Assembly District 36 covers some of California’s most remote and geographically extraordinary terrain, stretching across all of Imperial County and a large portion of Riverside County, with a small slice of San Bernardino County. The district includes the cities of Indio, Coachella, Blythe, and Needles in Riverside County; portions of the City of Hemet; and the Imperial Valley cities of Calexico, Brawley, El Centro, Imperial, Calipatria, Holtville, and Westmorland.

Few districts can claim three borders. AD36 runs along the Mexico border to the south, the Arizona border to the east, and touches Nevada to the northeast. 

Near Blythe, the ancient Blythe Intaglios, enormous figures etched into the desert floor by Indigenous peoples, are the best known of hundreds of geoglyphs found across the American West. 

The district encompasses tribal lands belonging to the Quechan Tribe near Winterhaven, the Chemehuevi near Needles, and the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians.

El Centro, one of the few American cities located below sea level, is recognized as the birthplace and early home of the iconic singer, actress, and “Goddess of Pop,” Cher. In a twist that only California rock and roll could produce, the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge sits entirely within AD36.

It’s also the home of the Empire Polo Club, host of the famous Coachella festival.

This year, the festival’s being held April 10-12 & 17-19, 2026, and will feature Sabrina Carpenter and Justin Bieber. 

At last year’s festival, US Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrapped up their Fighting Oligarchy Tour on April 16, after a five-day, seven-stop sweep through the West that drew nearly 150,000 people—capping it off with an unexpected appearance at the Coachella music festival.

The climate in AD36 is definitely not for the faint of heart. Temperatures routinely exceed 110 degrees in summer, yet the district’s mild winters are exactly what make the Imperial Valley one of the most productive winter vegetable growing regions in the United States. 

When the rest of the country is eating lettuce, broccoli, and carrots in January, there is a good chance it came from AD36. 

The farming operations here hold some of the most senior water rights in the United States, and because the district encompasses both the Colorado River basin communities of Blythe and Needles and the intensively irrigated Imperial Valley, the representative for AD36 is a key player in Western water politics, in constant negotiation with the federal government and neighboring states. 

The 2024 Imperial County Agricultural Crop and Livestock Report confirms cattle as a top commodity in the district, with a gross value of $546 million.

The Salton Sea, California’s largest lake by surface area, lies entirely within AD36 and sits atop one of the world’s largest known lithium deposits, found in geothermal brine beneath the valley floor. There has been an enormous push to turn the Imperial Valley into a global hub for electric-vehicle battery production, making this region one of the most closely watched economic stories in California.

The district was drawn to protect the political voice of its majority-Latino population under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and its communities share deep concerns about water, the border, and the region’s economic future.

Demographics, Housing, and Cost of Living

According to the 2023 American Community Survey, Assembly District 36 has a total population of 486,764. 

The district is 69.7% Latino, making it one of the most heavily Latino districts in California. White residents comprise 20.4%, Black residents 3.5%, and Asian residents 3%. 

The citizen voting age population stands at 61.3%, with 26.8% of residents foreign-born and 13.3% classified as non-citizens.

Economic conditions in the district reflect significant hardship. The median household income is $66,802, with a mean household income of $88,932 and a per capita income of $28,343. 

Approximately 14.9% of residents live below the poverty line, 7.8% lack health insurance, and 20.9% of households receive food assistance. Educational attainment is relatively low, with 17.7% of residents holding a bachelor’s degree and 5.8% a graduate degree.

Housing is predominantly owner-occupied at 66.4%, with 33.6% of homes renter-occupied. The median home value is $347,100, and the median monthly rent is $1,168. 

The district’s 19,652 civilian veterans represent 5.5% of the population, a significant share that reflects both the region’s proximity to military installations and its strong tradition of military service.

23%of Voters Do Not Belong to A Major Party

As of December 30, 2025, Assembly District 36 had 258,071 registered voters. Democrats hold 40.9% of registrations, Republicans 29.1%, and No Party Preference voters 22.9%, with American Independent comprising roughly 4%. Democrats maintain a registration advantage of approximately 11.8 points, but that figure understates how dramatically the partisan landscape has shifted.

