It is a light week for local government, because of the July 4 holiday. Plenty will change in the primary 11 months from now.

Here is a look at who is planning to run next year. The information is based on who filed paperwork to start collecting cash, and who is speculated to run. The official filing window for the June 2, 2026 primary opens Feb. 9, 2026.

Fresno City Council

Four council seats are on the ballot in 2026 — those with odd numbers. There will be at least three new councilmembers.

District 1 (west Fresno): Incumbent Annalisa Perea is eligible for a second term, but plans to run for state Assembly instead.

State Center Community College District Trustee and federal prosecutor Rob Fuentes filed to run.

Perea’s staffer Mayra Campa also filed to run. Perea said she will endorse her.

Speculation is Central Unified Trustee Naindeep Singh Chann will run, but he has not announced.

District 3 (southwest Fresno, downtown): Miguel Arias is termed out after winning elections in 2018 and 2022.

Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula announced he will run, as did Fresno Unified Trustee Keshia Thomas.

West Park School District Trustee Fernando Alvarez also intends to run, but has not filed paperwork. He recently left his position as government affairs specialist with the Fresno Chamber of Commerce.

District 5 (southeast Fresno): Brandon Vang won a special election in March to fill the remainder of the term vacated by Luis Chavez, after the latter won election to the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.

Vang plans to run for the seat again, and has yet to draw any challengers. He defeated Fresno Unified Trustee and Westland Water District executive Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas — Chavez’s wife — in March.

Jonasson Rosas hasn’t said if she would run again.

District 7 (central and east Fresno): Nelson Esparza is termed out, and plans to run for state Senate.

Nav Gurm, a former Esparza staffer at City Hall and recent law graduate at UC Davis, filed to run and is actively campaigning.

So is Ariana Martinez Lott, a community activist who once worked for Arias at City Hall.

AJ Rassamni, a businessman and president of the Blackstone Merchants Association, is in.

Rene Campos recently filed. He has no political experience, but does have a checkered legal past. He also announced he plans to run for president of the United States in 2028.

Fresno County Elections

Voters will decide two Board of Supervisor seats and several other county officers in 2026. However, sheriff and district attorney will not be on the ballot.

A Fresno County judge earlier this year ruled in favor of the state in a lawsuit to determine when the election would be — 2026 as decided by county voters in 2024, or 2028 as required by state law.

District 1 (northwest Fresno County and parts of west Fresno): Brian Pacheco is running for his fourth term, first winning election in 2014.

No one else has filed to run.

District 4 (southwest and southeast Fresno County, including parts of the southeast city of Fresno): Buddy Mendes is running for his fourth term, first winning election in 2014.

SCCCD Trustee Danielle Para of Fowler and Parlier Mayor Alma Beltran filed to run.

County Clerk/Registrar of Voters: James Kus is running for his second full term and third overall. He was appointed to the position in 2021.

Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi is challenging Kus, he announced. No incumbent clerk has lost an election since 1934. If Karbassi wins, he would have to vacate his council seat. Karbassi has not officially filed paperwork.

Assessor-Recorder: Paul Dictos is running for his fourth term, first winning election in 2014.

Former Fresno City Councilmember Paul Caprioglio, and Sevag Tateosian, who once ran for SCCCD trustee, have also filed papers.

Superintendent of Schools: Former Clovis Unified Superintendent Eimear O’Brien is challenging incumbent Michele Cantwell-Copher. GV Wire’s Nance Price has been covering the race.

Auditor-Controller and Treasurer-Tax Collector Oscar Garcia is running for his third full term, and fourth overall. He was appointed to the vacant position in 2016. Garcia ran unopposed in 2022, and no one has made a challenge for 2026.

Congress

The incumbency advantage will again put to the test for the Central Valley delegation in 2026. Some seats are rock steady while others are vulnerable.

District 5: Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, is running for his 10th term, first elected in 2008.

Michael Barkley, D-Manteca, is running again, despite getting trounced by McClintock in 2022 and 2024.

Two other Democrats filed to run — engineer Michael Masuda, and educator Angelina Sigala.

Sigala flirted with running for Congress in 2022 and 2024 but never actually appeared on a ballot.

District 13: A third straight tight race is expected for the North Valley seat held by Adam Gray, D-Merced, running for his second term. Already, third-party TV ads are running for and against Gray.

A third round against John Duarte, R-Modesto, is unlikely. Duarte won the duel in 2022 by 64 votes, with Gray winning the rematch in 2024 by 187.

Duarte has not filed to run again. So far, Ceres Mayor Javier Lopez, R-Ceres, is the most serious challenger.

Also filing are entrepreneur Vin Kruttiventi, R-Pleasanton, and Sigala, who also filed to run for District 5.

District 22: David Valadao, R-Kings County, continues to defy the election odds and is walking a tightrope in Washington. Despite the 40% to 28% Democratic voting advantage over Republicans in the South Valley seat, Valadao continues to win. He is running for his seventh non-consecutive term.

Rudy Salas, D-Bakersfield, filed to run again. The former state Assemblymember lost to Valadao in 2022 and 2024.

Visalia Unified Trustee and College of the Sequoias professor Randy Villegas, D-Visalia, also filed to run.

Political insiders expect Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, D-Delano, to jump in the race, and she could easily be the Democratic Party’s choice.

Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, who won a special election in 2024 for District 20 — which includes Clovis and parts of Fresno — has not drawn a challenger.

Jim Costa, D-Fresno, is running for his 12th term. No opponent has filed to run, although at least one challenger is expected, Politics 101 learned.

State Representatives

State Senate District 12: Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, is termed out. Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig, R-Clovis, and businessman Michael Maher, R-Kingsburg, have filed to run.

Kern County Supervisor David Couch, R-Bakersfield, is also considering running.

Maher ran for Congress in 2022 and 2024, losing to Costa both times.

State Senate District 14: Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, D-Fresno, and Fresno City Councilmember Nelson Esparza, D-Fresno, are running to succeed Anna Caballero, D-Merced.

Caballero is termed out. Esparza is termed out of his council seat, and Soria is opting to run for the Senate instead of making another Assembly run.

State Senate District 16: Melissa Hurtado, D-Bakersfield, is running for a third term and has yet to draw a challenger.

Assembly District 27: With Soria running for state Senate, this is an open seat. Former Merced Mayor Michael Murphy, R-Merced, and Merced City School Board Member Priya Lakireddy, D-Merced, filed to run.

Assembly District 31: Another open race that could be the tight. Perea, D-Fresno, is running against Fresno Building Healthy Communities President and CEO Sandra Celedon, D-Fresno, and James Polsgrove, R-Fresno.

The current seat holder, Joaquin Arambula, is running for Fresno City Council, and would likely be termed out anyway. He won a special election in 2016 — although whether it would count as a sixth or seventh term is now moot.

State legislators can only serve 12 years total between the state Senate and Assembly.

David Tangipa, R-Clovis, Stan Ellis, R-Bakersfield, Alexandra Macedo, R-Tulare, and Bains, have not drawn challengers for districts 8, 32, 33, and 34 respectively.