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California Legislature · Statewide General Election

Member of the State Assembly, District 30

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 Dawn Addis took 54.8% of the June 2 vote and Republican Shannon Kessler took 35.9%. At an 18.9-point gap this was a closer primary than most incumbents on this ballot faced. The district runs along the Central Coast through San Luis Obispo and Monterey 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. A coastal district brings water, agriculture and housing questions that run through several committees at once.

The incumbent took under 55% in a primary, which is a weaker showing than most of her colleagues managed and worth reading as a signal about the district rather than a prediction. Both candidates have meaningful individual support; they differ in that one has a legislative record and a broad donor base, and the other is largely financing her own campaign.

Dawn Addis

Democrat, the sitting Assemblymember for this district. She is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 7 of them signed into law. Her $23,926 from small donors is a notably broad base for a legislative race, where the median candidate raises well under one percent of their money in amounts under $100.

Strengths

Seven bills signed into law this session, and unusually broad small-donor support at $23,926, where the median legislative campaign raises almost nothing.

Trade-offs

Rather under half her money still came from PACs and committees, so the small-donor base sits alongside an institutional one rather than replacing it.

Keep in mind

She won the primary with 54.8%, the narrowest margin of any Assembly incumbent on this ballot.

Shannon Kessler

Republican, who took 35.9% of the June vote — the strongest challenger showing against an Assembly incumbent on this ballot. She has put $161,389 of her own money into the campaign, recorded as candidate receipts and loans, alongside $22,693 from individuals and $3,237 from small donors. She has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.

Strengths

She held an incumbent under 55% in the primary, the best challenger performance in any Assembly race on this ballot.

Trade-offs

Most of her campaign is self-financed rather than assembled from supporters, and she has no record in office to be judged on.

Keep in mind

Coverage surfaced little detail about her platform, so what we can document is the shape of her campaign rather than what she would do with the seat.

Record in office

Dawn Addis (Democratic) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 7 of them signed into law. Shannon Kessler 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

Addis — AB 1076 (2025): Qualified ABLE Program: CalABLE accounts: funding. Addis — AB 761 (2025): Monterey-Salinas Transit District: sales and special taxes. Addis — AB 1487 (2025): Public health: Two-Spirit, Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Intersex Wellness and Equity Fund. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.

Financial info

Shannon Kessler

$158,638raised
  • Small donors$3,2372%
  • Individuals$22,69312%
  • Businesses & other orgs$250<1%
  • Self-funding$161,38986%

Dawn Addis

$758,691raised
  • Small donors$23,9263%
  • Individuals$168,79022%
  • PACs & committees$370,01049%
  • Businesses & other orgs$194,30026%

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

Dawn Addis (Democratic)54.8% · 83,505 votes
Shannon Kessler (Republican)35.9% · 54,649 votes
Susannah Brown (Democratic)9.3% · 14,220 votes
Source review: Very strong (97/100) · 4 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

Last updated August 10, 2026.