California State Senate District 4 · Nov. 3, 2026

Jaron Brandon vs. Alexandra Duarte

Two candidates, one seat. Below, Jaron's positions from his platform sit next to what public records show about Alexandra Duarte, her husband former Rep. John Duarte, and Duarte Nursery, the family business where she works.

Every record on this page links to the full story and its sources at DuarteFacts.org, which is published by this campaign. Jaron's complete positions on all 21 policy areas are on his platform page.

At a glance

Seven issues that come before the next senator for District 4.

Issue	Jaron Brandon	Alexandra Duarte: the record
Schools	Fully fund special education, universal meals and the other promises the state makes to schools.	Opposes Prop. 3, which helps pay for special education. Read about Duarte and Prop. 3
Workers	Protect wage and safety standards and workers' ability to organize.	Family nursery: nine workers hospitalized for carbon monoxide exposure; a $1.5 million wage settlement. Read about Duarte Nursery's record with its workers
Farmers	Cut unnecessary fees and compliance costs for small producers.	More than 20 growers have sued the family nursery since 2015. A judge called its fine print “unconscionable.” Read about Duarte Nursery grower lawsuits
Water and land	Make groundwater recharge a statewide priority and invest in the watersheds that supply California's water.	Duarte Nursery paid $1.1 million to settle a Clean Water Act case over protected wetlands. Read about the Clean Water Act settlement
Taxes	Lower costs for people earning $350,000 or less and require those who have benefited most to pay what they owe.	John Duarte voted to cut IRS enforcement funding, which the CBO said would add $114 billion to deficits. Read about the IRS funding vote
Money in politics	Overturn Citizens United and bar legislators from decisions involving their own finances.	The Duartes have given $123,360 in political contributions since 2016. Read about the Duartes' political giving
Straight talk	Specific positions “drawn from doing the work in county government, not written for a campaign.”	After the primary, her website dropped Trump, guns and the word “conservative.” Read about how her message changed

Schools

Where Jaron stands

A child's opportunity should not depend on whether their school is large, urban, or in a wealthy ZIP code.

Fully fund the promises made to schools. Universal meals, special education, transitional kindergarten and other state requirements should come with enough funding to run them without cutting classroom programs.
Fix the rural school funding formula and fund students by enrollment so budgets are not destabilized by absences beyond a district's control.
Restore career technical education in the trades, agriculture, forestry, health care and public service.

Jaron's full platform →

What the record shows

Prop. 3 would make permanent a 2012 income tax on the state's highest earners. If it fails, the tax expires in 2031.
The Legislative Analyst estimates it would bring in $5 billion to $15 billion a year, roughly 40% of it for schools and community colleges. It has helped pay for special education.
Duarte opposes it: “Increasing taxes will not fix the problem.” DuarteFacts found no statement from her on how schools would replace the money.

Duarte opposes Prop. 3 →

Workers

Where Jaron stands

Government can make it easier or harder for people to create good jobs, and it should protect the people doing them.

Simplify rules for genuinely small businesses while maintaining wage, safety and consumer protections.
Protect workers' ability to organize and prevent large franchises from evading responsibility.
Attach local hiring, apprenticeship and wage standards to public incentives.

Jaron's full platform →

What the record shows

In 2019, nine workers were hospitalized for carbon monoxide exposure in a Duarte Nursery greenhouse. The fine was $3,375.
A 2023 lawsuit says a farm laborer lost three fingers on a trimmer the nursery built. Cal/OSHA cited the nursery for two serious violations.
Workers filed proposed class actions over wages and breaks in 2015, 2018 and 2026. The 2015 case settled for $1.5 million, with checks to 2,433 workers.
No court has ruled on the lawsuits' claims, and the nursery has denied those it has answered.

Duarte Nursery's record with its workers →

Farmers

Where Jaron stands

California agriculture is a source of food, jobs, exports and pride, not merely another industry to regulate.

