Election 2026 · State of California

California Assembly District 66

Published September 29, 2026 · Updated October 2, 2026

Sara Deen and Paul Seo are the candidates for California Assembly District 66 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

Only about 8% of the district's voting precincts (156 of 1,883) and 7% of its land are in the City of Los Angeles, mostly in northwest and coastal San Pedro in Council District 15. The rest includes Torrance, Redondo Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Manhattan Beach, Gardena, Hermosa Beach, El Segundo and Palos Verdes Estates. 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).

Primary results, June 2, 2026

Six candidates; the top two advanced to November 3. Deen finished 3,752 votes ahead of Republican Jessica Zonia Maldonado for second place. Total votes: 138,409. Certified results

The candidates

The job

Powers. The California Constitution gives the state’s lawmaking power to the Legislature, which is the Senate plus the 80-member Assembly (art. IV, sec. 1). A bill needs a majority of each house to pass (art. IV, sec. 8). The Legislature can override a Governor’s veto with two-thirds of each house (art. IV, sec. 10). Tax increases need two-thirds of each house (art. XIII A, sec. 3). The Legislature can put constitutional amendments on the ballot by a two-thirds vote of each house (art. XVIII, sec. 1). Five of the 14 statewide measures on this ballot (Props 1, 2, 4, 5 and 43) were placed there by the Legislature (Secretary of State voter guide).

Budget. The Legislature must pass the budget bill by midnight on June 15, and a majority vote is enough (art. IV, sec. 12). CalMatters reported that the 2026-27 budget deal totaled $352 billion. It added taxes, including a sales tax on some computer software, and gave counties $900 million for homelessness (CalMatters).

The district.

• About 461,000 people live in the 66th District. The Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 survey estimates the population as 42% white, 25% Asian, 22% Latino and 4% Black, with a median household income of $130,184 (Census Reporter).
• The Daily News describes it as stretching from El Segundo and Manhattan Beach south through Torrance and San Pedro (Daily News). Voter registration is 43.3% Democratic, 26.8% Republican and 23.1% no party preference (LAist).
• The seat is open. Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi is termed out and ran for state Superintendent of Public Instruction (Daily News).
• Of the district’s 1,883 LA County voting precincts, 156 are in the City of LA. The rest are in Torrance (569), Redondo Beach (281), Rancho Palos Verdes (191), Manhattan Beach (156), Gardena (131), Hermosa Beach (85), El Segundo (77), Lomita (73), Palos Verdes Estates (66), Rolling Hills Estates (45), Rolling Hills (9) and unincorporated areas (44) (County Registrar precinct map).
• City neighborhoods, by share of the district’s land (Neighborhood Council map): Northwest San Pedro (4%), Coastal San Pedro (1%), Central San Pedro (1%) and Wilmington (1%).
• City Council districts, by share of land (Council district map): nearly all of the City’s part is in CD 15 (Tim McOsker, 7% of the district’s land).
• Land shares come from overlaying the County’s Assembly district map on the City’s Neighborhood Council and Council district maps. They measure area, not people.

Records

Neither candidate has served in the Legislature, so there are no floor votes or bills to report.

Sara Deen

Public office. Deen is president of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District board and a board member of the Southern California Regional Occupational Center, a public career-education agency (Orange County Register). She told the Register that the district put a school bond before voters in 2024 and that voters approved it (Orange County Register). Her campaign says she led the effort to pass the bond, which funds repairs and safety projects, and led the district’s adoption of a School Safety Framework on violence, bullying and disaster preparedness (campaign biography). As board president she thanked Rep. Ted Lieu for $2 million in federal money for Miraleste Intermediate School in May 2026 (Daily Breeze).

Career. Deen is a family dentist. Her campaign biography lists private practice in Torrance, teaching in UCLA’s advanced dentistry program and co-ownership of an urgent care clinic in Torrance (campaign biography). She was president of the South Coast Interfaith Council (campaign biography).

