AD-17 covers the eastern half of San Francisco — SoMa, Mission, downtown, Tenderloin, Bayview/Hunters Point. Incumbent Matt Haney is widely expected to coast to a third term. Only one candidate filed. Key issues are downtown economic recovery, fentanyl and behavioral-health policy, housing streamlining, and transit funding.
Two-term Assemblymember (sworn in May 2022 after winning a special election) and former San Francisco Supervisor (D6, 2019–2022) and Board of Education commissioner (2013–2019). Chairs the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development and the Legislative Renters' Caucus. Author of legislation on fentanyl-trafficking penalties, downtown economic recovery, and housing streamlining. Holds a BA from UC Berkeley, an MA from Stanford School of Education, a JD from Stanford Law, and an LLM in Human Rights from National University of Ireland.
AD-19 covers the western neighborhoods of San Francisco (Sunset, Richmond, Lake Merced, Lakeside) and northern San Mateo County (Daly City, Brisbane, Colma, parts of South San Francisco). Incumbent Catherine Stefani won the seat in 2024 and faces a single Republican challenger in the primary. Housing supply, Westside transit, public safety, and gun-violence prevention dominate the conversation.
First-term Assemblymember (sworn in December 2024) and former San Francisco Supervisor (D2, 2018–2024). Former Contra Costa County Deputy DA and policy aide to former Speaker Herb Wesson and San Jose Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez. Founded the San Francisco chapter of Moms Demand Action and built her supervisor record on community policing, gun-violence prevention, and pro-housing votes. Holds a BA from St. Mary's College of California and a JD/LLM from McGeorge School of Law.
Retired financial advisor; the lone Republican on the AD-19 ballot.
AD-21 covers the entire bayside of San Mateo County, from Brisbane south through San Mateo, Belmont, Foster City, Redwood City, and East Palo Alto. Incumbent Diane Papan is seeking a third term against a single Republican challenger. Local issues: SFO-area housing, Highway 101 transit and managed lanes, sea-level rise on the bayfront, and Caltrain electrification follow-through.
Two-term Assemblymember (first elected 2022; reelected 2024) and former mayor and councilmember of the City of San Mateo (council 2015–2022). Chairs the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks & Wildlife; also serves on Transportation, Judiciary, Governmental Organization, and Environmental Safety. Daughter of former Assembly Majority Leader Lou Papan. Holds a BA from UCLA and a JD from UC Hastings.
Enrolled Agent and small business owner; the lone Republican on the AD-21 ballot. Profiled by the San Mateo Daily Journal as the GOP challenger to Papan.
AD-23 covers southern San Mateo County and northern Santa Clara County — Half Moon Bay, Redwood City (south), Menlo Park, Atherton, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, parts of Sunnyvale and Cupertino. Incumbent Marc Berman is seeking another term, with two Republican challengers splitting the conservative vote. Issues center on Peninsula housing production, Caltrain/HSR, Stanford-area development, and Coastside coastal-resilience funding.
Five-term Assemblymember (first elected 2016) and former Palo Alto City Councilmember. Chairs the Assembly Committee on Elections; previously chaired the Higher Education Committee, where he was the deciding vote that shelved Alex Lee's wealth-tax bill (publicly calling it "very misleading"). One of the most consistent pro-housing votes in Sacramento — supported SB 35, ADU reform, and SB 79 transit-oriented housing. Born in Dallas, raised in Palo Alto; political science degree from Georgetown, JD from USC.
Businessman; one of two Republicans on the AD-23 ballot.
Small business owner; one of two Republicans on the AD-23 ballot.
AD-24 covers southern Alameda County (Fremont) and northern Santa Clara County (Milpitas, parts of San Jose). Incumbent Alex Lee, a self-described democratic socialist serving his third term, faces a Republican challenger and a high-profile No Party Preference challenger — Fremont Vice Mayor Yang Shao. Wealth-tax policy, semiconductor-industry concerns, and Fremont's aggressive housing record dominate.
Alex Lee
Democrat
· Incumbent Assemblymember
Three-term Assemblymember; first elected 2020 at age 25 as the youngest member of the legislature. Chairs the Assembly Asian & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus. Best known for AB 259 (proposed annual 1% tax on the worldwide net worth of anyone over $50M, introduced three years in a row and killed each time) and ACA 3 (would have eliminated the 2/3 supermajority requirement to raise California taxes). Has a generally pro-housing voting record on transit-oriented and ADU bills.
Yang Shao
No Party Preference
· Fremont City Councilmember (Vice Mayor)
Fremont City Councilmember and current Vice Mayor; former Fremont Unified School District trustee. Born in Hefei, China; bachelor's in polymer chemistry from the University of Science and Technology of China; PhD from Harvard. Career in operations and technology management. Running as NPP on a problem-solver platform — affordability, public safety, and government accountability — citing Fremont's track record under his tenure (named "Happiest City in the U.S." six consecutive years and a national leader in advanced manufacturing). Endorsed by State Treasurer Fiona Ma and a bipartisan coalition of local officials.
Max Hsia
Republican
· Small Business Owner
Small business owner; the Republican on the AD-24 ballot.
AD-25 covers most of San Jose, including downtown, East San Jose, and large open-space areas of southeast Santa Clara County. Incumbent Ash Kalra is running for his sixth and final term (term-limited after this) against a single Republican challenger. Tenant protections, downtown San Jose recovery, and the BART-to-San-Jose extension are the principal local issues.
