Review note: Phillip Chen for Assembly and Victor for State Assembly District 59 may have more bias because they are advocacy voter guides compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.
- sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)CA Secretary of State — Statement of Vote, June 2, 2026 primary (certified 2026-07-10)
- ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab)Ballotpedia — June 2026 California primary
- phillipchen.org (opens in a new tab)Phillip Chen for Assembly — home and 'Meet Phillip' pages (bio, career)
- ocregister.com (opens in a new tab)Orange County Register — Phillip Chen, AD-59 candidate, 2026 primary election questionnaire (his own words on priorities)
- sbsun.com (opens in a new tab)San Bernardino Sun — Bogh, Chen, Newman score high on California Legislature report card (independent 2023-24 session ranking, AB 3134)
- victorforassembly.com (opens in a new tab)Victor for State Assembly District 59 — home page (priorities, funding claim)
- ocregister.com (opens in a new tab)Orange County Register — Victor Hernandez, AD-59 candidate, 2026 primary election questionnaire (his own words on priorities)
- downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Legislative Information — public bill data (bulk download)
- sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)Cal-Access raw data export — California Secretary of State
Last updated September 24, 2026.
State of California
Member of the State Assembly, District 59
This person holds your district's seat in the California State Assembly (2-year term).
Assemblymember Phillip Chen took 66.3% of the June 2 vote. Green Party candidate Victor Hernandez took 33.7% and advanced to November. The district covers Chino Hills, Diamond Bar 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. This district's member sits in the minority caucus, where enacting legislation requires majority-party agreement.
No Democrat advanced here, so the choice is between a sitting Republican and a third-party challenger with no reported funding. The candidates are not offering competing governing programs of comparable reach; weigh whether you are choosing a legislator for the next two years or registering a preference, both of which are legitimate uses of the vote.
Phillip Chen
Phillip Chen is a business owner. He is a former Los Angeles County Reserve Sheriff's Deputy. He has served in the Assembly since 2016. Before that he was a Walnut Valley school board member. He says he helped turn a budget deficit there into a surplus.
An independent legislative scorecard ranked him the fourth-highest-scoring Republican in the Assembly for the 2023-24 session. A bill of his that became law that session raised the maximum property tax refund for a home that lost value.
He promises to focus on the cost of living, public safety and housing affordability. He says budget relief should come from spending cuts and oversight rather than new taxes.
Victor Hernandez
Victor Hernandez is a Green Party candidate and account sales manager from Brea. They have not held office before. They reported no campaign contributions.
Hernandez says they are running to put people over corporations. They list public banking, single-payer healthcare and stronger tenant protections among their ideas.
Hernandez promises to fight for affordable housing, healthcare for all and environmental protection. They say their campaign takes no money from corporations, lobbyists or PACs.
Record in office
Victor Hernandez has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress; these records cover only those offices. Phillip Chen (Republican) 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. Per the California Legislature's public bill data (leginfo bulk download), retrieved 2026-09-21.
Financial info
- Individuals
- PACs & committees
- Businesses & other orgs
Phillip Chen
Primary — $1,109,432
- Individuals$121,20011%
- PACs & committees$555,53650%
- Businesses & other orgs$425,18239%
November — $24,900
- PACs & committees$12,00048%
- Businesses & other orgs$12,90052%
1Victor Hernandez has no contributions reported to Cal-Access for this race.
2Figures 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.
3Victor Hernandez has no itemized contributions dated after the June 2, 2026 primary reported to Cal-Access yet.
4Total 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.