The Democratic advantage peaked at 17.3 points in 2022 and has contracted sharply since, falling to 13.6 points by the 2024 general election and further to 11.8 points by the close of 2025. Republican registration has climbed from 26.9% in 2022 to 29.1% today, while the Democratic share has slipped from 44.2% to 40.9% over the same period.

The growth of No Party Preference voters is significant. NPP registrations have nearly doubled in raw numbers since 2008, rising from roughly 22,000 to nearly 59,000, and their share of the electorate has grown from 15.2% to 22.9%. Nearly one in four voters in AD36 now belongs to no party. In a district where the Democratic registration advantage has been shrinking and top-of-ticket results have already flipped Republican, independent voters are not a secondary factor at all in this race.

They are central to the outcome.

The district’s partisan profile also varies considerably by county. Riverside County accounts for 62.4% of registered voters and leans Democratic by just 8.1 points. Imperial County, representing 36.4% of the electorate, carries a wider 19.1-point Democratic advantage. The small San Bernardino County portion, just 1.2% of registrations, actually leans Republican.

Trump and Harris Were Neck and Neck in 2024

The rightward movement in AD36 has been among the most pronounced of any majority-Latino district in California. 

Donald Trump carried the district by 1.3% in 2024, winning 49.5% to Kamala Harris’s 48.2%, a striking outcome in a district where Democrats still held a registration advantage exceeding 13 points.

In the 2024 U.S. Senate race, Republican Steve Garvey edged Democrat Adam Schiff by 1.9%, 51% to 49%. 

Republican Jeff Gonzalez defeated Democrat Joey Acuña by 3.6%.

The 2026 Race for Assembly

Gonzalez enters the 2026 cycle as the incumbent in a district his party captured just two years ago. Three Democrats have qualified to challenge him in the top-two primary.

Oscar Ortiz, an Indio City Councilmember who challenged Representative Raul Ruiz from the left in the 2024 congressional primary and finished fourth with 10% of the vote, came closest to winning the Democratic Party’s formal backing. He received 60% at the party’s pre-endorsement conference, falling short of the required threshold, and then 45% at the primary endorsement vote, also short of the mark. The California Democratic Party ultimately issued no endorsement in the race.

Tomas Oliva, a former El Centro City Councilmember who placed sixth in the 2024 Assembly primary and serves as a senior field representative for Representative Ruiz, and Ida Obeso-Martinez, an Imperial City Councilmember and cardiovascular nurse practitioner, have also filed.

Gonzalez closed 2025 with a commanding financial advantage, having raised $751,378 for the cycle and reporting $402,837 on hand. Among the Democrats, Ortiz led in total fundraising at $147,874 raised with $61,017 on hand, followed by Oliva at $89,587 raised and $63,569 on hand, and Obeso-Martinez at $73,059 raised and $24,659 on hand.

More About The Candidates

Jeff Gonzalez (Republican, Incumbent)

Jeff Gonzalez, born August 5, 1974, is a Marine veteran, former pastor, small business owner, and self-described first-generation American who became the first Republican to win this district in years when he prevailed in 2024. 

Born in New Jersey and raised in Southern California, he enlisted in the Marines at 19 and served in counterintelligence and as an operations manager during deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, earning the rank of chief warrant officer. He holds a bachelor’s degree in domestic security management from National University and a master’s in theology from Gateway University.

His path to elected office ran through a decade in ministry. Starting in 2007 as a volunteer campus coordinator at Saddleback Church, he moved to Southwest Church in Indian Wells six years later as outreach pastor and public relations director, then returned to Saddleback, serving congregations in San Diego and later Indian Wells. Along the way, he chaired the Marine Corps Counterintelligence Association and served on the board of Habitat for Humanity. He now owns a Spherion Staffing and Recruiting franchise.

Gonzalez first sought the Assembly in 2018, running against Democrat Eduardo Garcia in what was then the 56th district. He advanced out of the primary but lost the general election by a wide margin in a difficult year for Republicans statewide. When Garcia retired in 2024, Gonzalez ran again and won in a race that reflected the district’s dramatic rightward shift.

In the Assembly, he serves on the Aging and Long-Term Care, Agriculture, Arts and Entertainment, Higher Education, and Military and Veterans Affairs Committees, and is vice chair of the Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee.

