Election 2024: Gonzalez, Acuña advance to November to replace Eduardo Garcia in assembly

More than a week after California's Election Day, Republican Jeff Gonzalez and Democrat Jose "Joey" Acuña Jr. are set to advance to the general election from a crowded field of primary candidates vying to replace long-time Democratic Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia.

The two candidates are facing off to represent District 36, which includes Coachella, Indio, the rest of the eastern Coachella Valley and eastern Riverside County all the way to the state line, along with all of Imperial County and a sliver of eastern San Bernardino County. While officials from both Imperial and Riverside counties entered the race, the top-two finishers are both based in the Coachella Valley.

Gonzalez, a business owner and former Marine who lives in Indio, was leading the field with 20,928 votes, or 34.9% of the nearly 60,000 votes cast in the election, according to the latest results posted on the Secretary of State’s website Thursday night.

Acuña, a long-time trustee on the Coachella Valley Unified School District Board of Education and a development manager for local health clinics, was in second place with 11,983 votes cast, or 20% of the total. Acuña’s campaign declared he was advancing to the general election this week, saying his 4,285-vote lead over the candidate in third place, Democrat Edgard Garcia, had exceeded the number of estimated votes left to be counted.

Riverside County has roughly 7,200 conditional and vote-by-mail ballots left to be counted this week, though it's likely only a portion of those are from Assembly District 36, while Imperial County had an estimated 1,520 remaining ballots as of Thursday night.

Both candidates celebrated their success in statements this week as remaining votes trickled in. Gonzalez, who’s drawn support from conservatives such as U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, expressed his gratitude to voters and called the results a “tremendous success” in a statement Tuesday.

“The results confirm what we have been saying all along — we need new leadership in Sacramento that will put politics aside to focus on solving the issues plaguing our state,” Gonzalez said.

“Throughout our campaign, I've listened to the concerns of hard-working people across our district,” he added. “It's clear what we need to do — lower the cost of living, hold criminals accountable, and make healthcare more accessible. Team Gonzalez will continue to talk about the issues most important to Californians, give back to the community through philanthropy, and build on the momentum behind our candidacy toward a victory in November.”

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.

Acuña, who was endorsed by Garcia, Supervisor V. Manuel Perez and Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez, among others, thanked the district’s voters and election workers, adding he’s proud of his campaign’s work and “the diverse coalition we built across three counties.”

“I launched my campaign because l believe in the promise of California, and I want to make sure the kids who grow up in our district have access to world-class schools, good-paying jobs, and clean air and water,” Acuña said in a prepared statement. “As we look to November, we'll continue to focus on bringing people together to fight for positive change in our communities.”

Another candidate from the valley, Democrat and Indio City Councilmember Waymond Fermon, was running in fifth place in the field, with 4,759 votes, or 7.9%.

In total, the five Democratic candidates drew 53.8% of the vote, while the two Republican candidates — Gonzalez and Kalin Morse — had received 46.2% of the votes cast.

Assembly District 36 has far more registered Democrats than Republicans — 43.7% versus 27.6% of those registered, or a difference of about 38,000 voters. However, third-party and no party preference voters comprise about 28.7% of the electorate, and the 2022 general election was fairly close, with Garcia defeating Republican Ian Weeks with 53.4% of the vote.

Weeks — a certified financial planner from Hemet — is running this year as a candidate in the 25th Congressional District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Raul Ruiz, and the Associated Press declared this week that he would advance to the general election to face off against the incumbent.

The 25th district includes Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Indio, Coachella, and other parts of the eastern Coachella Valley, along with a sliver of San Bernardino County and all of Imperial County.

The general election, including these two races, is set for Nov. 5.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Election 2024: Gonzalez, Acuña advancing in Assembly District 36