California primary: Who's running to replace Eduardo Garcia in Assembly District 36?

With California’s primary elections just over two months away — and mail-in ballots heading to voters even sooner — a crowded field of candidates, including several officials from both Riverside and Imperial counties, are vying to replace long-time Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia in a district that covers the eastern Coachella Valley.

Garcia, a Democrat from Coachella who was first elected to the California Legislature in 2014, confirmed he isn't seeking re-election earlier this month, 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.

“I can’t count the number of basketball games and back-to-school nights I’ve missed in this vocation,” Garcia said in a prepared statement. “My daughter would be ready to enter her teens if I stayed for the full duration of the Legislature’s term limits. Ultimately, I want to be present for more of these precious moments with them.”

Since California’s latest round of redistricting a couple years ago, Garcia has represented Assembly District 36, which includes Coachella, Indio, all of Imperial County and a sliver of eastern San Bernardino County. In 2022, Garcia won re-election against Republican Ian Weeks with 53.4% of the vote.

The primary election for the seat, as well as the presidential primary and other state races, is set for March 5.

Who's running for the seat?

Seven candidates in total — five Democrats and two Republicans — are running for Garcia’s seat, including the following (in alphabetical order):

• Jose "Joey" Acuña Jr. (Democrat): Acuña has 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. Garcia has endorsed his campaign, along with several other Riverside County elected officials, including Riverside County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez and Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez.

• Waymond Fermon (Democrat): Fermon 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 for the Calipatria State Prison in Imperial County.

• Edgard Garcia (Democrat): Garcia, an attorney, 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.

• Jeff Gonzalez (Republican): Gonzalez, a business owner and former Marine based in the Coachella Valley, 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.

• Kalin Morse (Republican): Morse, a nonprofit director who’s based in Westmoreland, is running for the Assembly seat. With two Republicans in the primary race, the California Republican Party has not yet endorsed a candidate for the seat, per its website.

• Tomas Oliva (Democrat): Oliva, who has been a member of the El Centro City Council since 2018, is also 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 in the upcoming election.)

• Eric L. Rodriguez (Democrat): Rodriguez has served as a member of the Central Union High School District Board of Trustees in El Centro since 2020. 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.

With California’s primary system, the top two finishers in the March election — regardless of their party preference — will advance to the general election in November.

Voter registration data from October shows that Democrats make up 43.8% of the Assembly district's registered voters, while registered Republicans make up about 27% of the electorate. A considerable share of its registered voters — 29.2% — have either no party preference or are registered with other political parties.

The primary election is set for March 5, with county elections offices sending out vote-by-mail ballots to all registered voters in early February.

The deadline to register to vote in California is 15 days before Election Day, so voter registration forms should be postmarked or submitted online no later than Feb. 20. Residents can still conditionally register and vote if you miss this deadline through same-day voter registration.

Tom Coulter covers the cities of Palm Desert, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells. Reach him at thomas.coulter@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: California primary: Seven candidates vying for Assembly District 36