Reduce unnecessary fees and compliance costs for small and locally serving producers.
Rebuild processing, cold storage and distribution capacity so more food is grown and processed here.
Strengthen antitrust enforcement in agriculture, food and other essential markets.

Jaron's full platform →

What the record shows

Since 2015, pistachio, avocado and lemon growers have sued Duarte Nursery, saying trees they bought were defective or misrepresented.
In 2022, a judge ruled the nursery's fine print “unconscionable” and found that growers who asked for refunds “were left with no remedy at all.”
The nursery denied the growers' claims. Duarte tells voters she is “a farmer, a mom, and one of us.”

Duarte Nursery grower lawsuits →

Water and land

Where Jaron stands

We need to capture more water when it is available, recharge depleted aquifers and repair the systems communities already depend on.

Make groundwater recharge a statewide infrastructure priority and pay farmers to recharge aquifers.
Require large urban water users to invest upstream in the forests, watersheds and rural infrastructure that supply their water.
Manage forests at the necessary scale with thinning, prescribed fire, cultural burning and grazing, coordinated across federal, state, tribal, local and private land.

Jaron's full platform →

What the record shows

In 2012, Duarte Nursery bought about 450 acres in Tehama County with vernal pools, wetlands and streams feeding the Sacramento River, then had it ripped to plant wheat.
In 2016, a federal judge ruled the work needed a Clean Water Act permit.
In 2017, the company paid $1.1 million in penalties and mitigation, without admitting liability.

The Clean Water Act settlement →

Taxes and who pays

Where Jaron stands

California should reduce costs for people earning $350,000 or less and require those who have benefited most to pay what they actually owe.

Reduce income taxes and unavoidable government costs for working- and middle-class Californians.
Address “buy, borrow, die” strategies that let immense wealth escape ordinary taxation.
Offset regressive gas taxes for rural commuters and working families.

Jaron's full platform →

What the record shows

In 2023, John Duarte voted for H.R. 23 to rescind about $71 billion in IRS funding. The Congressional Budget Office estimated it would add $114 billion to deficits.
Duarte Nursery and three companies tied to John Duarte received $6.1 million in federal pandemic PPP loans. He later said COVID aid that “paid people to stay home” had to end.
His 2022 disclosure lists family assets valued between about $18.6 million and $91.1 million.

The IRS funding vote →The PPP loans →

Money in politics

Where Jaron stands

Trust begins with officials who follow the same rules as everyone else.

Overturn Citizens United, which allows unlimited dark money into our political system.
Prohibit legislators from decisions involving their personal financial interests.
Ban stock ownership by members of the Legislature.

Jaron's full platform →

What the record shows

Duarte says she is running “to be a senator for the people who can't afford to buy one.”
Records show she and John Duarte have given $123,360 to campaigns, party committees and PACs since 2016, including $25,000 in one day to a fund for then-Rep. Devin Nunes.
In John Duarte's first year in Congress, his nursery salary fell to the House limit of $31,815. Hers rose to $783,328, identical to his 2021 salary.

The Duartes' political giving →The salary shift →

Straight talk

Where Jaron stands

Twenty one policy areas with specific positions attached, “drawn from doing the work in county government, not written for a campaign.”

The same platform, published in full, for every voter in all thirteen counties.
Put state government in the district with accessible offices, regular town halls and staff presence across the district.

Jaron's full platform →

What the record shows

Before the primary, her website called her “a conservative Republican” and “unapologetically pro-gun” and pledged to “Make California Great Again.”
By June 4, two days after the primary, it said she was running for “every working Californian, no matter their party.”
As of Oct. 2, the text of her website did not mention Trump, guns or “conservative.”

How her message changed →

Compare the records. Then vote.

If this is the kind of representation you want for District 4, help put Jaron in Sacramento.

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Full sourcing for every record above: Alexandra Duarte's record at DuarteFacts.org