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California Legislature · Statewide General Election

Member of the State Assembly, District 53

Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.

On the ballot

Michelle Rodriguez — Democratic · Incumbent
Rafaela Romero — Republican

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

Record in office

Michelle Rodriguez (Democratic) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 34 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 9 of them signed into law. Rafaela Romero 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 2026-08-03.

Record details

Rodriguez — AB 1781 (2026): Federal Home Loan Banks. Rodriguez — AB 2641 (2026): Sales and use taxes: exclusion: pawnbrokers: transfer of vested property. Rodriguez — AB 1571 (2026): Product safety: recreational water safety: wearable personal flotation devices: infants and children. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.

Financial info

Small donors
Individuals
PACs & committees
Businesses & other orgs
Self-funding

Michelle Rodriguez

$839,144 raised

Individuals$28,9003%
PACs & committees$412,55049%
Businesses & other orgs$396,30047%

Rafaela Romero

$3,840 raised

Small donors$1895%
Individuals$1,57142%
Self-funding$2,02453%

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 2026-08-03.

June 2 primary — how they advanced

Michelle Rodriguez (Democratic)62.3% · 45,994 votes

Rafaela Romero (Republican)37.7% · 27,823 votes

Source review: Very strong (98/100) · 3 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)CA Secretary of State — Statement of Vote, June 2, 2026 primary (certified 2026-07-10)
downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Legislative Information — public bill data (bulk download)
sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)Cal-Access raw data export — California Secretary of State

Last updated August 3, 2026.