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The Path Forward in AD65 — Fatima Iqbal-Zubair is the Working Families Champion We Need

Recent polling conducted by New River Strategies in California’s 65th Assembly District shows an electorate that has yet to consolidate around a single candidate, with ample opportunity for Fatima Iqbal-Zubair to take either the first or second spot in the general election.

When we are able to respond to attacks leveled against her, her candidacy is resilient, and we believe she will ultimately succeed in advancing to November.

After voters hear messages introducing both Davis (using positive language mirroring her own campaign’s communications) and Iqbal-Zubair, Davis has only a modest 3-point increase in vote share, while Iqbal-Zubair’s shoots up by 16 points, leaving both candidates tied at 29% and well ahead of the rest of the pack. Iqbal-Zubair’s biography, which describes her as a champion for working families who will be laser-focused on making California affordable for everyone who wants to call it home, is clearly extremely compelling.

AD65 Democratic and NPP primary voters need to know:

●      In the Assembly, Fatima Iqbal-Zubair will work tirelessly to lower out-of-control costs and create opportunities for working families.

●      Fatima has worked with labor leaders to create good-paying jobs that help families get ahead, and she will expand on these efforts to make sure that everyone who wants to call California home is paid enough to live here.

●      She will also protect and uplift communities that are struggling the most, prioritize investment in affordable housing, and guarantee the human right to affordable and accessible health care.

●      Additionally, Fatima’s strong support for unions, along with her background in education as a high school science teacher and a co-founder of a youth robotics non-profit organization help demonstrate the values she’ll fight for in the Assembly: standing for working people and fighting for fair teacher pay and well-funded neighborhood schools so every child has a chance to succeed.

●      Her platform is:

• Bring down the cost of living for working families. Rent, groceries, gas, childcare — every line in the family budget is squeezing people in this district. Fatima will fight to lower costs, raise wages, and make sure the people who keep California running can afford to live in the state they built.

• Invest in affordable housing so families can put down roots, seniors can age in place, and young people starting out have a real shot at a home of their own.

• Make health care a human right — expanding access, lowering prescription drug costs, and ensuring no family has to choose between seeing a doctor and paying the rent.

• Stand with immigrant families against Trump's ICE raids that are tearing our neighborhoods apart. As an immigrant herself, Fatima knows our communities are stronger when every family can live without fear.

• Fight for the dignity and safety of every community— with real investment in schools, jobs, and the services that keep neighborhoods whole.

The Contrast with Ayanna Davis

Voters also need to know more about Ayanna Davis and her track record as a career politician beyond what her finance reports tell us.

What we know is Ayanna has accepted thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the billion-dollar corporations that are making life more expensive and raising gas prices and housing costs.

Big Oil (approximately $36,655 total):

• Marathon Petroleum Corporation — $11,800

• Phillips 66 Company — $11,800

• PBF Holding Company (Torrance Refinery) — $11,800

• California Independent Petroleum Association — $1,255.52

Housing / corporate real estate (~$34,400):

• Airbnb, Inc. — $11,800

• Watson Land Company — $11,800

• California Real Estate PAC — $10,800

Source: California Secretary of State, Cal-Access, Ayanna Davis for Assembly 2026, accessed 4/11/26

The Bottom Line

The next Assemblymember from AD65 will be a Democrat. The only question is whether this district sends a career politician funded by Big Oil, corporate landlords, and the industries driving up the cost of living or a fighter who answers only to the working families of Carson, Compton, Long Beach, San Pedro, Watts, Wilmington, and Willowbrook.

The polling is clear: when voters hear both candidates, Fatima Iqbal-Zubair's story moves them — and Ayanna Davis's does not. With the resources to get Fatima's message to voters and respond to the attacks already coming her way, this race is hers to win. The stakes for working families in this district could not be higher.