California Legislature · Statewide General Election
Member of the State Assembly, District 59
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
- Victor Hernandez — Green
- Phillip Chen — Republican · Incumbent
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, and the second slot went to Green Party candidate Victor Hernandez with 33.7% — so this district's November ballot offers a Republican and a Green. 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
Republican, the sitting Assemblymember for this district. He is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 4 of them signed into law — from the minority caucus, where bills need majority-party support to advance. He raised $1,109,432.
Strengths
Four bills signed into law from the minority side of the aisle, which requires cross-party agreement majority members do not need.
Trade-offs
About half his money came from PACs and committees and none at all from small donors — a seat funded by organizations rather than the district.
Keep in mind
More than $1.1 million raised against an opponent with no reported fundraising is worth noticing, whatever conclusion you draw from it.
Victor Hernandez
Green Party, who advanced with 33.7% of the June vote. He has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress. Cal-Access shows no contributions reported for his committee.
Strengths
A third of the vote with no reported campaign funding, which is among the strongest unfunded showings on this ballot.
Trade-offs
No money and no record in office leaves very little for a voter to evaluate beyond party.
Keep in mind
Coverage surfaced almost no biographical or platform detail about him. That gap is what was available to us on 2026-08-10, not a comment on his candidacy.
Record in office
Phillip Chen (Republican) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 4 of them signed into law. Victor 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
Chen — AB 460 (2025): Radiologic technologists: venipuncture: direct supervision. Chen — AB 665 (2025): Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation: report: Office of the Ombuds. Chen — AB 711 (2025): Civil Actions: shorthand reporters. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.
Financial info
- Individuals
- PACs & committees
- Businesses & other orgs
Phillip Chen
$1,109,432 raised
- Individuals$121,20011%
- PACs & committees$555,53650%
- Businesses & other orgs$425,18239%
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 2026-08-22.
June 2 primary — how they advanced
Source review: Very strong (97/100) · 4 cited sources
Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.
- 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
- 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 August 10, 2026.