Election 2026 · State of California

California Assembly District 43

Published September 29, 2026 · Updated October 2, 2026

Ricardo Benitez and Celeste Rodriguez (incumbent) are the candidates for California Assembly District 43 on the November 3, 2026 ballot.

The State Assembly is one of the two houses of the California Legislature, which holds the state's lawmaking power. The Assembly has 80 members. Its members write and vote on state laws and, with the Senate, pass the state budget, which the Constitution requires by June 15 each year.

Summary by CityHallPass, not the official text or legal advice. The official text controls: LA County's official election information.

What it means for the City of LA

State laws bind the City, and the state budget funds programs the City runs. Example: state law requires the City to plan housing for all income levels and update that plan on a set schedule (Government Code sections 65580 and 65588). About 483,400 of the district's 508,100 residents live in the City of Los Angeles, from Sylmar and Pacoima to Sun Valley, Panorama City and Valley Glen.

Primary results, June 2, 2026

Two candidates; both advanced to November 3. Total votes: 71,702. District totals from the Secretary of State's certified Statement of Vote. Certified results

The candidates

The job

The district. The 43rd Assembly District is in the northeast San Fernando Valley. It includes the whole City of San Fernando and the Los Angeles communities of Rancho Cascades, Sylmar, Pacoima, Arleta, Panorama City, Sun Valley and Valley Glen (Assembly bio).

• City of LA. 483,371 of the district’s 508,082 residents (95%) live in the City of Los Angeles, and San Fernando has 24,055, according to the 2020 Census figures on the Assembly’s district page.
• Neighborhood Councils. An overlay of the County’s district map on the City’s Neighborhood Council map shows Sylmar, Sun Valley, Pacoima, North Hollywood North East, Greater Valley Glen, Panorama City, Mission Hills, Arleta, Foothill Trails, NoHo West and North Hills East (County district layer; City Neighborhood Councils).
• People. The Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 survey estimates 486,915 residents: about 73% Latino, 15% white (not Latino), 8% Asian and 3% Black, with a median household income of $75,777 (Census Reporter).
• Voters. On May 18, 2026 the district had 263,561 registered voters: 52.1% Democratic, 16.2% Republican and 25.2% no party preference (Secretary of State). In the June primary 71,702 votes were cast in this race (Statement of Vote).

What an Assemblymember does.

• Laws. The Constitution gives the state’s lawmaking power to the Senate and Assembly (art. IV, sec. 1). A bill passed by both houses becomes law when the Governor signs it, or if the Legislature overrides a veto by two thirds of each house (art. IV, sec. 10).
• Budget. The Legislature must pass the budget by midnight on June 15, and a simple majority of each house is enough (art. IV, sec. 12). CalMatters reported the 2026-27 budget deal at $352 billion (CalMatters).
• Taxes. Any state tax increase needs two thirds of each house (art. XIII A, sec. 3).
• What it means for the City. Nearly all of this district is in the City (district page). CalMatters reported that the same budget deal gave counties $900 million for homelessness (CalMatters). State law also sets the City’s housing planning duties (Gov. Code 65588).

Records

Ricardo Benitez

Career. His ballot designation is plumber and electrical contractor (LAist). The Daily News called him an electrical contractor (Daily News).

Past races. A Republican named Ricardo Benitez ran in the 39th Assembly District in 2018. The Daily News’s day-after count had Luz Rivas at 75.6% and Benitez at 24.4% (Daily News, 2018). Cal-Access files that race and this one under the same candidate ID, a Sylmar and San Fernando Republican. The same ID also ran for Assembly in 2012, State Senate in 2014 and State Senate in 2022 (Cal-Access; raw data).

Campaign finance. His committee, Ricardo Benitez for State Assembly 2026, registered on May 22, 2025, but the Cal-Access data downloaded Sept 30, 2026 has no finance report from it (Cal-Access raw data).

Ethics and court records. The FPPC has acted three times on his past campaigns’ late or missing reports:

• July 2012: a warning letter to his 2012 Assembly committee for failing to file pre-election statements with the county and the state. The FPPC closed the matter without a fine because the committee had little activity and he lost the election.
• August 2015: a $1,030 stipulated penalty against his 2014 State Senate committee, Benitez and his treasurer for not filing five campaign statements. The FPPC “found no evidence of intent to conceal.”
• February 2020: a $1,108 stipulated penalty against his 2018 special election Assembly committee and Benitez for four late pre-election statements and a missed 24-hour report. It also “found no evidence of intent to conceal.”

