Likely runoff between Fresno Democrat, Republican opponent in Assembly District 31
Fresno City Councilmember Annalisa Perea will likely face her Republican opponent in a November runoff to replace Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula in the state legislature.
As of 9:40 p.m. Tuesday, Perea, a Democrat, maintained her lead against opponents — Democrat Sandra Celedon and Republican James Polsgrove — with about 30,074 votes counted.
Perea had secured roughly 44.47% of the vote, while Polsgrove, a retired engineering technician, captured 37.6%, according to the Fresno County registrar of voters.
Nonprofit director Celedon, a progressive Democrat, captured 17.7% of total votes.
In a written statement to The Bee, Perea said she was “filled with immense gratitude and optimism for the tremendous momentum behind this campaign.”
“From day one, our goal was to build a broad coalition of neighbors, community leaders, and families who would work towards bringing a real voice for the Valley to Sacramento. So far, tonight’s showing that we were successful in that effort. We will patiently wait as election officials finish their important work, but we are confident that our message of real results is prevailing,” the statement said.
Perea, 38, is all but certain to advance to the November general election. The top two candidates will face a runoff in the general elections on Nov. 3.
Polsgrove, meanwhile, commented on the likelihood of facing off Perea in the run-off.
“I’m not quite sure that she’s as moderate as a lot of people make her out to be, or she makes herself out to be. It’s going to be a rough race. I mean, they’ve got the name recognition, they’ve got the money behind them. I’ve got the outreach to the people, and the support of the people that I talk to,” he said Tuesday night at a party at the Elbow Room.
In a statement to The Bee, Celedon said she looked forward to the final count.
“We’re proud of the community-driven campaign we ran, and I’m deeply grateful to every volunteer, first-time voter and first-time donor who stepped up to reclaim a democratic process that too often is driven by corporate interests. We’ll give the elections office the space to finish counting, and in the meantime, we’ll keep fighting for Fresno’s working families and holding our leaders accountable. Our campaign was built on integrity, real results, and a clear record — and that’s exactly what Fresno County families deserve,” she said.
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Arambula, an emergency room physician and Democrat from Fresno, has represented Assembly District 31 seat since 2016. He’s currently seeking a seat on Fresno City Council to represent District 3, which includes downtown, Chinatown, the Tower District and most of the city’s industrial parks in south Fresno.
Perea is endorsed by the California Democratic Party, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and several assemblymembers including Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas. Political spending groups — including those funded by Facebook owner Meta and McDonald’s franchise owners — have spent at least $2 million dollars in support of Perea.
The spending is what experts call a “once-in-a-decade” chance to influence who is in the seat, especially in the Central Valley, where Democrats are more likely to be business-friendly, said political strategist Mike Madrid.
Celedon, 41, is the progressive in the race. She runs the nonprofit organization Fresno Building Healthy Communities, and is endorsed by the California Working Families Party and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
District 31 is a majority Latino district within Fresno County that includes most of the city of Fresno, western Fresno County rural communities, as well as the cities of Fowler, Orange Cove, Parlier, Sanger, Selma and a small piece of Clovis.
Of the 225,729 registered voters in the district, 98,228, or 43.52%, are registered Democrats and 54,077, or 24%, are registered Republicans, according to state data. Another 23.7%, or 53,590, have no party preference.
Fresno Bee Reporter David Taub contributed to this report.
This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 8:43 PM with the headline "Likely runoff between Fresno Democrat, Republican opponent in Assembly District 31."