His early legislative priorities reflect the economic realities of this sprawling rural district. A bill to suspend the state’s 61-cent-per-gallon gas tax for one year drew on imagery he has used on the campaign trail, contrasting gas prices in Needles with those just across the Arizona border. “In rural and desert communities, a car is not a luxury. It’s a lifeline,” he said. “This is about affordability, this is about fairness, and this is about putting people before politics.” 

He recently authored the Rural Farmworker Women’s Health Act, which would require the state health department to partner with local nonprofits to distribute free menstrual products to women in remote agricultural regions. “More than 100,000 women work in California agriculture,” he said. “Many are in rural areas with no easy access to stores or health services. They should not have to go through a full workday without basic hygiene products.”

CA bill aims to provide ‘dignity’ and free menstrual hygiene products to female farmworkers

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A new state bill looks to fill a crucial healthcare need for female farmworkers in rural agricultural areas across California.

He also authored a bill to expedite environmental review for the Coachella Valley Rail project, a proposed $1.5 billion passenger line between the valley and Los Angeles, potentially cutting its planning timeline by roughly two years if the measure passes. 

“AB 1855 removes unnecessary roadblocks to expanding passenger rail on an already existing rail line, especially in communities that depend on driving,” Gonzalez said. The bill attracted bipartisan support, with Democratic Assemblymember Corey Jackson and Republican Assemblymember Greg Wallis among the co-authors.

On public safety, Gonzalez has been outspoken about the lasting harm of violent crime, at times speaking from personal experience. Joining Republican colleagues at a March 2026 press conference urging the parole board to deny release to a convicted child molester, he said, “This issue is not abstract for me. I understand firsthand the lifelong impact the abuse leaves behind. It doesn’t end when the crime ends. It follows you.” When opponents argued that the rising cost of housing aging inmates should factor into the decision, he dismissed the framing: “I don’t give a damn about the rising costs. I give a damn about these victims.”

In February 2025, Gonzalez joined the newly formed California Hispanic Legislative Caucus, which Republican lawmakers created after the Democratic Latino Legislative Caucus declined to admit them over policy differences on immigration.

 “Californians want their legislators exchanging ideas across the aisle,” Gonzalez wrote at the time. “No more partisan exclusion!” 

His platform also calls for eliminating taxes on groceries, passing what he describes as a major middle-class tax cut, hiring more teachers, and strengthening school safety.

He resides in Indio with his wife, Christine, and their four children.

Oscar Ortiz (Democrat)

Oscar Ortiz, born January 20, 1990, is an Indio City Councilmember, former mayor, and deputy director of Friends of the Desert Mountains, a nonprofit devoted to land conservation and environmental education in the region. Born in Mexicali and raised in Indio after his family immigrated when he was 3, he became a U.S. citizen at 17. He graduated at the top of his class from Indio High School and went on to earn a chemistry degree from Stanford University in 2012, where his coursework included research on bioterrorism defense. He subsequently built a career in the pharmaceutical industry before moving into environmental nonprofit work.

First elected to the Indio City Council in 2018 at 28, Ortiz became the youngest person ever to hold that office, unseating an incumbent in the process. His tenure included serving as mayor in 2023 and steering the city through the COVID-19 pandemic and the damage caused by Tropical Storm Hilary, while advancing affordable housing, bilingual community outreach, and support for small businesses. He was appointed to a second council term in 2022 without opposition and currently chairs the Coachella Valley Association of Governments Energy and Sustainability Commission. In the 2024 congressional primary, he challenged Representative Raul Ruiz from the left, finishing fourth with 10% of the vote.

“I’m running for State Assembly to raise the concerns of workers in our state,” he said when announcing his candidacy. “Our families are struggling to keep up with the rising costs of rent and the ever-increasing costs of health care and insurance rates.” He has also called for new approaches to persistent regional challenges. “We need representatives who are willing to bring bold, innovative solutions to solve the increasingly complex challenges facing our region,” he said.

His platform centers on housing affordability, expanded healthcare access in a district with too few specialists and mental health providers, and building regional economic strength through clean energy and union labor. He has also emphasized the contributions of domestic and care workers. 

