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California Legislature · Statewide General Election

Member of the State Assembly, District 56

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 Lisa Calderon took 64.1% of the June 2 vote and Republican Jessica Martinez took 35.9%; they were the only two candidates on the primary ballot. The district covers Whittier and the southeastern San Gabriel 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. Committee assignment is where most of the leverage sits, and it is handed out by the majority's leadership.

The incumbent's funding is almost entirely institutional — $16,200 from individuals against $424,153 from PACs and committees and $321,200 from businesses and other organizations — which is among the widest such gaps on this ballot. Weigh a moderate enacted record against that funding shape, and against a challenger running on about $8,000.

Lisa Calderon

Democrat, the sitting Assemblymember for this district. She is lead author of 28 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 6 of them signed into law. She took 64.1% of the June vote.

Strengths

Six bills signed into law from 28 authored is a solid conversion rate.

Trade-offs

Almost none of her support came from people rather than organizations, so a solid record was assembled without a base in the district.

Keep in mind

A 64% primary is a fact about this district's registration as much as about her record.

Jessica Martinez

Republican, and the only other candidate on this district's ballot, with 35.9% of the June vote. She raised $8,247, mostly from individuals and small donors. She has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.

Strengths

A campaign funded almost entirely by individuals, and more than a third of the vote on about one percent of the incumbent's money.

Trade-offs

That funding gap is close to total, 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

Lisa Calderon (Democratic) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 28 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 6 of them signed into law. Jessica Martinez 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

Calderon — AB 798 (2025): State Emergency Food Bank Reserve Program: diapers and wipes. Calderon — AB 1003 (2025): Public health: emergency plans and wildfire research. Calderon — AB 888 (2025): California Safe Homes grant program. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.

Financial info

Lisa Calderon

$766,875raised
  • Small donors$198<1%
  • Individuals$16,2002%
  • PACs & committees$424,15356%
  • Businesses & other orgs$321,20042%

Jessica Martinez

$8,247raised
  • Small donors$1,90524%
  • Individuals$5,71971%
  • PACs & committees$1472%
  • Businesses & other orgs$2002%
  • Self-funding$1001%

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

Lisa Calderon (Democratic)64.1% · 60,224 votes
Jessica Martinez (Republican)35.9% · 33,711 votes
Source review: Very strong (97/100) · 4 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

Last updated August 10, 2026.