Ethics and court records. The FPPC lists no enforcement case or penalty against her. No City Ethics Commission orders, FEC enforcement cases (searched Oct. 1, 2026) or State Bar license were found. No court case naming her as a party was found in web searches of federal and appellate case indexes (CourtListener, Justia, PacerMonitor) (searched Sept. 30, 2026).

Paul Seo

Public office. Seo is mayor of Rancho Palos Verdes and a member of its City Council (Daily Breeze). In August 2026 he backed the Peninsula cities’ law enforcement drone program, citing the city’s landslide and fire risks, and said the council could end it if drones were misused (Daily Breeze). In September 2026 he thanked Assemblymember Muratsuchi for $5 million in state budget money for the city’s landslide response (Daily Breeze). His campaign says he helped create a public safety division in the city and secured county funds for residents affected by the landslides (campaign biography).

Career. Seo spent seven years as a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney, then became a deputy attorney general at the state Justice Department (campaign biography). His campaign says he leads a team prosecuting political corruption and white-collar crime and led the state’s case against the company responsible for the 2021 Huntington Beach oil spill (campaign biography).

Ethics and court records. The State Bar lists Paul H. Seo, at the California Department of Justice’s Los Angeles office, as active since 2013 with no discipline. No complaints or enforcement actions found in FPPC, City Ethics Commission or FEC records (FEC searched Oct. 1, 2026). No court case naming him as a party was found in web searches of federal and appellate case indexes (CourtListener, Justia, PacerMonitor) (searched Sept. 30, 2026).

Where they stand

Entries come from the Southern California News Group’s primary questionnaires (Deen; Seo), two candidate forums and the campaigns’ websites. Each entry is dated.

On the other ballot measures

State propositions are listed in the Secretary of State’s voter guide. Neither candidate has served in the Legislature, so neither voted to place any measure on the ballot.

Source: measure titles from the Secretary of State’s voter guide. No statement from either candidate on any measure on this ballot was found.

Endorsements

Sara Deen

From her endorsement page, checked Sept 30, 2026:

• Elected officials: former Controller Betty Yee, Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva, LAUSD board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin, three fellow Palos Verdes Peninsula school board members, and school board members from El Segundo and Redondo Beach (endorsement page).
• Unions: the California Teachers Association, the California Nurses Association, the California Federation of Teachers, the California School Employees Association, the California Faculty Association, the National Union of Healthcare Workers, the LA College Faculty Guild, the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters, United Steelworkers Local 675 and UA Local 761 (endorsement page).
• Health care groups: the California Dental Association, the California Medical Association, the California Primary Care Association, the Physicians Association of California, the Cooperative of American Physicians, the psychiatric technicians’ and physical therapists’ associations, and Californians Allied for Patient Protection (endorsement page).
• Organizations: California YIMBY, Abundant Housing LA, Indivisible South Bay LA, South Bay Forward, the California Women’s List, the National Women’s Political Caucus of California, 314 Action Fund, Indian American Impact and the Democratic Legislative Women’s Caucus (endorsement page).
• Newspapers: none found.

Paul Seo

From his endorsement page, checked Sept 30, 2026, unless noted:

• Elected officials: Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, who holds the seat now and endorsed Seo after the primary (Rafu Shimpo); U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff and Andy Kim; Reps. Judy Chu and Dave Min; Attorney General Rob Bonta; Treasurer Fiona Ma; state Sen. Lena Gonzalez; Assemblymembers Rick Chavez Zbur, Mark González, Jessica Caloza, Mike Fong, Stephanie Nguyen, Patrick Ahrens, Anamarie Ávila Farías, John Harabedian, Blanca Rubio, Nick Schultz and José Luis Solache; Supervisor Janice Hahn; Assessor Jeff Prang; former Attorney General Bill Lockyer; and the Legislature’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus (endorsement page).
• Unions: the California Federation of Labor Unions, SEIU California, California Professional Firefighters, the United Nurses Associations of California, Teamsters Joint Council 42, IATSE, the California State Council of Laborers, and police and prosecutor groups including the LA Police Protective League, the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, the Association of Deputy District Attorneys and the California Association of Highway Patrolmen (endorsement page).
• Organizations: the Sierra Club, the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project LA County Action Fund, Asian Democrats of Los Angeles County and the LA County Young Democrats (endorsement page).
• Newspapers: none found.