Upon receiving the endorsement of United Domestic Workers of America, he said:

“Home and child care workers are the backbone of our communities. They show up every single day to care for our children, our seniors, and our neighbors with disabilities, often without the recognition or compensation they deserve. As your Assemblymember, I will fight to ensure these essential workers have the wages, benefits, and respect they have earned.”

His endorsers include the California Federation of Labor Unions, the Inland Empire Labor Council, United Domestic Workers of America, the California Teachers Association, the California Federation of Teachers, SEIU California, the California Legislative Progressive Caucus, IBEW locals 440 and 569, Painters and Allied Trades District Council 36, and California Environmental Voters.

Ortiz is the leading Democratic fundraiser in the field, having raised $147,874 with $61,017 on hand at year-end 2025. He resides in Indio.

Tomas Oliva (Democrat)

Tomas Oliva, born September 11, 1984, is a former El Centro City Councilmember, adjunct professor at Imperial Valley College, and senior field representative for Representative Raul Ruiz. 

His family moved to El Centro when he was young to be near relatives in Mexicali, after his father became too ill to work. His mother transitioned from homemaker to breadwinner, earning a graduate degree and spending more than two decades as an elementary school educator in the Imperial Valley. 

Growing up on food stamps and public assistance, Oliva has drawn directly on that experience in his campaign. 

“I’m not another out-of-touch politician,” he has said. “I’m a kid from El Centro who grew up on food stamps and government assistance. I know firsthand policy is personal.”

Oliva earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from UC San Diego and a master’s in public administration from San Diego State University. 

His public service career began as a Polanco Fellow placed in the California Attorney General’s Office and the State Assembly. He subsequently managed Assemblymember Manuel Perez’s 2008 campaign, worked for the Superior Court of California in Imperial County, and served as a regional affairs officer for the Southern California Association of Governments from 2011 to 2015. He has since worked as a field representative in the offices of Representatives Juan Vargas and Raul Ruiz, taught adjunct courses at Imperial Valley College since 2016, including classes for incarcerated students at Centinela State Prison and Calipatria State Prison, and serves as a board trustee at El Centro Regional Medical Center. He chaired the Imperial County Democratic Central Committee in 2021.

Oliva served on the El Centro City Council from 2018 through March 2025, including a term as mayor. He considers his most consequential act in office to be overseeing the merger of the El Centro Regional Medical Center into the Imperial Valley Healthcare District, preserving hospital services for tens of thousands of residents. 

His resignation in March 2025 came after he concluded that other council members were taking steps that jeopardized that merger’s future. 

“My resignation is the loudest alarm I could ring to make residents aware of the concerning direction this new council is taking, particularly when it comes to the future of our healthcare system,” he said. His departure also came ahead of a likely censure vote. 

Oliva placed sixth in the 2024 AD36 primary with 7.5% of the vote.

His priorities include protecting rural hospitals through better Medi-Cal reimbursement rates and expanded physician residency programs, sustaining the Salton Sea mitigation plan, creating an equitable economic framework for the Lithium Valley that channels revenues back to affected communities, and building out transit infrastructure connecting the Coachella Valley and Imperial Valley. 

Oliva opposes data centers.

“As an Assemblymember I will call for a statewide moratorium of data center developments across the state…The safety of our people and our neighbors cannot be an afterthought this is unacceptable.”

He has also pushed back against what he considers distorted narratives about border communities and President Trump’s effort to end automatic birthright citizenship. “Our hospitals are not being inundated by Mexican nationals,” he said in May 2025. “If you’re pregnant, you’re probably not going to get a visa. It’s a false narrative.”

Oliva had raised $89,587 with $63,569 cash on hand as of December 31, 2025. He resides in El Centro.

Ida Obeso-Martinez (Democrat)

Ida Obeso-Martinez, born May 6, 1979, is an Imperial City Councilmember, former Mayor Pro-Tem, and cardiovascular nurse practitioner at Imperial Cardiac Center.

A lifelong resident of Imperial County, she completed her nursing education at Imperial Valley College, the University of Phoenix, and ultimately the University of Arizona, where she earned a doctorate in nursing practice.

She spent more than two decades in emergency and intensive care nursing in Imperial Valley hospitals before specializing in cardiovascular care, has contributed to peer-reviewed medical journals, and sees more than 35 patients on a typical day, the majority of whom rely on Medicaid.

