Review note: Celeste Rodriguez for Assembly may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.
- sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)CA Secretary of State — Statement of Vote, June 2, 2026 primary (certified 2026-07-10)
- ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab)Ballotpedia — June 2026 California primary
- votecelesterodriguez.com (opens in a new tab)Celeste Rodriguez for Assembly — campaign site (bio and motivation)
- ocregister.com (opens in a new tab)OC Register — Celeste Rodriguez, AD-43 candidate, 2026 primary election questionnaire
- a43.asmdc.org (opens in a new tab)Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez — official biography
- crodriguez.asmdc.org (opens in a new tab)Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez — press release responding to AB 495 misinformation claims
- leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Legislature — AB 495 (Family Preparedness Plan Act) bill text and status, signed into law
- downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Legislative Information — public bill data (bulk download)
- sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)Cal-Access raw data export — California Secretary of State
Last updated September 24, 2026.
State of California
Member of the State Assembly, District 43
This person holds your district's seat in the California State Assembly (2-year term).
Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez took 74.9% of the June 2 vote. Republican Ricardo Benitez took 25.1%. They were the only two candidates on the primary ballot. The district covers the northeast San Fernando Valley.
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 first-term member is still building the committee position that determines how much of that agenda actually moves.
June's margin tells you where this district's registration sits. The incumbent authored fewer bills than most of her colleagues but converted a comparable share of them into law, and she raised less than most incumbents here. Weigh a lean first-term record against a challenger with no reported campaign.
Celeste Rodriguez
Celeste Rodriguez is a Democrat. She is the sitting Assemblymember for this district. She grew up in the northeast San Fernando Valley, raised by immigrant parents. Before the Legislature she worked on homelessness prevention for the Los Angeles mayor's office. She also ran the city's guaranteed income pilot. She served on the San Fernando City Council and was twice its mayor. In the Assembly she has authored bills on housing, family policy and immigrant protections.
She says she thinks about the state budget the way she thinks about her own family's finances. This year she wrote a bill about backup caregivers for children. It lets parents name someone to step in if immigration enforcement, jail or military deployment splits up the family. Critics said it could make it easier to take children from their parents. She calls that false and says the bill is about keeping families together. Governor Newsom signed it into law in October 2025.
She promises to lower the cost of living. She wants to invest in early childhood and public education and to increase housing production. She also promises to keep immigration agents out of schools, hospitals and workplaces.
Ricardo Benitez
Ricardo Benitez is a Republican and the only other candidate on this district's ballot, working as a plumber and electrical contractor. They have not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.
No documented statement of why they are running could be found. Cal-Access shows no contributions reported for their campaign committee.
No issues page or public statement of their priorities could be located.
Record in office
Ricardo Benitez has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress; these records cover only those offices. Celeste Rodriguez (Democratic) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 28 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 9 of them signed into law. Per the California Legislature's public bill data (leginfo bulk download), retrieved 2026-09-21.
Financial info
- Small donors
- Individuals
- PACs & committees
- Businesses & other orgs
Celeste Rodriguez
Primary — $403,033
- Small donors$2,7021%
- Individuals$47,84012%
- PACs & committees$240,01860%
- Businesses & other orgs$111,80028%
November — $19,118
- Individuals$11,80062%
- PACs & committees$2,31812%
- Businesses & other orgs$5,00026%
1Ricardo Benitez has no contributions reported to Cal-Access for this race.
2Figures 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.
3Ricardo Benitez has no itemized contributions dated after the June 2, 2026 primary reported to Cal-Access yet.
4Total 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.