie" Johansson took 29.3%. No Democrat advanced, so voters in this far-northern district are choosing between two members of the same party. The district covers Butte, Glenn, Tehama and neighbouring counties. 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. Whoever wins here enters the minority caucus, where moving legislation requires majority-party support that members cannot command on their own. With two Republicans on the ballot, party is not the axis and neither candidate has held state office, so there is no legislative record to compare. What does differ is how each campaign is funded: one drew substantially on committees and organizations, the other largely on individuals plus a six-figure contribution of his own. Weigh which base of support you would rather have your representative answerable to. ## Dom Belza Dom Belza, a Republican, is a fourth-generation Northern California resident with agricultural roots who previously served on the Marysville City Council (KRCR). He has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress. He says "getting engaged, meeting people, building our relationships helps to uncover what those issues are" across a district spanning six counties (KRCR). He opposes California's gas tax and a proposed mileage tax, which he argues fall harder on rural drivers than on others (KRCR). He has never cast a vote in the Legislature, so his council service and this campaign are what's on the public record. He promises to work on water rights and resource management for farming communities, the cost of housing and living, and safe, quality learning environments (KRCR). He also promises to keep opposing new taxes on driving in a rural district where residents often face long commutes. **Strengths:** A term on the Marysville City Council, a district-wide campaign built on in-person outreach, and deep ties to the area's agricultural economy. **Trade-offs:** No state legislative record to judge, and his position on gas and mileage taxes is a stance rather than a demonstrated vote. **Keep in mind:** His only documented public office is a city council seat. How he would act on a state budget vote or committee assignment is untested. ## James "Jamie" Johansson James "Jamie" Johansson, a Republican, is a first-generation farmer who has grown olives and citrus in Butte County since the 1990s and served as Oroville's vice mayor (KRCR). He led the California Farm Bureau as president for three terms starting in 2017, until Shannon Douglass was elected to succeed him at the group's December 2023 annual meeting (AgNet West). He says permitting rules drove him to run, arguing that "farmers often have to navigate 19 to 20 permits" — time he says could go toward actually farming (KRCR). He has not held state legislative office, so there is no Assembly vote to document; what's on the record instead is nearly two decades of local farm-advocacy and city leadership (KRCR). He promises to work on the cost of living, pointing to California's higher-than-average energy, water and food prices, and to speed wildfire prevention and forest-management funding (KRCR). He also promises to focus on public safety and reducing crime across the district (KRCR). **Strengths:** Nearly two decades of agricultural leadership, including three terms as California Farm Bureau president, plus local government experience as vice mayor. **Trade-offs:** No state legislative record to judge, and his Farm Bureau presidency ended in December 2023 when Douglass was elected to succeed him. **Keep in mind:** His record is agricultural leadership, not a legislative one. How he would vote in Sacramento is untested. ## Record in office This is an open seat: no candidate on the November ballot currently serves in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress, so there is no legislative record to compare here. These records cover only those offices. ## Financial info - **James "Jamie" Johansson** - Primary: $289,457 raised (Small donors: $2,547; Individuals: $133,178; PACs & committees: $7,500; Businesses & other orgs: $33,850; Self-funding: $100,000) - November: $7,200 raised (Individuals: $2,200; PACs & committees: $5,000) - **Dom Belza** - Primary: $590,683 raised (Small donors: $6,788; Individuals: $203,967; PACs & committees: $207,200; Party: $5,600; Businesses & other orgs: $225,449) - November: $22,120 raised (Individuals: $1,220; PACs & committees: $15,300; Businesses & other orgs: $5,600) 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. 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. [KRCR — "Dom Belza runs for State Assembly in District 3, aims to connect with constituents"](https://krcrtv.com/news/local/dom-belza-runs-for-state-assembly-in-district-3-aims-to-connect-with-constituents) 4. [KRCR — "First-generation Butte County farmer Jamie Johansson runs for 3rd Assembly District seat"](https://krcrtv.com/news/local/first-generation-butte-county-farmer-jamie-johansson-runs-for-3rd-assembly-district-seat) 5. [AgNet West — "Shannon Douglass Elected as New President of California Farm Bureau" (used for Johansson's Farm Bureau tenure and succession)](https://agnetwest.com/shannon-douglass-elected-as-new-president-of-california-farm-bureau/) 6. [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 3 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 3 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/assembly-3 (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.