Former Marine Jeff Gonzalez Flips Long Held Democratic 36th District Assembly Seat

Former Marine Jeff Gonzalez (R) formally defeated Coachella Valley Unified School District school board member Joey Acuna Jr. (D) on Monday for the 36th District Assembly seat, becoming the first Republican to win the district since 2008.

The 36th District, which covers Indio, Coachella and large swaths of the desert in the Southeastern part of the state, has been firmly in control of Democrats in the Assembly for close to two decades. Since 2014, Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella) has held on to the district in the area. However, in recent years, thanks to population shifts, redistricting and, most recently, more Latino voters joining the GOP, Garcia’s hold in the area had been lessening. In 2022, Garcia narrowly won with just over 53% of the vote over Republican Ian Weeks.

But with Garcia term-limited out, the race this year turned to Gonzalez facing Acuna. While Acuna was the early favorite, Gonzalez quickly roared back in the final months thanks to a continued focus on public safety and education. President-elect Donald Trump’s visit to Coachella in October also proved to galvanize voters in the district to vote GOP down the ballot -which included Gonzalez.

The race wasn’t decided on election day due to it being too close to call. And like many elections in California, the count dragged on. However, on Monday, new results came out, showing Gonzalez with 72,803 votes, or 51.6% of the vote, and Acuna with 68,417, or 48.4% of the vote. While only around a 4,000 vote difference, this was enough to push Gonzalez over the edge, with him declaring victory and Acuna conceding the race.

“It’s time for people over politics,” said Gonzalez in Palm Desert on Monday. “What you see here is a small representation of the group of volunteers that came together — Democrats, Republicans — not because of party, but because of what’s taking place in California. We the people stood up, we the people have risen, and we the people have won.”

Acuna also then gave a concession speech, adding that “It’s clear that this election didn’t go our way. I congratulate Jeff Gonzalez and wish him all the best in representing Assembly District 36. We launched our campaign last year with a focus on affordability and making sure the kids who grow up here have access to good schools and opportunities. I will continue that focus and look for new opportunities to make a difference.”

While the GOP has flipped Assembly District seats before, Gonzalez now holds the distinction of becoming the first Republican since 1992 to pick up an Assembly seat for his party in the state during a Presidential election year. The fact the Democrats have held the area since 2008 makes the feat all the more impressive to the party.

“Democrats are shaking their head at this one, and like many races this year, are going to look to see where they went wrong during the election autopsy,” said Riverside County pollster Carlos Rivas to the Globe on Monday. “But it was a strong GOP candidate in a year that saw a lot of great boosts of support come in. You’re right about the Latino vote, but Gonzalez also got the white vote too by and large, especially in the more rural areas. Veterans flocked to him too, and as did a lot of voters with someone with special needs in their family, as his son is handicapped. He knows those struggles. And yeah, sometimes it’s a small demographic or niche demographic, but in a close race, those count for a lot.

“2024 was definitely a Republican favored election. And Gonzalez showed that it also bled into California.”