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California Legislature · Statewide General Election

Member of the State Assembly, District 53

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 Michelle Rodriguez took 62.3% of the June 2 vote and Republican Rafaela Romero took 37.7%; they were the only two candidates on the primary ballot. The district covers Pomona and the eastern edge of Los Angeles 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. Committee assignment is where most of the leverage sits, and it is handed out by the majority's leadership.

The incumbent has one of the stronger enacted records on this ballot and one of the most institutional funding profiles — no small-donor total reported at all, and more than 96 cents of every dollar from committees and organizations. Weigh the record against the funding, and note that the challenger's campaign is under $4,000.

Michelle Rodriguez

Democrat, the sitting Assemblymember for this district. She is lead author of 34 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 9 of them signed into law — among the stronger conversion rates on this ballot. She took 62.3% of the June vote.

Strengths

Nine bills signed into law this session, a strong conversion rate from authored to enacted.

Trade-offs

Effectively none of her support came from people rather than organizations — the seat is funded entirely by institutions.

Keep in mind

Roughly 96 cents of every dollar she raised came from organizations rather than people.

Rafaela Romero

Republican, and the only other candidate on this district's ballot, with 37.7% of the June vote. She raised $3,840, about half of it her own money. She has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.

Strengths

She took more than a third of the vote on under $4,000, one of the widest vote-to-money gaps on this ballot.

Trade-offs

That total is well under one percent of the incumbent's, and she has no record in office to be judged on.

Keep in mind

Coverage surfaced almost no biographical or platform detail about her. That gap is what was available to us on 2026-08-10, not a comment on her candidacy.

Record in office

Michelle Rodriguez (Democratic) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 34 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 9 of them signed into law. Rafaela Romero 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

Rodriguez — AB 1781 (2026): Federal Home Loan Banks. Rodriguez — AB 2641 (2026): Sales and use taxes: exclusion: pawnbrokers: transfer of vested property. Rodriguez — AB 1571 (2026): Product safety: recreational water safety: wearable personal flotation devices: infants and children. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.

Financial info

Michelle Rodriguez

$839,144raised
  • Individuals$28,9003%
  • PACs & committees$412,55049%
  • Businesses & other orgs$396,30047%

Rafaela Romero

$3,840raised
  • Small donors$1895%
  • Individuals$1,57142%
  • Self-funding$2,02453%

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

Michelle Rodriguez (Democratic)62.3% · 45,994 votes
Rafaela Romero (Republican)37.7% · 27,823 votes
Source review: Very strong (97/100) · 4 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

Last updated August 10, 2026.