Ash Kalra
Democrat
· Incumbent Assemblymember
Five-term Assemblymember and the first Indian American ever to serve in the California Legislature. Former San Jose City Councilmember (eight years) and Santa Clara County Deputy Public Defender (eleven years, much of it in drug-treatment court). Author of multiple recent tenant-protection laws — AB 2347 (extended eviction-summons response time), AB 2926 (preserves affordable housing), and AB 863 (eviction-notice translation requirements). Born in Toronto; BA from UC Santa Barbara; JD from Georgetown.
Attorney; the Republican challenger.
AD-26 covers Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Cupertino, and parts of west San Jose — the heart of Silicon Valley's chip-and-cloud corridor. Incumbent Patrick Ahrens, a first-term Democrat and tech-caucus co-chair, faces a single Republican challenger. Issues: tech-industry policy, transit (VTA light rail), and Apple/Cupertino development.
First-term Assemblymember (assumed office December 2024 after defeating Tara Sreekrishnan) and Sunnyvale resident. Co-chairs the California Legislative Technology & Innovation Caucus and is a member of the Bay Area Caucus and the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. Previously served on the Foothill–De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees and as district director to predecessor Evan Low. Silicon Valley native focused on community-college access and affordability.
Small business owner; previously ran against Evan Low for AD-26 in 2022.
AD-27 stretches from Morgan Hill and southern Santa Clara County into Merced, Madera, and Fresno counties — the Central Valley's western edge. Three candidates filed: two Democrats and a Republican. The seat is open after the previous incumbent moved on. Ag policy, water rights, and Central Valley housing affordability lead the agenda. (Only the Santa Clara County portion of AD-27 — Morgan Hill and surrounding territory — concerns this guide's three-county audience.)
Two-term Fresno County Supervisor (since 2015), fourth-generation dairy farmer, and former Fresno-area chamber leader. Pro-housing Democrat with a record on permitting reform and pragmatic governance. The favored CA YIMBY pick in this race.
City Councilmember in Livingston (Merced County).
Small business owner; the lone Republican on the AD-27 ballot.
AD-28 covers the southern tip of Santa Clara County (Gilroy and surrounding), Santa Cruz County, and parts of Monterey County. Incumbent Gail Pellerin faces a single Republican challenger. Issues: agricultural-coast housing, wildfire preparedness, election administration (Pellerin's specialty), and mental-health funding.
Two-term Assemblymember (elected 2022, reelected 2024) and former Santa Cruz County Clerk and chief elections official (1993–2020, served as Clerk 2004–2020). Past President of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials (2010–2012). Chairs the Assembly Elections Committee and the Select Committee on California's Mental Health Crisis — the latter informed by personal experience after her husband's suicide in 2018. BS in journalism, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 1984.
Small business owner; the Republican challenger.
The 10th senatorial district stretches across the East Bay (Hayward, Fremont, Union City, Newark) and the northwestern corner of Silicon Valley (Milpitas, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, parts of San Jose). Incumbent Aisha Wahab (D) is leaving the seat to run for U.S. Congress in CA-14, opening the most contested down-ballot Bay Area race of the cycle: five Democrats and one Republican filed. The dominant issues are the regional transit tax, BART expansion, housing production, and Medi-Cal coverage.
San Jose Councilmember (District 4 — Berryessa/north San Jose) and current member of the Caltrain and Valley Transportation Authority boards. Best known for negotiating an agreement with Santa Clara County that lifted restrictions on housing development in north San Jose, with nearly 3,000 housing units now under construction in his district. Platform: shorten permitting timelines, cap developer fees, expand transit-oriented housing.
Anne Kepner
Democrat
· West Valley-Mission Community College Trustee
Trustee at West Valley-Mission Community College District and a former attorney focused on elder abuse cases. As a college board trustee she waived in-district tuition, parking fees, and health-service fees and added free childcare and meals. Platform: expand apprenticeship programs, address healthcare workforce shortages tied to California's aging population.
Fremont City Councilmember whose top priority in Sacramento would be securing state funding for a new BART station in Fremont's Irvington neighborhood. Championed five 100%-affordable housing developments (567 units) that opened in Fremont in 2025. Supports the Bay Area regional transit measure and allowing local public-power competition with investor-owned utilities such as PG&E.
Sitting Mayor of Milpitas and a former Milpitas Unified School District trustee. Implemented rental assistance and utility-discount programs for low-income residents. Skeptical of the regional transit tax — wants more BART ridership data before backing it — and floats cost-sharing models for healthcare coverage of undocumented residents.
Union City Councilmember (former vice mayor) and U.S. Navy officer. Has advanced two 100%-affordable housing complexes in Union City and would scale Alameda County's childcare/early-education sales tax statewide. Opposes any freeze on Medi-Cal enrollment for undocumented Californians; open to new taxes on wealthy individuals and large corporations.
Former HR director and executive coach; previously ran for the Fremont Union High School District board. The lone Republican on the SD-10 ballot.
BAJC-Action · Endorsed
Hindu United Vote · Endorsed
United Democratic Club · Endorsed
Govern For California · Endorsed
Association for the Advancement of Asians · Endorsed
Abundance Network · Endorsed
SPUR
Bay Area Council