In both stipulations he agreed that he had violated the Political Reform Act and submitted payment, and the FPPC complaint portal lists both as “Stipulation approved by Commission.” No public response from him was found. No City Ethics Commission orders, FEC enforcement cases (searched Oct. 1, 2026) or State Bar license were found. No court judgment against him was found in CourtListener records (searched Sept. 30, 2026).

Celeste Rodriguez

Office. Rodriguez won this seat in November 2024 (Daily News). Before that she served on the San Fernando City Council from 2020 and was the city’s mayor (Assembly bio; SCNG questionnaire).

Bills. Counts are from the Legislature’s bill data, as of Oct 1, 2026, after the Governor’s Sept 30 deadline to act on bills. They cover Assembly bills whose final version lists her as a lead author, including three she shares with other members (bill data).

Source: the Legislature’s bill data download (the full 2025-26 file dated Oct 1, 2026, which includes the Governor’s actions through Sept 30) and the Governor’s Sept 30 legislative update; each bill’s status is on its leginfo page. Sept 30 was the Governor’s deadline to sign or veto bills passed this session (Constitution, art. IV, sec. 10).

Laws she wrote include (bill data):

• AB 495 (2025): the Family Preparedness Plan Act, which lets parents facing separation, including by immigration detention, name a caregiver for their children (see Key moments).
• AB 799 (2025): a death benefit for incarcerated firefighters.
• AB 777 (2025): food assistance after disasters that cut utilities.
• AB 542 (2025): youth workforce programs at continuation schools.
• AB 607 and AB 969 (2025): CalWORKs home visiting and family violence rules.
• AB 2460 (2026): model mental health referral protocols for schools.
• AB 2428 (2026): criminal fees. AB 2195 (2026): license suspensions for child support.
• AB 2160 (signed Sept 27, 2026): Medi-Cal lactation services.
• Shared with other lead authors: AB 49 (2025), on immigration enforcement at school sites, with Al Muratsuchi and others, and AB 1299 (2025), on parking violations, with Isaac Bryan.

Vetoed in September 2026: AB 1049 (state food assistance for immigrants), vetoed Sept 18; AB 2635 (vouchers for replacing small gas engines), vetoed Sept 20 (bill data); and AB 2066 (pregnancy as a qualifying event to enroll in or change a health plan), vetoed Sept 30 (veto message).

Signed Sept 30, 2026: AB 1129 (birth conditions monitoring) and AB 2251 (Cal Grant cost of attendance) (Governor’s office).

Bills that did not advance include AB 2500 (immigration bonds), AB 2673 (a childcare tax credit), AB 1236 (climate insurance grants) and AB 1357 (guaranteed income not counted against benefits) (bill data).

Key floor votes.

Source: Assembly floor votes on each bill’s votes page (linked in each row) and the Legislature’s bill data download. On June 25, 2026 she also did not vote on the measures that became Props 2 and 43 (ACA 20 votes; ACA 22 votes).

Ethics and court records. No complaints or enforcement actions were found in FPPC, City Ethics Commission or FEC records (FEC searched Oct. 1, 2026), and no license in her name at the State Bar. The Assembly Legislative Ethics Committee posts no complaint decisions. No court case naming her as a party was found in CourtListener federal and appellate records or in news coverage (searched Sept. 30, 2026).

Where they stand

The issues are the ones the Southern California News Group asked every legislative candidate about in its 2026 questionnaire. Rodriguez answered (SCNG, May 6, 2026). No questionnaire answers, website or public statements from Benitez were found.

On the other ballot measures

For measures the Legislature placed on the ballot, the table shows Rodriguez’s Assembly floor vote. A vote to place a measure is not the same as an endorsement.

Source: measure list from the Secretary of State’s voter guide; votes from each bill’s votes page and the Legislature’s bill data download. No position from either candidate on the City or County measures was found.

Endorsements

Ricardo Benitez

• Party: California Republican Party (CAGOP).
• Others: none found. LAist’s guide listed his endorsements and website as “Not available” (LAist).
• Newspapers: none found.

Celeste Rodriguez

• Party: The California Democratic Party endorsed her for the November election (CDP general election endorsements, Aug 5, 2026).

The rest come from her campaign’s endorsement page, which is undated and was checked Sept 30, 2026. The page lists Luz Rivas as an Assemblymember, though the CDP’s Aug 5, 2026 list shows Rivas running for Congress in District 29 (CDP list), so some titles may be out of date.

