# Member of the State Assembly, District 35 Compare records and positions simply between Saul Ayon or Andrae Gonzales for Member of the State Assembly, District 35 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-35 - 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: 94 out of 100 (Very strong), across 8 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Saul Ayon** — Mayor/Teacher · Republican - **Andrae Gonzales** — Councilmember/Nonprofit Director · Democratic This is an open seat and the closest contest on the entire November ballot: Democrat Andrae Gonzales and Republican Saul Ayon each took 36.7% of the June 2 vote — a dead heat. Ana Palacio finished third and is off the ballot. The district covers Bakersfield and surrounding Kern County communities. 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. Because this seat is open, whoever wins starts without seniority — and which party they belong to determines whether they build it inside the majority or outside it. Two candidates tied to the decimal in June, and both come to this race from city government rather than from Sacramento — one from a city council, one from a mayor's office. There is no legislative record on either side to compare, so the available evidence is their municipal work and the shape of their campaigns. Of every race on this ballot, this is the one where a single vote is most likely to matter. ## Andrae Gonzales Andrae Gonzales, 43, is a lifelong Bakersfield resident who has spent 16 years in local government, first on the Bakersfield City School District Board of Trustees from 2011 to 2016, then on the Bakersfield City Council, where he represents Ward 2 (23ABC/turnto23). On the council he has worked on affordable housing, homelessness, schools and the revitalization of downtown Bakersfield (23ABC/turnto23). He has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress. Gonzales entered the race after Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains announced a run for Congress, calling it "the appropriate next step to help extend the work that we're doing at the local level" and adding, "This is not a career for me, it really is a calling, and so I take it very seriously" (23ABC/turnto23). He has proposed reforming the state's climate credit program so residents "receive a higher credit in order to offset the increased cost in utilities" during expensive summer months (23ABC/turnto23). He promises to continue his affordable-housing work and to push the state for a larger summer climate credit (23ABC/turnto23). His stated priorities include schools, health care, public safety, water quality and business development, and he notes that Kern County produces sixty percent of the state's oil and seventy percent of its renewable energy (23ABC/turnto23). **Strengths:** 16 years in local government, including a council seat in the district's largest city, and a specific proposal to raise the state's summer climate credit. **Trade-offs:** No state legislative record, and his climate-credit idea is a proposal only, with no vote or outcome yet to judge. **Keep in mind:** He tied Ayon to the decimal point in June. Their council and mayoral records, not a state record, are what's on the ballot here. ## Saul Ayon Saul Ayon is the mayor of McFarland and a former Kern County Sheriff's deputy with 25 years in law enforcement (23ABC/turnto23). He now works as a criminal justice instructor at a local high school. He has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress. Ayon says he is running to bring "responsible leadership" to Sacramento (23ABC/turnto23). As mayor, his campaign points to improved city finances and three new water wells installed during his tenure (23ABC/turnto23). He promises to "cut down on these regulations, for the oil industry, housing, streamline permits to build homes," and to lower city fees for first-time homebuyers (23ABC/turnto23). His stated priorities are public safety, water rights, cost-of-living relief and economic growth in the Central Valley (23ABC/turnto23). **Strengths:** 25 years in law enforcement and executive experience as mayor, with a specific record of improved city finances and three new water wells. **Trade-offs:** McFarland is a small city, so his executive record covers far fewer residents than Bakersfield's council districts. **Keep in mind:** He tied Gonzales to the decimal point in June. Their municipal records, not a state record, are what's on the ballot here. ## 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 - **Saul Ayon** - Primary: $267,296 raised (Small donors: $531; Individuals: $103,425; PACs & committees: $91,616; Businesses & other orgs: $61,125; Self-funding: $13,150) - November: $11,950 raised (Individuals: $150; PACs & committees: $5,900; Businesses & other orgs: $5,900) - **Andrae Gonzales** - Primary: $766,489 raised (Small donors: $8,701; Individuals: $190,450; PACs & committees: $334,900; Businesses & other orgs: $224,550) - November: $33,170 raised (Individuals: $1,170; PACs & committees: $26,100; Businesses & other orgs: $5,900) 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. [YourCentralValley (CBS47/KSEE24) — Central Valley Assembly race coverage](https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/california/california-politics/voters-decide-on-california-state-assembly-district-35-seat-andrae-gonzales-ana-palacio-saul-ayon/) 4. [turnto23/23ABC — McFarland mayor announces run for California's 35th Assembly District](https://www.turnto23.com/news/in-your-nieghborhood/delano-mcfarland/mcfarland-mayor-announces-run-for-californias-35th-assembly-district) 5. [turnto23/23ABC — The race for Assembly District 35 continues](https://www.turnto23.com/news/in-your-nieghborhood/delano-mcfarland/the-race-for-assembly-district-35-continues) 6. [turnto23/23ABC — Three candidates enter race for California's 35th Assembly District](https://www.turnto23.com/news/in-your-neighborhood/bakersfield/three-candidates-enter-race-for-californias-35th-assembly-district) 7. [turnto23/23ABC — Bakersfield Councilman Gonzales enters race for state assembly seat](https://www.turnto23.com/news/in-your-neighborhood/bakersfield/bakersfield-vice-mayor-andrae-gonzales-announces-run-for-state-assembly) 8. [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 35 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 35 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/assembly-35 (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.