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California Legislature · Statewide General Election

Member of the State Assembly, District 5

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 Joe Patterson took 60.1% of the June 2 vote and Democrat Neva Parker took 39.9%; they were the only two candidates on the primary ballot. The district covers Placer County and the Sierra foothills east of Sacramento.

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.

Both campaigns here drew real small-donor support — $7,607 and $8,973 respectively — which is unusual on this ballot and means both are answering to individual givers to some degree. The challenger actually out-raised the incumbent among small donors while raising about a sixth as much overall. Weigh a minority-caucus record against a challenger with a genuine, if smaller, base.

Joe Patterson

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 took 60.1% of the June vote.

Strengths

Four bills signed from the minority side of the aisle, which requires cross-party agreement majority members do not need, and small donations above the median.

Trade-offs

About half his money came from businesses and other organizations — a cost if you want a member at more distance from organized economic interests.

Keep in mind

A 60% primary in a district of this registration is solid but not commanding by the standards of this ballot.

Neva Parker

Democrat, and the only other candidate on this district's ballot, with 39.9% of the June vote. She raised $97,568, including $64,392 from individuals and $8,973 from small donors — more small-dollar support than the incumbent. She has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.

Strengths

She raised more from small donors than the sitting member did, and took nearly 40% of the vote in a district her party does not usually win.

Trade-offs

Her overall total is about a sixth of his, and she has no record in office to be judged on.

Keep in mind

Coverage surfaced little detail about her platform; what we can document is her funding profile and her June result, not what she would do in office.

Record in office

Joe Patterson (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. Neva Parker 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

Patterson — AB 34 (2026): California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program: local publicly owned electric utilities: large hydroelectric generation. Patterson — AB 1087 (2025): Crimes: vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. Patterson — AB 1152 (2025): Controlled substances: human chorionic gonadotropin. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.

Financial info

Neva Parker

$97,568raised
  • Small donors$8,9739%
  • Individuals$64,39267%
  • PACs & committees$16,69717%
  • Party$5001%
  • Businesses & other orgs$450<1%
  • Self-funding$5,0005%

Joe Patterson

$632,999raised
  • Small donors$7,6071%
  • Individuals$64,33010%
  • PACs & committees$235,85038%
  • Businesses & other orgs$311,37550%

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

Joe Patterson (Republican)60.1% · 109,708 votes
Neva Parker (Democratic)39.9% · 72,855 votes
Source review: Very strong (97/100) · 4 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

Last updated August 10, 2026.