Jeff Gonzalez lives in Indio, the home base for a public life that has moved through the Marine Corps, two churches and two campaigns for the state Assembly. A Republican, he won office in 2024 by defeating Coachella School Board Trustee Joey Acuña and flipping a majority Latino district. It was his second try: six years earlier, he had challenged incumbent Democrat Eduardo Garcia and lost by a wide margin. Gonzalez spent two decades in the Marines and became a pastor after retiring. He and his wife, Christine, have four children, including a son diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
THE JOB BEFORE THE JOB
Gonzalez enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at 19. His service included deployments to combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as service at U.S. embassies in Honduras and the Czech Republic. He retired after two decades.
Gonzalez then became a pastor at Southwest Church in Indian Wells and Saddleback Church in Orange County. Those posts followed a military career that included the combat-zone deployments and service at the two U.S. embassies.
Gonzalez earned a bachelor’s degree in Homeland Security and Emergency Management from National University, followed by a Master of Science in organizational leadership from the same university. His record includes military service, church work and studies in emergency management and organizational leadership.
THE PATH TO OFFICE
Gonzalez first sought a seat in the California State Assembly in 2018, running in the 56th District against Eduardo Garcia. Garcia was an incumbent Democrat, and Gonzalez lost by a wide margin.
He ran again in 2024, after Garcia retired. This time the general-election opponent was Joey Acuña, a trustee on the Coachella School Board. Gonzalez defeated him. A Republican, Gonzalez flipped a majority Latino district.
The six years between Gonzalez’s two Assembly races separate a wide-margin loss from a winning campaign. In 2018, he faced an incumbent assemblymember; in 2024, after Garcia retired, he faced a school board trustee. Gonzalez returned to the same level of office and won on the second attempt.
WHAT TO KNOW
Gonzalez’s public record includes 20 years in the Marines, pastoral work at Southwest Church and Saddleback Church, a wide-margin defeat in the 2018 Assembly race and a successful return in 2024.
The majority Latino 36th District includes eastern Riverside County and Imperial County in the Low Desert of southeastern California. Gonzalez, a Republican, flipped the district in 2024.
Gonzalez and his wife, Christine, have four children. One is an adult son diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
- State Assembly · Assembly District 36 · 2024–present
Jeff Gonzalez lives in Indio, the home base for a public life that has moved through the Marine Corps, two churches and two campaigns for the state Assembly. A Republican, he won office in 2024 by defeating Coachella School Board Trustee Joey Acuña and flipping a majority Latino district. It was his second try: six years earlier, he had challenged incumbent Democrat Eduardo Garcia and lost by a wide margin. Gonzalez spent two decades in the Marines and became a pastor after retiring. He and his wife, Christine, have four children, including a son diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
THE JOB BEFORE THE JOB
Gonzalez enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at 19. His service included deployments to combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as service at U.S. embassies in Honduras and the Czech Republic. He retired after two decades.
Gonzalez then became a pastor at Southwest Church in Indian Wells and Saddleback Church in Orange County. Those posts followed a military career that included the combat-zone deployments and service at the two U.S. embassies.
Gonzalez earned a bachelor’s degree in Homeland Security and Emergency Management from National University, followed by a Master of Science in organizational leadership from the same university. His record includes military service, church work and studies in emergency management and organizational leadership.
THE PATH TO OFFICE
Gonzalez first sought a seat in the California State Assembly in 2018, running in the 56th District against Eduardo Garcia. Garcia was an incumbent Democrat, and Gonzalez lost by a wide margin.
He ran again in 2024, after Garcia retired. This time the general-election opponent was Joey Acuña, a trustee on the Coachella School Board. Gonzalez defeated him. A Republican, Gonzalez flipped a majority Latino district.
The six years between Gonzalez’s two Assembly races separate a wide-margin loss from a winning campaign. In 2018, he faced an incumbent assemblymember; in 2024, after Garcia retired, he faced a school board trustee. Gonzalez returned to the same level of office and won on the second attempt.
WHAT TO KNOW
Gonzalez’s public record includes 20 years in the Marines, pastoral work at Southwest Church and Saddleback Church, a wide-margin defeat in the 2018 Assembly race and a successful return in 2024.
The majority Latino 36th District includes eastern Riverside County and Imperial County in the Low Desert of southeastern California. Gonzalez, a Republican, flipped the district in 2024.
Gonzalez and his wife, Christine, have four children. One is an adult son diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
The record
376 events, each with its sourceMotor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law: suspension of tax.
Public postsecondary education: academic exchange programs: plan.
Vehicles: public safety: Blue Envelope Program.
Employment: employer contributions: employee withholdings: credit: agricultural employees.
Pupil instruction: high school graduation requirements: career technical education.
Off-highway electric motorcycles.
Pupil instruction: dual enrollment.
Deceptive practices: service members and veterans.
Contractors: exemptions: muralists.
Generators: air pollution regulations: sales and use taxes: exemptions.
Relative to The Power of Us Day.
Private Works Change Order Fair Payment Act.
Pupil instruction: dual enrollment: College and Career Access Pathways partnerships.
Birds and mammals: nongame birds: mute swans.
California Commission on the United States Semiquincentennial.
Community colleges: baccalaureate degree program: Southwestern Community College District.
Relative to Women’s History Month.
Medi-Cal: unrecovered payments: interest rate.
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: groundwater sustainability plans.
Relative to Read Across America Day.
Drug-Induced Movement Disorder Awareness Program.
Department of Parks and Recreation: state parks: California State Library Parks Pass Program.
Special education: resource specialists: special classes.
California Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
Health care coverage: hearing aids.
Relative to Japanese American concentration camps.
California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: scoping plan.
Farmland Access and Conservation for Thriving Communities Act.
California Health Facilities Financing Authority Act: nondesignated hospitals: loan repayment.
Relative to President Jimmy Carter Day.
Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month.
Income taxes: gross income exclusions: state of emergency: natural disaster settlements.
Personal Income Tax: tax credits: fire-resistant home improvements.
Personal income taxes: Fire Safe Home Tax Credits Act.
California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: scoping plan.
National Missing Children’s Day.
Criminal penalties: wildfires.
Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day.
Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024: grants: improvements to public evacuation routes: mobile rigid water storage: electrical generators.
In-Home Supportive Services Employer-Employee Relations Act.