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Member of the State Assembly, District 78

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State of California

Member of the State Assembly, District 78

This person holds your district's seat in the California State Assembly (2-year term).

Assemblymember Chris Ward took 68.5% of the June 2 vote. Republican Payton Galvez took 28.4% and advanced to November. The district covers central San Diego.

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. Committee assignment is where most of the leverage sits, and it is handed out by the majority's leadership.

The incumbent has one of the stronger enacted records on this ballot and raised less than most of his colleagues doing it. His opponent has reported no funding. The practical question here is what this district is getting from a safe seat.

Chris Ward

Chris Ward is the Democratic Assemblymember for California's 78th District. It covers central San Diego and El Cajon. He was first elected in 2020. Before that he served on the San Diego City Council. There he wrote the city's Equal Pay Ordinance. He also led its housing committee. Earlier he was chief of staff to a state senator. He now chairs the Assembly's arts and tourism committee. He also leads the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus.

Ward has focused recent work on surveillance pricing. That is when companies use personal data to charge shoppers different prices. A Consumer Reports investigation found that a grocery delivery app tested AI driven pricing changes on shoppers. After that, he introduced a bill to ban the practice statewide. He says the goal is one product, one price for everyone.

He promises to keep working on housing and homelessness. He also promises climate resilience and consumer privacy. He says the right to a fair price should not be a privilege for the few. He is also pushing a bill to help local newsrooms keep and hire journalists.

Payton Galvez

Payton Galvez is a Republican running for California's 78th Assembly District. It covers central San Diego. Galvez's ballot designation lists them as a constituent services manager. They have not served in the California Legislature or in Congress.

No campaign website or news coverage of their platform could be located. State campaign finance records show no contributions reported for their committee.

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

Record in office

Chris Ward (Democratic) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 8 of them signed into law. Payton 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 2026-09-21.

Financial info

Chris Ward

Primary — $519,685

$519,685raised
  • Small donors$655<1%
  • Individuals$32,5756%
  • PACs & committees$278,20054%
  • Businesses & other orgs$202,95039%

November — $43,225

$43,225raised
  • Individuals$17,82541%
  • PACs & committees$9,00021%
  • Businesses & other orgs$16,40038%

Payton Galvez 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.

Payton Galvez 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.

Your pick

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