CalledUnofficial results
California Assembly District 78
California State Assembly · California
Chris Ward won re-election by 42.6 points over Payton Galvez.
Top-two primary
Chris WardDemocrat · winner · incumbent
71.3%101,279
Payton GalvezRepublican
28.7%40,741
142,020 votes
Source: California Secretary of State unofficial resultsUpdated Nov 7, 2026, 12:54 PM ET
Where the race moved
Against the 2024 presidential vote
The seat's recent races
Source: Past results: 99chambers results archive (MEDSL, Klarner, state election offices)
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
Chris WardNo Republican
$719.5K
Raised by the campaign
—
$773.5K
Spent by the campaign
—
$422.4K
Cash on hand
—
Campaign money: California Secretary of State (Cal-Access), through Oct 17, 2026.
Source: California Secretary of State (Cal-Access) campaign filingsUpdated Oct 17, 2026
Pre-election forecast (final, Nov 3)
Our model's last run before Election Day, Nov 3, 2026. It no longer updates.
- Chris Ward
- >99%
- Payton Galvez
- <1%
- Projected margin
- D+44.9