# State Senator, District 4 Compare records and positions simply between Alexandra Duarte or Jaron Brandon for State Senator, District 4 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat in the California State Senate (4-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/state-senate-4 - 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: 93 out of 100 (Very strong), across 7 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Alexandra Duarte** — Mother/Farmer · Republican - **Jaron Brandon** — County Supervisor · Democratic This is an open seat with the money and the votes pointing opposite ways: Democrat Jaron Brandon led the June 2 primary with 41.3% on $293,282, while Republican Alexandra Duarte took 32.1% having raised more than $1 million. The district covers the northern San Joaquin Valley and the Sierra foothills. The winner holds one of 40 State Senate seats for a four-year term, inside a 12-year lifetime cap on service in Sacramento. Senate districts are twice the size of Assembly districts, terms run twice as long, and the Senate confirms the Governor's appointments. A four-year term also means the winner will not face voters again until 2030. Neither candidate has held state office, so there is no legislative record on either side. What distinguishes them is the shape of their support: one built a small-dollar base of $16,326 — among the largest on this ballot relative to campaign size — while the other raised $569,480 from individuals at much higher average amounts. Weigh breadth of support against scale of it. ## Jaron Brandon Jaron Brandon is a Tuolumne County supervisor, representing District 5 (Union Democrat). He led the June primary for this open State Senate seat, carrying nearly every Sierra foothill county in the district except Amador (Westside Connect). He says he wants to "work with all political parties to reach solutions" on regional issues like wastewater treatment and water access (Oakdale Leader). On the Board of Supervisors, he supported a colleague's proposal to use budget reserves to reopen Mono Vista Fire Station 56, which had closed in July after a federal grant expired; the measure failed on a 3-2 vote, and the station remained closed (Union Democrat). He promises to keep working on water access and wastewater infrastructure for smaller communities in the district (Oakdale Leader). He also supported Proposition 3 this year, saying it would fund "education" and framing it as reaching higher-income households rather than working families; he defended budget cuts and layoffs at home as necessary, calling them "hard choices" (Turlock Journal). **Strengths:** A sitting county supervisor who led the June primary field and says he wants to work across party lines on regional issues. **Trade-offs:** He voted to reopen a closed fire station using reserve funds and lost 3 to 2, and he backed a tax-and-spending measure his opponent calls a tax hike. **Keep in mind:** He has no record in the state Legislature. Weigh his supervisor record, including one lost budget vote and his support for Proposition 3, against Duarte's positions. ## Alexandra Duarte Alexandra Duarte describes herself as a farmer and a mother in the Central Valley (Oakdale Leader). She is married to John Duarte, who represented California's 13th Congressional District in the U.S. House (Westside Connect). She has not held elected office. She says "the rising costs of living in California" are the central issue in her campaign (Oakdale Leader). She opposed Proposition 3 this year, calling it "another classic state tactic" to raise taxes and arguing "increasing taxes will not fix the problem" (Turlock Journal). She promises business-friendly economic policies rather than new taxes, arguing that lower costs and less regulation, not higher taxes, are the way to address the state's problems (Turlock Journal). **Strengths:** A farmer and small businesswoman offering a clear, consistent voice against new state taxes and regulation. **Trade-offs:** No record in any office. What can be judged is her stated positions, not a voting record. **Keep in mind:** Neither candidate has a record in the state Legislature. Weigh her tax and regulatory positions against Brandon's record as a county supervisor. ## Record in office This is an open seat: no candidate on the November ballot currently serves in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress, so there is no legislative record to compare here. These records cover only those offices. ## Financial info - **Alexandra Duarte** - Primary: $1,045,931 raised (Small donors: $1,083; Individuals: $569,480; PACs & committees: $41,700; Businesses & other orgs: $331,300; Self-funding: $71,500) - November: $33,050 raised (Individuals: $18,750; PACs & committees: $14,300) - **Jaron Brandon** - Primary: $293,282 raised (Small donors: $16,326; Individuals: $106,178; PACs & committees: $100,578; Party: $5,500; Businesses & other orgs: $14,100; Self-funding: $80,000) - November: $7,479 raised (Individuals: $2,479; PACs & committees: $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. ## 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. [Oakdale Leader — Riverbank forum welcomes candidates from multiple races (Brandon and Duarte)](https://www.oakdaleleader.com/news/riverbank-forum-welcomes-candidates-from-multiple-races/) 4. [Turlock Journal — Mayoral, city council, state senate candidates face off in local debates (Brandon and Duarte on Proposition 3)](https://www.turlockjournal.com/news/government/mayoral-city-council-state-senate-candidates-face-off-in-local-debates/) 5. [The Union Democrat — Tuolumne County supervisors unanimously approve final budget after Station 56 debate](https://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/article_d0347029-e569-46b5-a8d7-e0ccf8d36675.html) 6. [Westside Connect — Senate District 4 candidates to face off in public debate (Brandon and Duarte)](https://www.westsideconnect.com/news/government/senate-district-4-candidates-to-face-off-in-public-debate/) 7. [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 State Senator, District 4 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, "State Senator, District 4 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/state-senate-4 (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.