# Member of the State Assembly, District 59 Compare records and positions simply between Victor Hernandez or Phillip Chen for Member of the State Assembly, District 59 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat in the California State Assembly (2-year term). - Jurisdiction: California Legislature - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/assembly-59 - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: September 24, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 87 out of 100 (Strong), across 9 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Victor Hernandez** — Account Sales Manager · Green - **Phillip Chen** — Assemblyman/Business Owner · Republican · Incumbent 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 Phillip Chen is a business owner and former Los Angeles County Reserve Sheriff's Deputy. He was named the Walnut/Diamond Bar station's Reserve Deputy of the Year in 2009. He has represented the 59th District since first winning election in 2016. He previously served on the Walnut Valley Unified School District board, where he says he "helped turn the district's budget deficit into a budget surplus and established a 'rainy-day' fund" (campaign site). He also worked as a health policy advisor to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The Center for Effective Lawmaking, a University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University project, ranked Chen the fourth-highest-scoring Republican in the Assembly for the 2023-24 session. The ranking was based on the volume and progress of his bills (San Bernardino Sun). Among the bills he passed that session was AB 3134, which raised the cap on property tax refunds for declined-value homes from 5,000 dollars to 10,000 dollars (San Bernardino Sun). He promises to focus on "the cost of living, public safety, and housing affordability." He says the state needs "responsible spending cuts, better oversight, and a focus on core services" rather than new revenue to close its budget deficit. As "a former reserve sheriff deputy," he says public safety should remain the legislature's top priority (Orange County Register questionnaire). **Strengths:** A decade of incumbency and an independent scorecard ranking him among the more effective Republicans in the Assembly. **Trade-offs:** A safe seat with little recent competitive pressure, and this cycle's questionnaire offers few specifics beyond general priorities. **Keep in mind:** His most recent scored session predates this term; how he has used the current term is not yet independently ranked. ## Victor Hernandez Victor Hernandez, 33, is a Green Party candidate and account sales manager who lives in Brea. They have held no prior office. Campaign finance filings show they have reported no contributions (Orange County Register questionnaire). Hernandez says their campaign is about putting "people over corporations" (campaign site). Asked how they would lower living costs, they pointed to "the California Public Banking Act." They said public banking "could lower loan rates, which would lower prices for residents" (Orange County Register questionnaire). They also support a single-payer healthcare system and stronger rent control. Hernandez promises to champion "affordable housing," "healthcare for all" and protection of "our natural resources." They say their campaign is "100% people-funded, NO corporations, NO lobbyists, NO super PACs" (campaign site). **Strengths:** A third of the primary vote with no reported money behind it, and a clearly stated platform in Hernandez's own words. **Trade-offs:** No record in any office and a campaign with no reported funding to sustain outreach through November. **Keep in mind:** This is a safely Republican district; a Green Party win would be a significant upset regardless of platform. ## 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. ## Record details Chen — AB 2425 (2026): Department of Financial Protection and Innovation: budget reports. Chen — AB 460 (2025): Radiologic technologists: venipuncture: direct supervision. Chen — AB 665 (2025): Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation: report: Office of the Ombuds. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record. ## Financial info - **Phillip Chen** - Primary: $1,109,432 raised (Individuals: $121,200; PACs & committees: $555,536; Businesses & other orgs: $425,182) - November: $24,900 raised (PACs & committees: $12,000; Businesses & other orgs: $12,900) Victor Hernandez has no contributions reported to Cal-Access for this race. 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. Victor Hernandez 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. ## Review notes - 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. ## Sources 1. [CA Secretary of State — Statement of Vote, June 2, 2026 primary (certified 2026-07-10)](https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/prior-elections/statewide-election-results/primary-election-june-2-2026/statement-vote) 2. [Ballotpedia — June 2026 California primary](https://ballotpedia.org) 3. [Phillip Chen for Assembly — home and 'Meet Phillip' pages (bio, career)](https://www.phillipchen.org/meet-phillip) 4. [Orange County Register — Phillip Chen, AD-59 candidate, 2026 primary election questionnaire (his own words on priorities)](https://www.ocregister.com/2026/05/06/phillip-chen-ad-59-candidate-2026-primary-election-questionnaire/) 5. [San Bernardino Sun — Bogh, Chen, Newman score high on California Legislature report card (independent 2023-24 session ranking, AB 3134)](https://www.sbsun.com/2025/11/29/bogh-chen-newman-score-high-on-california-legislature-report-card/) 6. [Victor for State Assembly District 59 — home page (priorities, funding claim)](https://victorforassembly.com/) 7. [Orange County Register — Victor Hernandez, AD-59 candidate, 2026 primary election questionnaire (his own words on priorities)](https://www.ocregister.com/2026/05/06/victor-hernandez-ad-59-candidate-2026-primary-election-questionnaire/) 8. [California Legislative Information — public bill data (bulk download)](https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/) 9. [Cal-Access raw data export — California Secretary of State](https://www.sos.ca.gov/campaign-lobbying/helpful-resources/raw-data-campaign-finance-and-lobbying-activity) ## The rest of the ballot Member of the State Assembly, District 59 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "Member of the State Assembly, District 59 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/assembly-59 (sources last retrieved September 24, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.