Polls

No public polls of this race were found.

Money

Source: Form 460 summary pages in the Cal-Access bulk data (export), downloaded Sept 29, 2026: Deen committee, Deen report for July 1 to Sept 19, 2026, Deen late contribution reports; Seo committee, Seo report for July 1 to Sept 19, 2026, Seo late contribution reports. Deen gave her campaign $100,000 in December 2025. She also lent it $100,000 in May 2026 (April to May 2026 report); the latest report shows that loan cleared and a second $100,000 contribution from her in August. The Assembly contribution limit for 2025-26 is $5,900 per person per election (FPPC); candidates may give their own campaigns any amount.

Who is giving

Method: itemized contributions (money and in-kind) on each candidate’s Form 460s from Jan 1, 2025, plus late contribution reports filed after the last Form 460. A donor is a normalized name plus ZIP code for people, or a normalized name for organizations. A ZIP counts as City of LA if at least half its area is in the City (City list of ZIP codes).

Sara Deen. 722 donors gave $1,087,338 in itemized contributions: 672 people and 50 organizations (Cal-Access contributions). Individuals gave 80% of the money, including $200,000 from Deen herself. Fifty donors gave at least one $5,900 maximum gift, totaling $589,500 (54.2%, counting her own contribution). Donors giving under $250 in total gave 2.6%. Unitemized gifts were $8,296.

Source: Cal-Access contributions to Sara Deen for Assembly 2026, grouped by donor type.

• Geography. 7.9% of itemized dollars came from City of LA ZIP codes, 41.6% from the rest of LA County, 42.7% from elsewhere in California and 6.6% from out of state. Among individual donors, 7.8% of dollars came from the City (Cal-Access contributions). One $11,800 donor listed no usable ZIP code.
• Largest donors. Deen gave $200,000. The California Teachers Association’s small contributor committee was next ($23,600), then the California Federation of Teachers ($18,600) and the California Faculty Association ($12,500). The California Nurses Association PAC, the Union of American Physicians and Dentists and the Carpenters’ Building a Stronger Future PAC each gave $11,800. The largest individual totals, other than her own, are $11,800 and $11,300 (Cal-Access contributions).
• Occupations. 168 donors in health care gave $130,243. Only retirees and people not employed (189 donors) were a larger group (Cal-Access contributions).
• Real estate and development: 22 donors, $51,500 (4.7%) (Cal-Access contributions).
• Lobbying interests. No donor organization is a registered state lobbyist employer (Cal-Access lobbying). One donor ($246) is a City of LA registered lobbyist (City Ethics lobbying records).
• Clusters. No group of five or more donors from one employer within three days was found (Cal-Access contributions).

Paul Seo. 684 donors gave $1,204,881 in itemized contributions: 544 people and 140 organizations (Cal-Access contributions). Individuals gave 53% of the money. Seventy-nine donors gave at least one $5,900 maximum gift, totaling $632,506 (52.5%). Donors giving under $250 in total gave 1.8%. Unitemized gifts were $6,402.

Source: Cal-Access contributions to Paul Seo for Assembly 2026, grouped by donor type.

