# Member of the State Assembly, District 76

Compare records and positions simply between Darshana Patel or Carrie S. Espinoza Villanueva for Member of the State Assembly, District 76 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-76
- 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: 92 out of 100 (Very strong), across 8 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology

## On the ballot

- **Darshana Patel** — California State Assemblymember · Democratic · Incumbent
- **Carrie S. Espinoza Villanueva** — College Administration Support · Republican

Assemblymember Darshana Patel took 55.8% of the June 2 vote and Republican Carrie S. Espinoza Villanueva took 44.2%; they were the only two candidates on the primary ballot. The district covers inland 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. A first-term member is still building the committee position that determines how much of that agenda actually moves.

The incumbent cleared a majority by under six points while raising more than $1.5 million, $983,866 of it from PACs and committees — roughly 63 cents of every dollar. That is a heavily defended seat with a modest legislative return of 7 bills signed from 30 authored. Weigh those together against a challenger running on about one percent of the money.

## Darshana Patel

Darshana Patel, the Democratic Assemblymember for California's 76th District (Escondido, San Marcos and parts of San Diego), spent nearly a decade as a biotechnology research scientist "developing innovative therapies for cancer and other diseases" before running for office (official Assembly biography). She served on the Poway Unified School District board, where her official biography says she "helped restore fiscal stability, strengthen governance and improve student outcomes," and later served as president of the county's school boards association (official Assembly biography). She holds a Ph.D. in biophysics from UC Irvine and now chairs the Assembly Education Committee.

Patel wrote that she ran "because I saw how the rising cost of living is detrimental to middle-class families," a concern she says she heard "knocking on doors" throughout her 2024 campaign (San Diego Union-Tribune). In 2026 she authored Assembly Bill 2555, updating California's decades-old process for reclassifying English learners as fluent, and Assembly Bill 2468, expanding support for students with disabilities; the Legislature sent both to Governor Newsom (official Assembly website).

She promises to keep pairing "impactful policy work with unwavering support for the community," including help navigating the DMV, Medi-Cal, Covered California and unemployment insurance through her district office (San Diego Union-Tribune). Her stated priorities are education, health care transparency, public safety and California's "innovation economy" (official Assembly biography).

**Strengths:** A scientist's and former school board president's record before Sacramento, plus two of her bills already sent to the governor this term.

**Trade-offs:** One term in, with most of her record still being written; a committee chair gives her influence but not yet a long track record.

**Keep in mind:** Judge her mostly on this term's specific bills, like the English learner and disability measures, not on years in office she hasn't had.

## Carrie S. Espinoza Villanueva

Carrie S. Espinoza Villanueva is a Republican candidate for California's 76th Assembly District (inland north San Diego County). Espinoza Villanueva's ballot designation lists their occupation as college administration support; they have not served in the California Legislature or in Congress (ballot designation).

No campaign website or news coverage of their platform could be located.

No documented statement of their priorities or promises could be located.

**Strengths:** Espinoza Villanueva gave this district's voters a contested general election rather than a single name on the ballot.

**Trade-offs:** No campaign website, no news coverage and no record in office leave almost nothing to evaluate beyond party and ballot designation.

**Keep in mind:** No campaign website or news coverage of their platform could be located. What is known comes from their ballot designation.

## Record in office

Darshana Patel (Democratic) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 30 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 7 of them signed into law.

Carrie S. Espinoza Villanueva 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

Patel — AB 2106 (2026): Malpractice actions: architects, engineers, or surveyors.

Patel — AB 1834 (2026): Subdivisions: tentative and final map: exceptions.

Patel — AB 1119 (2025): Teacher credentialing: dual credentialing.

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

## Financial info

- **Darshana Patel**
  - Primary: $1,565,884 raised (Small donors: $6,699; Individuals: $102,180; PACs & committees: $983,866; Businesses & other orgs: $365,550)
  - November: $61,256 raised (Individuals: $9,256; PACs & committees: $21,300; Businesses & other orgs: $30,700)
- **Carrie S. Espinoza Villanueva**
  - Primary: $17,813 raised (Small donors: $259; Individuals: $754; PACs & committees: $16,800)
  - November: $6,204 raised (Individuals: $304; PACs & committees: $5,900)

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

- Darshana Patel for Assembly may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide 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. [Assemblymember Darshana Patel — official Assembly biography page (career, education, committee role)](https://a76.asmdc.org/biography)
4. [Assemblymember Darshana Patel — official Assembly homepage (news of AB 2555 and AB 2468 sent to the Governor)](https://a76.asmdc.org/)
5. [Darshana Patel for Assembly — campaign site (biography and platform)](https://darshanapatel.org/)
6. [San Diego Union-Tribune — Opinion: I put my community first, now I represent it at the state Capitol, by Darshana Patel (her own words on why she ran)](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/01/10/opinion-i-put-my-community-first-now-i-represent-it-at-the-state-capitol/)
7. [California Legislative Information — public bill data (bulk download)](https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/)
8. [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 76 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 76 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/assembly-76 (sources last retrieved September 24, 2026).

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