A poll conducted February 17-23 by FM3 Research among likely June 2026 primary voters in Assembly District 65 found Democrats Ayanna Davis and Fatima Iqbal-Zubair and Republican Lydia Gutierrez are in a highly competitive race to place in the top two spots to qualify for the November general election. The results also show voters respond positively to Ayanna Davis’s personal and professional background, and support for her increases as they learn more about her career as an educator.

 

There is a realistic chance that Republican Lydia Gutierrez may finish in one of the top two spots in the June primary, effectively ending the race after the primary, as whichever Democrat advances with Gutierrez to the general election is essentially guaranteed to win in this safe blue district. 

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Assembly District 65 Democratic and NPP likely primary voters need to know:

Ayanna Davis is a lifelong public school educator who grew up in a union family in Compton that instilled in her the importance of public service. After working her way through college, Ayanna became a classroom teacher and later a public school principal and a member of the Compton Unified School Board. Ayanna has:

1. Been a leader in the “Compton Miracle” that resulted in the number-one graduation rate in L.A. County and top test scores for similar districts statewide. 

2. Created apprenticeship and workforce development programs to train local residents for good-paying jobs in construction, healthcare, auto repair and the food industry.

3. Enacted policies to protect immigrant students and their families and stood up to Donald Trump by  keeping ICE out of local schools. 

 

Now, Ayanna Davis is running for State Assembly to: 

1. Reform our healthcare system because too many Californians – especially those in underserved communities – face significant barriers to accessing timely, affordable, and high-quality healthcare. Ayanna believes that everyone should have access to quality healthcare, and nobody should go into debt to access the care they need.

2. Stand with immigrant families in our community and fight back against Donald Trump and ICE. Ayanna will continue her work to protect immigrant children and families and keep ICE agents out of our schools, hospitals, churches, and neighborhoods.

3. Fight to raise wages, improve workplace protections, expand health and retirement benefits, and advocate for small businesses to create more economic opportunities. As a longtime union member, Ayanna is focused on the affordability crisis and knows we need to do more to ensure that working families don’t just get by – but thrive.

4. Secure our fair share of funding to upgrade critical local infrastructure, including pipes, sewers and storm drains to ensure access to safe, clean drinking water.

 

Her opponent Fatima Iqbal-Zubair was found responsible for violating state ethics laws for hiding family income from a weapons contractor — and using that income to self-fund her campaigns:  

1. This corporation (Raytheon) has billion-dollar contracts with the Trump Administration, builds weapons and military equipment for foreign dictators, and has been fined millions for breaking the law, including violating clean water laws.

2. Raytheon built the missiles and other weapons used in Trump’s war against Iran. 

3. Fatima self-funded over $500,000 across her 2020 and 2022 campaigns ($234,605 in 2020 + $317,344 in 2022) from a household substantially supported by Raytheon income while pledging “no corporate money.”