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Jasmeet Bains

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Jasmeet Bains
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 35th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 5, 2022
Preceded byRudy Salas
Personal details
Born (1985-07-02) July 2, 1985 (age 39)
Delano, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationIllinois Institute of Technology (BS)
American University of Antigua (MD)

Jasmeet Kaur Bains (born July 2, 1985) is an American physician and politician serving as a member of the California State Assembly for the 35th district since 2022. Bains is often described as one of the more moderate Democrats in the Assembly and is the first South Asian American woman and Sikh American elected to the body.[1][2][3]

Early life and education

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Bains was born in Delano, California, to Sikh immigrants from India, where her father started as an auto mechanic then owned car dealerships and her mother was a bookkeeper. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 2006 and a Doctor of Medicine from the American University of Antigua in 2013.[4]

Career

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Bains was working at her father’s Chevrolet dealership in Taft, California, at the beginning of the Great Recession and was inspired to go into the medical field after witnessing her rural community's healthcare system breakdown.[5]

From 2015 to 2018, Bains was a resident physician at Clinica Sierra Vista in Bakersfield, California. She worked as a family medicine physician at Omni Family Health from 2018 to 2020. In 2017, Bains was appointed to the California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission by California Governor Jerry Brown. She also served as a member of the California Developmental Services Taskforce and as a volunteer physician for the California Emergency Medical Services Authority.[6]

California State Assembly

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Elections

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Bains was first elected to the California State Assembly for the 35th district in November 2022, defeating fellow Democrat Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez with 60% of the vote.[7] The district is majority Latino and located within Kern County.

She was re-elected in 2024, defeating Republican candidate Robert Rosas with 57% of the vote.[8]

The San Joaquin Valley Sun reported in April 2025 that Bains was "actively being recruited by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and some California House Democrats to run against [David] Valadao" in the 2026 United States House of Representatives election.[9] A month later, Bains appeared in an independent expenditure political advertisement calling for Valadao to vote against funding cuts to Medi-Cal, aired by a political action committee funded by SEIU CA and local healthcare and homecare unions.[10][11]

Tenure

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In August 2023, Bains passed a bill recognizing the 1984 Sikh genocide and received numerous threats afterwards.[1] She also co-sponsored state senator Aisha Wahab's SB 403 which would ban caste discrimination.[12]

Oil and gas

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Bains has voted against numerous Democratic proposals and with Republicans on bills that would harm the California oil and gas industry.[3] In April 2023, Speaker Anthony Rendon removed Bains from the Assembly Business and Professions Committee after she was the lone Democrat to vote against a bill targeting oil companies over gas price gouging.[2] She was reinstated a month later and stated that her vote represented Kern County's interests as an oil-producing region.[13]

Healthcare

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In September 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Bains' "Grow Our Own" bill which would mandate and establish a new funding pool for the creation of a new University of California medical school located in Kern County to address healthcare disparities in the region.[14] In April 2025, Bains stated "I am completely offended by the comments made about healthcare for undocumented immigrants...The idea that covering undocumented healthcare will increase healthcare costs is a completely nonsensical argument" after Republicans argued for cutting Medi-Cal access to undocumented immigrants.[15]

Public safety

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Bains broke from the California Democratic Party and supported Proposition 36 in 2024, which would increase penalties for certain theft and drug offenses.[16]

In April 2025, Bains introduced a bill to raise the minimum sentencing of child torture from seven to twenty years.[17] In May, Bains wrote a letter to the California Attorney General's office questioning why the former Kern County Supervisor Zack Scrivner was charged with child cruelty and possession of an assault rifle instead of child sexual abuse charges.[18] The California Department of Justice responded saying that it only filed charges that could be proven "beyond a reasonable doubt."[19]

Electoral history

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2024

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2024 California State Assembly election in California's 35th State Assembly district
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jasmeet Bains (incumbent) 20,183 57.0
Republican Robert Rosas 15,254 43.0
Total votes 35,437 100.0
General election
Democratic Jasmeet Bains (incumbent) 59,454 57.6
Republican Robert Rosas 43,821 42.4
Total votes 103,275 100.0
Democratic hold

2022

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2022 California State Assembly election in California's 35th State Assembly district
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Leticia Perez 14,101 50.5
Democratic Jasmeet Bains 13,812 49.5
Total votes 27,913 100.0
General election
Democratic Jasmeet Bains 35,997 60.3
Democratic Leticia Perez 23,707 39.7
Total votes 59,704 100.0
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ a b Lynch, Sarah; Lone, Wa; Garcia, Jorge (August 13, 2024). "Sikh activists in US, Canada face threats a year after Trudeau linked leader's killing to India". Reuters. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  2. ^ a b Stevens, Celine (April 1, 2023). "Bakersfield Assemblywoman kicked off committee following gas gouging bill vote". KBAK-TV. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  3. ^ a b White, Jeremy (October 10, 2024). "The Democrats who passed on gas". Politico. Retrieved May 14, 2025. Soria and fellow moderate Democrat Jasmeet Bains defected even before they got to the bill. They voted with Republicans — and against the recommendation from Rivas' team — on a procedural motion to accept Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher's proposed amendments streamlining oil and gas infrastructure development.
  4. ^ Franco, Jose (October 29, 2024). "Get to know the candidates: We sent candidates for the California Assembly District 35 seat a questionnaire. Here's how they responded". KGET-TV. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  5. ^ Mooney, Suzanne (May 23, 2024). "Hometown Doctor Fighting for Healthcare Change". MedCentral. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  6. ^ Morgen, Sam. "Bakersfield doctor Jasmeet Bains announces run for State Assembly". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  7. ^ "Perez concedes race for the 35th District to political newcomer Bains". KBAK-TV. November 23, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  8. ^ Paronyan, Mary (December 13, 2024). "Dr. Jasmeet Bains begins second term, vows continued advocacy for Kern County needs". KBAK-TV. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  9. ^ Gligich, Daniel (April 14, 2025). "Democrats want to oust Valadao in 2026. They can't agree on the right candidate to do it". The San Joaquin Valley Sun. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  10. ^ Jones, Blake; Gardiner, Dustin (May 14, 2025). "Not-so-happy deficit day, everyone". Politico. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  11. ^ Huh, Jenny (May 19, 2025). "Another 2026 congressional candidate? Breaking down Asm. Dr. Jasmeet Bains' healthcare ad". KGET-TV. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  12. ^ La, Lynn (June 8, 2023). "Why is California caste discrimination bill causing such a ruckus?". CalMatters. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  13. ^ White, Jeremy (May 4, 2023). "California Democratic lawmaker returns to committee after ouster for opposing party-backed penalty on oil profits". Politico. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  14. ^ Payerchin, Richard (September 30, 2024). "California moves forward with legislation to create new medical school". Health Economics. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  15. ^ Webster, Keeley (April 14, 2025). "California lawmakers approve $2.8 billion to rescue Medi-Cal". The Bond Buyer. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  16. ^ Gligich, Daniel (August 20, 2024). "Calif. Democrats split on Prop 36". The San Joaquin Valley Sun. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  17. ^ Morley, Veronica (April 8, 2025). "Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains looking to increase penalties for child torture". KERO-TV. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  18. ^ Kotowski, Jason (May 7, 2025). "Asm. Dr. Jasmeet Bains questions why Scrivner doesn't face child sex abuse charges". KGET-TV. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  19. ^ Huh, Jenny (May 8, 2025). "CA DOJ responds to Asm. Dr. Bains' questions on lack of sex abuse charges against Scrivner". KGET-TV. Retrieved May 14, 2025.,
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