Charles Hughes
Charles Hughes serves on the Antelope Valley Union High School District board. He is a Navy veteran, a retired law enforcement officer, and a small business owner. He and his wife are parents to five and grandparents to eight. His campaign is focused on restoring law and order, lowering the cost of living, and investing in the local infrastructure and water resources that high desert communities have needed for years.
Why We Endorsed: Charles Hughes is a Navy veteran, retired law enforcement officer, and local school board trustee running on common sense policy for water, infrastructure, and the cost of living in one of the largest geographic districts in the state
Alignment With NCC Priorities: Charles built his campaign around infrastructure and water for a district that depends on both, which is precisely the work NCC's water and energy task force is championing in the eastern Sierras and Mojave. As a small business owner who has lived inside California's regulatory machinery, he treats permitting reform as a job creation issue, which is exactly how NCC frames it. On the questions that matter most for his district, he is a builder.
Learn More: votecharleshughes.com
Assembly District
34
The Race
District 34 stretches west to the Ventura County line and north through the Kern County communities of Rosamond, Mojave, and California City, with the eastern border at the state line. The seat is open because Assemblymember Tom Lackey is termed out after six terms. Hughes faces fellow Republicans Steve Fox, a former assembly member who briefly held the seat as a Democrat in 2012, and Manny Lin. Democrat Randall Putz is the only Democrat on the ballot. The seat has been held by a Republican for more than 30 years.
A New California Starts With This Slate
Together, these fourteen candidates are the slate NCC believes can move California forward in 2026. They come from cities and counties up and down the state, from different backgrounds and different parties, and from different chapters of California's story. What they share is a commitment to getting things done: finding solutions to homelessness, building the housing, securing the water and energy, and growing the middle class jobs that working Californians need now. NCC stands behind each of them, and we are asking voters in their districts to join us. The California Dream is worth fighting for, and these are the leaders who will help us bring it back within reach.
June 2026 NCC Races: the map highlights Senate Districts 12, 14, 22, 26, and 34, and Assembly Districts 12, 31, 34, 35, 47, 65, 66, 67, and 68