• Geography. 19.4% of itemized dollars came from City of LA ZIP codes, 36.5% from the rest of LA County, 35.9% from elsewhere in California and 8.1% from out of state. Among individual donors, 18.2% of dollars came from the City (Cal-Access contributions).
• Largest donors. SEIU California’s state council, SEIU Locals 1000 and 2015, SEIU-UHW, Laborers Local 1309 and the California State Council of Laborers, the Peace Officers Research Association of California PAC, the Consumer Attorneys of California PAC, Californians for Safer Neighborhoods, Park West Casinos, PPI America and Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens’s campaign each gave $11,800; IBEW Local 11 gave $10,000. Seo gave $13,706 (Cal-Access contributions).
• Other politicians. 21 other candidates’ committees gave $79,699, including those of Assemblymembers Jessica Caloza ($5,900), Mark González ($8,400) and Rick Chavez Zbur ($6,900), according to Seo’s Cal-Access reports (Cal-Access contributions).
• Real estate and development: 14 donors, $8,500 (0.7%) (Cal-Access contributions).
• Lobbying interests. 9 donor organizations, giving $42,100, are registered state lobbyist employers (Cal-Access lobbying). Four individual donors, giving $1,100 in total, are City of LA registered lobbyists (City Ethics lobbying records).
• Clusters. No group of five or more donors from one employer within three days was found (Cal-Access contributions).

Outside spending

Source: Form 496 reports in the Cal-Access data export, downloaded Sept 29, 2026; each committee links to its Cal-Access page. In the primary, other groups also spent $819,114 supporting Shannon Ruiz-Ross (mostly Working Families for an Affordable California) and $214,521 supporting Scott Houston (mostly Working Families for a Stronger California); neither advanced.

Who funds these committees, contributions from Jan 1, 2025 through the latest report:

• South Bay Teachers and Health Care Providers ($1.69 million through Sept 19): the California Dental Association PAC ($831,129), the California Teachers Association’s committee ($300,000), Smart Justice California Action Fund ($175,000), the California Federation of Teachers ($100,000), Women in Power PAC ($75,000), the Cooperative of American Physicians ($70,000), and the California Medical Association and California Faculty Association ($50,000 each). The psychiatric technicians’ PAC reported another $50,000 on Sept 24. Smart Justice’s money comes mostly from Patty Quillin ($2.06 million) and Elizabeth Simons ($966,500) (pro-Deen committee; Smart Justice California Action Fund).
• Advocates for safe schools… opposing Sara Deen ($748,263 through Aug 26): JobsPAC, sponsored by the California Chamber of Commerce ($360,409), the California Apartment Association’s committee ($100,000), the Charter Public Schools PAC ($100,000), the pharmaceutical industry’s PhRMA committee ($50,000), the DaVita committee ($50,000), Californians for Jobs and a Strong Economy ($49,500) and insurance agents’ PAC ($25,000). JobsPAC’s largest funders are Edison International ($4.25 million), Sempra and PG&E ($3.25 million each), Sergey Brin ($3 million) and Meta ($2.5 million) (anti-Deen committee; JobsPAC; Charter Public Schools PAC).
• Advance California ($5.44 million): $5.25 million from the California Apartment Association’s committee, whose largest funders are Essex Property Trust ($3.0 million), Equity Residential ($2.17 million) and AvalonBay Communities ($1.96 million) (Advance California; California Apartment Association committee).
• Asian Pacific Islander Leadership PAC ($1.31 million): the California Apartment Association’s committee ($100,000), PG&E ($80,000), Chevron ($70,000), the correctional officers’ union PAC ($60,000), and $50,000 each from SEIU Local 2015, Amazon, PrizePicks, Edison International and the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians (Cal-Access).

Key moments

Debates and forums

• April 20, 2026, Torrance: League of Women Voters primary forum. Deen attended; Seo did not (Daily Breeze).
• Sept 10, 2026, Torrance: Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce forum with both candidates, on regulation, refineries, workforce housing and health care (Daily Breeze). No video was found.

Events

• Outside money in the primary.
  • What happened: the Daily Breeze reported that more than $2.75 million in outside money went into the primary, including $667,209 supporting Deen, $554,037 opposing her and $579,162 supporting Seo at the time (Daily Breeze). Final Cal-Access totals are in the table above (Cal-Access data export). The committee opposing Deen was funded mostly by the state Chamber of Commerce’s JobsPAC, and it also spent $132,436 supporting Seo (Cal-Access).
  • Response: no public statement from either candidate about the outside spending was found.