Bains leads in 35th Assembly District
Incumbent Democrat Dr. Jasmeet Bains pulled ahead of her Republican challenger Robert Rosas in early returns Tuesday night in the 35th Assembly District race.
With fewer than 9,300 votes counted as of 8:30 p.m., Bains enjoyed a lead of almost 61% to Rosas’ nearly 40%.
No matter who prevails in the primary, the race is headed for a rematch in November because of California’s 13-year-old Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act, in which both leading vote-getters in state legislative races must return for a showdown in the general election.
The race has shaped up to be a contest between an incumbent seeking a second term and a political newcomer whose party faces a 23-point voter registration deficit.
Bains, 38, is a physician who two years ago defeated a better-known Democratic candidate, Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez, to become the Legislature’s first Sikh American.
Bains has run on a platform of addressing health-care inequities, ensuring educational quality and fighting drugs and violence. She says there is work to be done to deliver clean and reliable water supplies for families as well as farms, make neighborhoods safe, promote good jobs and help residents through hard economic times.
She points to accomplishments during her two years in the Assembly: $21 million for public safety, $11 million for combating the fentanyl crisis and $2.8 million for local parks and related improvements.
Bains said by email she voted in person Tuesday before going to work at a medical clinic. She added that she remains focused on fighting fentanyl, expanding access to health care and boosting local economic opportunities.
Rosas, 32, is a smarthome consulting business owner who has never held public office before but who has served for more than five years as an elected member of the executive board of the Kern County Young Republicans.
He has criticized actions by the Legislature that have effectively raised the cost of homebuilding, which is something he reported witnessing as an electrician.
If elected, Rosas says, he will work to protect small-business owners, oppose tax increases, defend family values and push to ensure criminals serve their sentences. Other priorities of his are addressing crime, homelessness, drug addiction and a shortage of good jobs.
The district comprises northern Kern, plus Arvin, the eastern portion of Bakersfield and Lamont. Its boundaries lie entirely within the county.