Skip to main content

California Legislature · Statewide General Election

Member of the State Assembly, District 51

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 Rick Chavez Zbur took 54.1% of the June 2 vote and fellow Democrat Colin D. Hernandez took 22.1%, so November is a contest between two members of the same party. The district covers West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and the Los Angeles Westside.

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. Committee assignment is where most of the leverage sits, and it is handed out by the majority's leadership.

With two Democrats on the ballot, party is not the axis. The incumbent barely cleared a majority in his own primary while raising nearly $1.2 million, including the largest individual-donor base of any Assembly candidate on this ballot. The challenger is running on about one percent of that. Weigh a substantial enacted record against whatever case a same-party challenge is making.

Rick Chavez Zbur

Democrat, the sitting Assemblymember for this district. He is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 7 of them signed into law. His $450,684 from individual donors is the largest individual base of any Assembly candidate on this ballot.

Strengths

Seven bills signed into law this session, and more money from named individuals than any other Assembly candidate here.

Trade-offs

He took only 54.1% in his own primary, a modest hold for a well-funded sitting member.

Keep in mind

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

Colin D. Hernandez

Democrat, who advanced with 22.1% of the June vote against an incumbent of his own party. He raised $11,769, including $2,130 of his own money. He has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.

Strengths

More than a fifth of the vote against a well-funded sitting member of his own party, on under $12,000.

Trade-offs

That is about one percent of the incumbent's total, and he has 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

Rick Chavez Zbur (Democratic) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 7 of them signed into law. Colin D. Hernandez 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

Zbur — AB 478 (2025): Accessibility to emergency information and services: evacuations: pets. Zbur — AB 309 (2025): Hypodermic needles and syringes. Zbur — AB 1084 (2025): Change of name and gender and sex identifier. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.

Financial info

Colin D. Hernandez

$11,769raised
  • Small donors$1,42715%
  • Individuals$5,99563%
  • Self-funding$2,13022%

Rick Chavez Zbur

$1,199,192raised
  • Small donors$1,144<1%
  • Individuals$450,68438%
  • PACs & committees$411,10035%
  • Businesses & other orgs$327,55028%

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

Rick Chavez Zbur (Democratic)54.1% · 71,047 votes
Colin D. Hernandez (Democratic)22.1% · 29,026 votes
Jake Head (Republican)11.7% · 15,372 votes
Michael Geraghty (Republican)9.4% · 12,412 votes
Dick Lucas (No Party Preference)2.7% · 3,552 votes
Source review: Very strong (97/100) · 4 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

Last updated August 10, 2026.