Huntington Beach’s Dom Jones pivots into State Assembly District 72 race

She was aiming for Washington, D.C., but now she has her sights set on Sacramento.

Dom Jones has pivoted from a crowded Congressional District 47 race into the contest for State Assembly District 72, she said Saturday.

The community activist from Huntington Beach is the only Democrat in the District 72 race and will contest incumbent Diane Dixon, a Republican from Newport Beach.

“I could not have asked for a more perfect outcome,” Jones said. “It’s absolutely phenomenal how it all turned on its head. I’ve been in this race for 10 months, and my opponents have been able to out-raise me. But what kept me contending and on every stage with them was my entertainment and media platform. People know who I am because of my public community image that I’ve built of being for everyone and with everyone. Every stage we were on, it was incredible, and people could see that I’m a real candidate.”

Assembly District 72 encompasses mostly coastal Orange County, including Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach and Seal Beach, as well as Aliso Viejo, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills and Laguna Woods.

Jones exits a crowded Congressional District 47 race that includes fellow Democrats Dave Min, currently a state senator, and Joanna Weiss, as well as former state Assemblyman and Republican Scott Baugh. As the only current Democratic candidate in Assembly District 72, Jones would have a clear path through the primaries and into the general election.

Jones, who owns a gym in Huntington Beach, is running for public office for the first time. She has previously been a candidate for the Huntington Beach City Council seat vacated by Tito Ortiz in 2021, which Rhonda Bolton eventually filled via appointment.

She said she wants to spearhead fundraising efforts and to engage the younger demographics, including Gen Z and millennials.