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California Legislature · Statewide General Election

Member of the State Assembly, District 71

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 Kate Sanchez took 58.2% of the June 2 vote and Democrat JJ Galvez took 41.8%; they were the only two candidates on the primary ballot. The district covers part of southern Riverside and northern San Diego counties.

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.

The incumbent has authored 18 bills this session and had none signed into law, one of only two sitting members on this ballot at zero. Minority-caucus membership is a real hurdle, but several of her Republican colleagues converted four or more. Weigh that against a challenger running on about a tenth of her money.

Kate Sanchez

Republican, the sitting Assemblymember for this district. She is lead author of 18 bills in the 2025–2026 session, none of them signed into law so far — the lowest bill count and one of two zero-conversion records among sitting members here. She took 58.2% of the June vote.

Strengths

A comfortable hold on the seat and established committee assignments.

Trade-offs

Eighteen bills authored with none enacted is the thinnest legislative output on this ballot.

Keep in mind

Almost none of her support came from individual people — $2,000 from individuals and $75 from small donors, out of roughly half a million dollars.

JJ Galvez

Democrat, and the only other candidate on this district's ballot, with 41.8% of the June vote. He raised $50,971, mostly from individuals at $31,595 with $5,876 from small donors. He has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.

Strengths

He took more than four in ten votes on about a tenth of the incumbent's money, and raised far more from individuals than she did.

Trade-offs

That resource gap is wide going into the general, and he has no record in office to be judged on.

Keep in mind

Coverage surfaced little detail about his platform; what we can document is how his campaign is funded and how it polled, not what he would do in office.

Record in office

Kate Sanchez (Republican) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 18 bills in the 2025–2026 session, none signed into law so far. JJ Galvez 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.

Financial info

Kate Sanchez

$502,488raised
  • Small donors$75<1%
  • Individuals$2,000<1%
  • PACs & committees$292,40459%
  • Businesses & other orgs$204,63341%

JJ Galvez

$50,971raised
  • Small donors$5,87612%
  • Individuals$31,59562%
  • PACs & committees$3,0006%
  • Businesses & other orgs$2,5005%
  • Self-funding$8,00016%

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

Kate Sanchez (Republican)58.2% · 82,430 votes
JJ Galvez (Democratic)41.8% · 59,255 votes
Source review: Very strong (97/100) · 4 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

Last updated August 10, 2026.