In a crowded field of primary candidates vying to replace long-time Democratic Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, early returns show Republican Jeff Gonzalez leading the pack, with several Democratic candidates still vying for a spot to advance to the general election.
According to results updated on the California Secretary of State’s website Wednesday, Gonzalez was leading with 10,703 votes, or 34.5% of more than 30,000 votes cast in the race to represent Assembly District 36, which covers the eastern Coachella Valley.
With more votes to be reported, several Democratic candidates remained in the mix for the next spot to advance to the November election: Jose “Joey” Acuña Jr. was in second place with 5,550 votes, or 17.9%, while Edgard Garcia was close behind him with 4,826 votes, or 15.6%.
In all, the five Democratic candidates were getting roughly 55% of the votes to the two Republicans’ 45%.
The crowded field emerged after Garcia, a Democrat from Coachella who was first elected to the California Legislature in 2014, confirmed late last year he would not seek re-election, saying he wants to spend more time with his children after many years of commuting to Sacramento. His announcement came days after the deadline passed for incumbents to file for re-election.
Since California’s latest round of redistricting, Garcia has represented Assembly District 36, which includes Coachella, Indio, the rest of the eastern Coachella Valley and, beyond that, eastern Riverside County all the way to the Arizona line. The sprawling district also includes all of Imperial County and a sliver of eastern San Bernardino County. In 2022, Garcia won re-election against Republican Ian Weeks — who’s a candidate in the 25th Congressional District this year — with 53.4% of the vote.
Seven candidates in total — five Democrats and two Republicans — ran in the primary. Under California’s voting system, the top two finishers in the primary, regardless of party, will advance to the November general election.
The candidates
The candidate with Garcia’s backing is Acuña, a Democrat who’s served as a trustee on the Coachella Valley Unified School District Board of Education since 2014, after previously serving on the board from 1992 to 2000. Along with Garcia, several other Riverside County elected officials, including Supervisor V. Manuel Perez and Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez, have endorsed Acuña.
Another candidate from the valley is Democrat Waymond Fermon, who has been a member of the Indio City Council since 2018. In 2022, he served as Indio’s first Black mayor during the city’s annual leadership rotations. Fermon also works as a correctional officer at the Calipatria State Prison in Imperial County. Initial returns Tuesday night showed Fermon with 2,592 votes, or 8.4%.
Among the two Republican candidates for the Assembly seat, Gonzalez, a business owner and former Marine who lives in Indio, has gained the most noteworthy endorsements from conservatives, including U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona; several Republican members of the California Legislature; and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
Gonzalez previously challenged Garcia in 2018 to represent Assembly District 56, the area’s district prior to the latest round of redistricting. He advanced to the general election but lost by a wide margin, winning 35.2% of the vote compared to 64.8% for Garcia.
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Meanwhile, Democrat Tomas Oliva, who has been a member of the El Centro City Council since 2018, is running for the seat from his base in Imperial County. Oliva also serves as a senior field representative for U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Indio, whose congressional district overlaps with much of Assembly District 36. (Ruiz is seeking re-election this year.) Oliva gained 2,249 votes, or 7.3%, in initial results posted Tuesday night.
The only other Republican in the race, Kalin Morse, is a nonprofit director based in Westmoreland. Initial returns Tuesday night showed Morse had garnered 3,369 votes, or 10.9%.
Garcia, the third-place candidate as of Tuesday night, is an attorney who has been a member of the El Centro City Council since 2015. Garcia has also served as the Imperial County district director for the League of California Cities since 2021.
Democrat Eric Rodriguez, a member of the Central Union High School District Board of Trustees in El Centro since 2020, gained 1,563 votes in initial returns Tuesday night. Rodriguez, who was previously a police officer for the city of El Centro, currently works for the Emergency Response Unit at Imperial County Child Protective Services.
Voter registration data shows that Democrats make up 43.8% of the Assembly district’s registered voters, while registered Republicans make up about 27.3%. A considerable share of its registered voters — 21.3% — have no party preference.
The general election is Nov. 5.