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California Legislature · Statewide General Election

Member of the State Assembly, District 38

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 Steve Bennett took 69.4% of the June 2 vote and fellow Democrat Michael MacDonald took 30.6%, so November is a contest between two members of the same party. The district covers Ventura County and part of Santa Barbara 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. Seniority compounds: a member several terms in chairs committees and shapes which bills reach a floor vote at all.

With two Democrats on the ballot, party is not the axis. One has a substantial enacted record and institutional funding; the other is running a mostly individually funded campaign against a member of his own party. Weigh accumulated legislative output against whatever case the challenger is making for replacing it.

Steve Bennett

Democrat, the sitting Assemblymember for this district. He is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 9 of them signed into law — among the stronger conversion rates on this ballot. He took nearly seven in ten votes in June.

Strengths

Nine bills signed into law this session, and the committee standing that comes with multiple terms.

Trade-offs

Most of his money came from organizations rather than people, which is a standing claim on a member with committee seniority.

Keep in mind

He drew a same-party challenger rather than a Republican, which usually signals a disagreement inside the district's own coalition.

Michael MacDonald

Democrat, who advanced with 30.6% of the June vote against an incumbent of his own party. He raised $63,373, mostly from individuals at $41,952, with $11,259 of his own money and only $5,900 from PACs and committees. He has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.

Strengths

Nearly a third of the vote against a sitting member of his own party, on a campaign funded mainly by individuals.

Trade-offs

$63,373 against $534,262, and no record in office to be judged on.

Keep in mind

Coverage surfaced little detail about why he is challenging an incumbent Democrat; the disagreement he represents is not documented in the sources we cite.

Record in office

Steve Bennett (Democratic) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 9 of them signed into law. Michael MacDonald 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

Bennett — AB 320 (2025): Public social services: eligibility: income exclusions. Bennett — AB 367 (2025): Water: County of Ventura: fire suppression. Bennett — AB 1056 (2025): Gill nets: permits. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.

Financial info

Steve Bennett

$534,262raised
  • Small donors$1,683<1%
  • Individuals$85,37916%
  • PACs & committees$299,20056%
  • Businesses & other orgs$148,00028%

Michael MacDonald

$63,373raised
  • Small donors$3,4626%
  • Individuals$41,95267%
  • PACs & committees$5,9009%
  • Self-funding$11,25918%

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

Steve Bennett (Democratic)69.4% · 56,992 votes
Michael MacDonald (Democratic)30.6% · 25,106 votes
Source review: Very strong (97/100) · 4 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

Last updated August 10, 2026.