State of California

Member of the State Assembly, District 53

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. Republican Rafaela Romero took 37.7%, the only other candidate 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

Michelle Rodriguez is the Democratic Assemblymember for the 53rd District. She is a lifelong resident of the area. She was born and raised in Ontario. Before Sacramento she worked in public schools and health care. She earned a medical assistant certification. She also worked as a security professional for two school districts. She served on the state commission that trains and certifies police officers.

Rodriguez says her work is driven by lived experience, per her official website. She is a survivor of gun violence. She is also a Neighborhood Watch organizer. She authored Assembly Bill 463. It lets emergency medical technicians transport police dogs hurt in the line of duty. The governor signed it into law.

She promises to keep focusing on public safety. She also wants to lower the cost of living. Her other bills include modernizing insurance licensing rules. And she wants to let mobile home residents get contracts electronically, per her official website.

Rafaela Romero

Rafaela Romero is a Republican. They work as a special education aide. They have not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.

No campaign website or news coverage of Romero's platform could be located.

What is known comes from Romero's ballot designation as a special education aide and Republican candidate.

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, 13 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 2026-09-21.

Financial info

Small donors
Individuals
PACs & committees
Businesses & other orgs
Self-funding

Michelle Rodriguez

Primary — $839,144

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

November — $24,900

Individuals$2,50010%
PACs & committees$4,00016%
Businesses & other orgs$18,40074%

Rafaela Romero

Primary — $3,840

Small donors$1895%
Individuals$1,57142%
Self-funding$2,02453%

November

No itemized funding reported yet.

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 2026-09-21.

Rafaela Romero has no itemized contributions dated after the June 2, 2026 primary reported to Cal-Access yet.

Total 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.

Your pick

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