Esmeralda Soria is a believer in a Winston Churchill political maxim: “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”

Soria, D-Fresno, the assemblymember running for state Senate, sent out a fundraising email on March 19 playing on the Cesar Chavez controversy.

“I wanted to take a moment to speak directly with you about something that is deeply troubling and personal to me,” Soria wrote, days after the news about Chavez’s alleged sexual abuse surfaced.

Soria said she was “heartbroken” about the allegations.

“As the daughter of immigrant farmworker parents from Mexico, this is something that hits close to home. As a Latina who has worked to break barriers, I am shocked and outraged by these accounts,” Soria wrote.

She wrote that she believes Dolores Huerta, the co-UFW co-founder with Chavez who accused him of rape.

“We can honor the legacy of the movement while also telling the truth and supporting those who have had the courage to come forward,” Soria wrote in a solicitation for campaign donations.

Soria is running for Senate District 14. Also running are Sanger City Councilmember Esmeralda Hurtado, D-Sanger, and Merced City Councilmember Darin DuPont, R-Merced.

The move isn’t sitting well with DuPont.

“We need to focus on how to serve those who may have gone through traumatic events. Using fundraising emails to raise money on the backs of victims is unfortunate and not appropriate,” DuPont said.

The Soria campaign declined comment.

State, Congressional Races Set

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber released the names of candidates on the June 2 ballot for state and congressional races. These are all top-two elections — the top two vote-getters will qualify for the Nov. 3 general election regardless of political party or whether a candidate receives a majority.

The candidates for Central Valley races:

(*  denotes incumbent)

Congress

District 5
Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove*
Lawyer Mike Barkley, D-Manteca
Foreign affairs officer Michael Mauda, D-Amador
Engineer Dan Stroud, D-Ridgecrest

District 13
Rep. Adam Gray, D-Merced*
Former Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln, R-Stockton
Behavioral health manager Daniel Garibay Rodriguez, D-Merced
Business owner Vin Kruttiventi, R-Wilton

District 20
Rep. Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield*
Stallion Springs CSD Board Member Ben Dewell, NPP-Stallion Springs
Land surveyor Jeremy Fox, NPP-Visalia
Disability advocate Sandra Van Scotter, D-Ridgecrest

District 21
Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno*
Eric Garcia, D-Fresno
Union organizer Lourin Hubbard, D-Fresno
Club One Casino owner Kyle Kirkland, R-Clovis
Clovis Veterans Memorial District CEO Lorenzo Rios, R-Clovis
Educator Lance Kruse, NPP-Fresno

District 22
Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford*
Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, D-Delano
Visalia Unified Trustee Randy Villegas, D-Visalia

Assembly

District 8
Assemblyman David Tangipa, R-Clovis*
Note: Tangipa is running unopposed.

District 27
Former Merced Mayor Mike Murphy, R-Merced
Fresno County Supervisor Brian Pacheco, D-Kerman
Livingston City Councilmember Japjeet Singh Uppal, D-Livingston
Note: Incumbent Esmeralda Soria, D-Fresno, is running for state Senate.

District 31
Fresno City Councilmember Annalisa Perea, D-Fresno
Nonprofit leader Sandra Celedon, D-Fresno
Retired engineer Jim Polsgrove, R-Fresno
Note: Incumbent Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno, is running for Fresno City Council.

District 32
Kern County Supervisor David Crouch, R-Bakersfield
Note: Crouch is running unopposed. Incumbent Stan Ellis, R-Bakersfield, is not running for re-election.

District 33
Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo, R-Tulare*
Former Lindsay Mayor Hipolito Angel Cerros, D-Lindsay

Senate

District 12
Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig, R-Clovis
Mechanic Louis Anthony Miramontes, R-Visalia
Social worker William Brown Jr., Libertarian-Visalia
Note: Incumbent Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, is termed out. She is running for the Board of Equalization.

District 14
Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, D-Fresno
Sanger City Councilmember Esmeralda Hurtado, D-Sanger
Merced Councilmember Darin DuPont, R-Merced
Note: Incumbent Anna Caballero, D-Merced is termed out. She is running for state treasurer.

District 16
Sen. Melissa Hurtado, D-Bakersfield*
Bakersfield City Councilmember Manpreet Kaur, D-Bakersfield
Small business owner Guillermo Gonzalez, R-Bakersfield

Board of Equalization

District 1
State Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield
Fresno City Councilmember Nelson Esparza, D-Fresno
Retired correctional officer Dusty Beach, R-Visalia
Tax consultant Nader F. Shahatit, R-Highland
Equalization board consultant Donald Williamson, D-Highland
Note: Incumbent Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, is termed out.

Politicker …

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the appointments of two Fresno residents. Antonio Buelna will serve as chief of infrastructure maintenance at the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Buelna has served as assistant director of capital projects for the city of Fresno since 2024. A Democrat, the state will pay him $234,000.

Newsom also appointed Fresno attorney Andrew Moreno to the 11-member California State Board of Optometry. A Democrat, Moreno fills one of the public member positions on the board. He will receive $100 per meeting.