Elected to the Imperial City Council in 2022, she has also served as Mayor Pro-Tem and mayor. In September 2024, she was chosen as board director and division representative for the League of California Cities, Imperial County Division. 

Her council record reflects a consistent focus on public health and community quality of life. In December 2023, she helped shepherd a smoke-free ordinance through the council that bans tobacco use at city-owned outdoor venues, including parks, playgrounds, and public events. 

In February 2026, she announced $1.5 million in federal funding for a new regional park, secured with the assistance of Representative Ruiz and Senator Schiff. “Their dedication to improving quality of life for our residents will leave a lasting legacy,” she said. 

She has also led the city’s legal battle against Imperial County’s approval of a data center without environmental review under CEQA, arguing that residents deserve full transparency and enforceable protections. “The City of Imperial remains committed to the pursuit of a concise and public process,” she said. “Residents of this region deserve nothing less.”

In March 2025, Representative Ruiz brought Obeso-Martinez to Washington, D.C. as his guest for President Trump’s Joint Address to Congress, where she advocated against Medicaid cuts.

“As a lifelong advocate for expanding health care access in the Imperial Valley, I am here to stand against Medicaid cuts that would limit the care our health facilities can provide to patients,” she said.

Her endorsements include Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, Representative Ruiz, and Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva. Obeso-Martinez had $73,059 raised and $24,659 on hand at year-end 2025 and resides in Imperial with her husband, Omar.

Independent Voters and an Unsettled Primary

No Party Preference registrations in AD36 have grown from 15.2% of the electorate in 2008 to 22.9% today, a gain of more than 36,000 voters in raw numbers. These 59,000 unaffiliated voters will play a pivotal role in shaping the outcome of both the June primary and the November general election.

In 2024, NPP voters in the district were part of a broader rightward wave that carried President Trump to a narrow victory here and helped Gonzalez flip the seat from blue to red. The question hanging over 2026 is whether that alignment will hold. Trump’s immigration enforcement policies have had direct and visible consequences in a district that runs along the United States-Mexico border, where many residents have family ties on both sides and where immigrant labor is the backbone of the agricultural economy. Whether the independent voters who supported Gonzalez in 2024 were casting a vote for him specifically, for Trump’s agenda broadly, or simply against the status quo is a question that 2026 may answer.

For Gonzalez, who has tried to cultivate a bipartisan identity and distanced himself from purely partisan messaging, the challenge will be holding NPP voters who may be uneasy with the administration’s direction. For the three Democrats in the field, the opportunity lies in making the case that those same voters have reason to reconsider. With no party endorsement unifying the Democratic side and a crowded primary ballot, how NPP voters distribute their support across the field will be among the defining questions of the race.

About the 2026 California Top Two Primary

The last day to register to vote for the June 2, 2026, Primary Election is May 18, 2026. All active registered voters will receive a vote-by-mail ballot. Ballots will begin mailing on May 4, and drop-off locations will open on May 5. Early in-person voting begins May 23 in Voter’s Choice Act counties. Vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received by June 9.

This article draws on publicly available information from the California Secretary of State, the California Target Book, California FPPC campaign finance filings, the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, Ballotpedia, the Imperial Valley Press, The Desert Sun, CalMatters, and other local and regional reporting.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A sight in the skies over Central California left many people wondering… “What was that?”

It appeared as a towering plume of white smoke, dotted with glowing spots.

That was a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base along the Central Coast.

The rocket was carrying 25 Starlink satellites into lowEarth orbit.

About two and a half minutes after launch, the rocket’s first and second stages separated.

The second stage continued on into space, while the first stage returned to Earth, making a safe landing on a drone ship off the coast of Baja California, Mexico.

SpaceX launches rockets from Vandenberg about once a week, but this one stood out.

Clear skies, combined with a twilight launch just after sunset, meant the rocket was still catching sunlight at higher elevations, making it especially visible across much of the Valley.

Guests:

Dan Sumner, professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, UC Davis

Don Cameron, vice president and general manager, Terranova Ranch; president, California State Board of Food and Agriculture

Stuart Woolf, president and CEO, Woolf Farming & Processing

Alexis Maxwell, senior equity analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence