# Member of the State Assembly, District 74

Compare records and positions simply between Laurie Davies or Sergio Farias for Member of the State Assembly, District 74 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-74
- 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: 91 out of 100 (Very strong), across 12 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology

## On the ballot

- **Laurie Davies** — Assemblywoman/Business Owner · Republican · Incumbent
- **Sergio Farias** — City Councilmember/Businessman · Democratic

Assemblymember Laurie Davies took 52.3% of the June 2 vote and Democrat Sergio Farias took 47.7% — a 4.6-point gap and a bare majority for a sitting member, making this one of the closest legislative contests on the November ballot. The district covers part of south Orange County and coastal north San Diego 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. Which party wins here determines whether this district's representative works inside the majority or the minority.

Both parties are treating this seat as winnable: the incumbent's campaign carries $143,000 in direct party funding, one of eight campaigns on this ballot drawing party money at that scale, and she still took only 52.3% in her own primary. Weigh a strong minority-caucus record against a challenger who came within five points on about an eighth of the money.

## Laurie Davies

Laurie Davies, a Republican, represents California's 74th Assembly District. It spans Dana Point, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and parts of northern San Diego County. Originally from Wisconsin, she moved to California, worked in hospitality and later built a wedding and events business. She served as Mayor of Laguna Niguel, then was elected to the Assembly in 2020 and reelected in 2022 and 2024 (official biography). She has authored bills on coastal erosion prevention, extending protective orders for domestic violence survivors, and human trafficking awareness at large public events (official biography).

Davies says "the first job of government is keeping people safe" (Orange County Register questionnaire). In January 2026 she introduced AB 1535, the "Hortman-Kirk Political Violence Prevention Act." It would add political affiliation to the classifications used to define a hate crime, after the 2025 killings of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and activist Charlie Kirk (Orange County Register). The bill passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee 8 to 0, with one member abstaining, in March 2026. By May, it had been "held under submission" in a second committee and did not advance further this session (California State Legislature). "It's about lowering the political temperature and establishing strict penalties," Davies said. "It sets a clear boundary" (Orange County Register).

Davies promises to oppose "any new or higher taxes" and supports "the biggest middle class tax cut in California history." She is also a co-author of legislation to suspend the gas tax (Orange County Register questionnaire, campaign site). She also promises more shelters and treatment options for homeless residents, opposition to cuts in police funding, and moving nuclear waste stored at San Onofre to a permanent location away from the coast (campaign site).

**Strengths:** A specific, named bill she authored this session passed its first committee with no opposing votes.

**Trade-offs:** That same bill stalled in a second committee and did not reach the floor this year.

**Keep in mind:** Whether hate-crime law should cover political affiliation is contested; her bill did not settle that question this session.

## Sergio Farias

Sergio Farias, a Democrat, has served on the San Juan Capistrano City Council since 2016. He has twice been chosen by his colleagues as mayor, most recently in 2024 (Orange County Register questionnaire). At 16, after his father died, he took over his father's landscaping business while still attending high school full time. He is now chief operating officer of a small business (Orange County Register).

Farias says he was moved to run after hearing that people in the district "are struggling with rising costs" and reaching the "California dream" (Orange County Register). In 2024, the San Juan Capistrano City Council, with Farias's support, voted to purchase a vacant property on Don Juan Avenue. It was turned into affordable housing for seniors (Orange County Register). "I think that the best way to make decisions is at the local level, with people who understand the communities where these decisions are being made," Farias said (Orange County Register).

Farias promises to get the district's tax dollars "back here and put[ting] them to work for our biggest needs" (Orange County Register). He also promises support for small businesses and new fire-resistant infrastructure. His campaign describes a "proven track record of reducing homelessness" as a councilmember (campaign site).

**Strengths:** A twelve-year record on his city council, including two terms as mayor and a concrete vote for senior affordable housing.

**Trade-offs:** No record in the state Legislature, where the budget and policy scope are far larger than a city council's.

**Keep in mind:** His platform is documented mainly through a campaign-launch story and a candidate questionnaire, not extended independent coverage of a state-level record.

## Record in office

Laurie Davies (Republican) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 9 of them signed into law.

Sergio Farias 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 2026-09-21.

## Record details

Davies — AB 1892 (2026): Common interest developments: associations.

Davies — AB 1569 (2026): Pupil safety: electric bicycle: safety and training program.

Davies — AB 587 (2025): Student Aid Commission: membership.

Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.

## Financial info

- **Laurie Davies**
  - Primary: $1,029,196 raised (Small donors: $1,424; Individuals: $79,363; PACs & committees: $439,600; Party: $143,000; Businesses & other orgs: $362,100)
  - November: $46,550 raised (Individuals: $5,600; PACs & committees: $19,650; Businesses & other orgs: $21,300)
- **Sergio Farias**
  - Primary: $125,485 raised (Small donors: $3,182; Individuals: $45,369; PACs & committees: $64,200; Businesses & other orgs: $12,500; Self-funding: $66,504)
  - November: $18,750 raised (Individuals: $950; PACs & committees: $12,800; Businesses & other orgs: $5,000)

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.

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

- Laurie Davies for Assembly and Sergio Farias for Assembly 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. [Assemblywoman Laurie Davies — Biography (official Assembly Republican Caucus site)](https://ad74.asmrc.org/biography/)
4. [Laurie Davies for Assembly — Issues (campaign site)](https://daviesforca.com/issues)
5. [Orange County Register — Sacramento Snapshot: Named after Melissa Hortman and Charlie Kirk, new California bill aims to curb political violence](https://www.ocregister.com/2026/01/12/sacramento-snapshot-named-after-melissa-hortman-and-charlie-kirk-new-california-bill-aims-to-curb-political-violence/)
6. [California State Legislature — Bill Status, AB-1535 (2025-2026), Hate crimes: political affiliation](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1535)
7. [Orange County Register — Laurie Davies, AD-74 candidate, 2026 primary election questionnaire](https://www.ocregister.com/2026/05/06/laurie-davies-ad-74-candidate-2026-primary-election-questionnaire/)
8. [Orange County Register — Sergio Farias, AD-74 candidate, 2026 primary election questionnaire](https://www.ocregister.com/2026/05/06/sergio-farias-ad-74-candidate-2026-primary-election-questionnaire/)
9. [Orange County Register — San Juan Capistrano Councilmember Sergio Farias launches 2026 bid for state Assembly](https://www.ocregister.com/2025/02/18/san-juan-capistrano-councilmember-sergio-farias-launches-2026-bid-for-state-assembly/)
10. [Sergio Farias for Assembly — Meet Sergio / Why I'm Running (campaign site)](https://sergiofarias.com)
11. [California Legislative Information — public bill data (bulk download)](https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/)
12. [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 74 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 74 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/assembly-74 (sources last retrieved September 24, 2026).

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