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California Legislature · Statewide General Election

Member of the State Assembly, District 36

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 Jeff Gonzalez took 44.6% of the June 2 vote and Democrat Ida S. Obeso-Martinez took 24.1% to claim the second slot. At 44.6% the incumbent fell short of a majority in his own primary. The district covers Imperial County and part of Riverside 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. This district's member sits in the minority caucus, where enacting legislation requires majority-party agreement.

The incumbent took under 45% against a divided field, which is a weaker primary showing than most members managed and worth reading as a signal about the district. His campaign also carries $143,000 in party money, one of the few on this ballot where a state party is a major direct funder rather than a marginal one. Weigh a minority-caucus record against a challenger running on a fraction of the resources.

Jeff Gonzalez

Republican, the sitting Assemblymember for this district. He is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 4 of them signed into law — from the minority caucus, where bills need majority-party support to advance. He raised $1,059,004, including $143,000 directly from party committees.

Strengths

Four bills signed into law from the minority side of the aisle, and the strongest party backing of any Assembly candidate on this ballot.

Trade-offs

He took under 45% in his own primary, so most voters who turned out in June chose someone else.

Keep in mind

Party money at this scale means the state party has a direct stake in this seat, which tells you something about how competitive it is considered.

Ida S. Obeso-Martinez

Democrat, who advanced with 24.1% of the June vote. Her campaign reports $195,802 in contributions, including $120,491 from PACs and committees, $47,547 from individuals and money of her own. She has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.

Strengths

She assembled a real campaign with meaningful committee backing, which most challengers on this ballot did not.

Trade-offs

She finished more than 20 points behind, on roughly a fifth of the incumbent's resources, and has 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

Jeff Gonzalez (Republican) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 4 of them signed into law. Ida S. Obeso-Martinez 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

Gonzalez — AB 2324 (2026): Vocational education: youth caregivers. Gonzalez — AB 709 (2025): Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: groundwater sustainability plans. Gonzalez — AB 764 (2025): Birds and mammals: nongame birds: mute swans. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.

Financial info

Ida S. Obeso-Martinez

$195,802raised
  • Small donors$2,0231%
  • Individuals$47,54724%
  • PACs & committees$120,49160%
  • Businesses & other orgs$25,10013%
  • Self-funding$5,0002%

Jeff Gonzalez

$1,059,004raised
  • Small donors$993<1%
  • Individuals$67,7256%
  • PACs & committees$497,60247%
  • Party$143,00014%
  • Businesses & other orgs$344,15033%

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

Jeff Gonzalez (Republican)44.6% · 36,468 votes
Ida S. Obeso-Martinez (Democratic)24.1% · 19,661 votes
Oscar Ortiz (Democratic)22.0% · 17,994 votes
Tomás Oliva (Democratic)9.3% · 7,607 votes
Source review: Very strong (97/100) · 4 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

Last updated August 10, 2026.