• Elected officials: U.S. Senator Alex Padilla; Representatives Tony Cárdenas and Brad Sherman; Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas; State Senators Caroline Menjivar and Monique Limón; Assemblymember Luz Rivas; Treasurer Fiona Ma; Supervisor Lindsey Horvath; Mayor Karen Bass; City Councilmembers Monica Rodriguez and Imelda Padilla (endorsement page).
• Unions: LA County Federation of Labor, SEIU California, SEIU Local 99, California Federation of Teachers, AFSCME California, Teamsters Joint Council 42, UNAC/UHCP, National Union of Healthcare Workers, LA/OC Building Trades, IBEW Local 11, Operating Engineers Local 12, Laborers Local 300, Pipefitters Local 250, California Professional Firefighters (endorsement page).
• Organizations: Los Angeles County Democratic Party, California Environmental Voters, Equality California, Abundant Housing LA, Consumer Attorneys, California Legislative Latino Caucus, Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley (endorsement page).
• Newspapers: none found for 2026.

Polls

No public polls of this race were found.

Money

Source: Rodriguez’s committee Form 460 reports and later late-contribution reports, from the Secretary of State’s Cal-Access campaign data, downloaded Sept 29, 2026. The same data has no committee for Benitez. A candidate who raises less than $2,000 in a calendar year does not have to form a committee (Government Code 82013). The limit is $5,900 per donor per election, so $11,800 for the primary and general together. Small contributor committees may give twice that (FPPC).

Who is giving

Method: every itemized contribution (money and in-kind) on the Form 460s for the period, plus later late-contribution reports. A donor is a normalized name plus ZIP code. A donor’s location comes from the ZIP code: “City of LA” means at least half the ZIP code’s area is inside the City.

Ricardo Benitez. No donor data; his committee has filed no finance reports.

Celeste Rodriguez. 156 donors gave $452,493 in itemized money (Cal-Access).

• Who gave (Cal-Access):
  • Unions and public-employee groups: 40 donors, $222,768 (49.2%). SEIU Local 1000 gave $23,600. SEIU California, SEIU Local 2015, SEIU Local 721, the California Teachers Association, the Carpenters, the school administrators and LiUNA Local 1309 gave $11,800 each.
  • Businesses and other organizations: 28, $83,600 (18.5%), including Centene/Health Net ($11,800), CVS Health ($8,900) and Anheuser-Busch ($5,900).
  • Business, trade and other PACs: 23, $52,800 (11.7%), including the insurance industry’s Personal Insurance Federation of California PAC ($1,500).
  • Individuals: 57, $51,225 (11.3%). The largest individual total was $11,800.
  • Tribes: 7, $36,200 (8.0%), led by the Pechanga Band ($11,800).
  • Other candidates’ committees: 1, $5,900 (1.3%).
• Where from. 12.4% of dollars came from City of LA ZIP codes and 12.0% from the rest of LA County. 61.3% came from elsewhere in California, mostly Sacramento-based committees, and 14.3% from out of state (Cal-Access).
• Size. 28 donors gave $5,900 or more, for $250,300 (55.3%). 22 donors gave under $250 in total, $2,657 (0.6%) (Cal-Access).
• Industries. Technology: Airbnb ($4,000), Anthropic ($3,000), Amazon and Google ($2,000 each). Utilities and telecom: Comcast, Southern California Edison and AT&T. Real estate: the Realtors’ CREPAC ($2,000) and one individual developer ($3,000) (Cal-Access).
• Clusters. No group of five or more donors from one employer within three days was found in her committee’s filings.

Outside spending

Source: independent expenditure reports (Form 496) filed since Jan 1, 2025 by the two committees linked in the table, from the Cal-Access raw data.

Who funds them. The Issues and Advocacy Committee reported $1.18 million in contributions from Jan 2025 to Sep 19, 2026. The largest were Fabian Núñez’s State Treasurer committee ($100,000, plus $26,000 reported after Sept 19), Allied Physicians of California ($100,000), UTLA’s committee ($75,000), SEIU Local 721 ($55,000), the Carpenters and Edison International’s committee ($50,000 each). $143,123 came in unitemized gifts under $100 (Cal-Access raw data).

Key moments

Debates and forums. No debate or candidate forum for this race was found.

AB 495 signed (Oct. 12, 2025).

• What happened: Rodriguez’s AB 495 lets parents facing separation, including by deportation, name trusted adults such as godparents to care for their children through a caregiver’s affidavit. The Governor signed the bill on Oct 12, 2025 (Governor’s office; AB 495).
• Rodriguez’s position: in 2026 she said the law “created new joint guardianship protections so parents facing separation can designate a trusted caregiver without losing their parental rights” (SCNG).
• Benitez’s position: none found.