Leticia Castillo (born April 27, 1971) is an American

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

and politician serving as a member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

. She is a Republican representing the 58th district, encompassing parts of

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

and

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County ( ), officially the County of San Bernardino and sometimes abbreviated as S.B. County, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of th ...

. The district includes the cities of Jurupa Valley,

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus or disease responsible for the COVID-19 ...

, Eastvale, Riverside, and Grand Terrace. Prior to her election, she was a psychotherapist in private practice.

Early life and education

Born in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

, Castillo is a first-generation

Mexican American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexico, Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the Unite ...

. She graduated from Lee Pollard High School while simultaneously attending the Corona College of Cosmetology in 1989. She holds a B.S. degree in human services from the

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the Ac ...

, a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in counseling psychology from

National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. In the United States, the term "national university" connotes the highe ...

, and an

associate degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

for social and behavioral studies at

Riverside City College Riverside City College (RCC) is a public community college in Riverside, California. The college is part of the Riverside Community College District, as well as the larger California Community Colleges System. History RCC first opened in 1916 at ...

California State Assembly

Castillo first ran for the

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, placing third in the primary and not advancing to the general election against incumbent

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Sabrina Cervantes Sabrina Cervantes (born October 24, 1987) is an American politician who has served in the California State Senate since 2024, representing the 31st district. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as a member of the California State Ass ...

. In

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, Castillo ran again in the open race to replace Cervantes, who ran for

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

. During the open primary, Castillo ran against Democratic Riverside City Councilmembers Clarissa Cervantes, the sister of Sabrina, and Ronaldo Fierro. Cervantes had out-raised Castillo by $430,928 as of October 19, 2024. After advancing to the general election, Castillo defeated Cervantes by 596 votes. Her victory was seen as a major upset in the blue-leaning district, attributed to the Latino swing towards

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

in the concurrent

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

as well as Cervantes' two arrests for

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI) is the crime of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while one is impaired from doing so safely by the effect of either alcohol (drug), alcohol (see drunk driving) or some other drug, whether re ...

. Cervantes has announced her intention to run again in 2026.

Tenure

In February 2025, Castillo introduced numerous

anti-trans Transphobia consists of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender or transsexual people, or wikt:transness, transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger towards people who do not co ...

bills and promoted the

parental rights movement The parental rights movement is a Social conservatism, socially conservative political movement aimed at restricting schools' ability to teach or practice certain viewpoints on gender, sexuality, and Race (human categorization), race without pa ...

. One bill would state that a parent refusing to use their child's preferred pronouns, chosen name, or allowing their child to access gender-affirming health care is not an act of

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...

and would bar judges from considering whether a parent is gender-affirming in

child custody Child custody is a legal term regarding '' guardianship'' which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of ''legal custody'', which is the ri ...

cases. Another bill would require students to be excused with a parent’s permission from public school curricula, assemblies, or lessons discussing "transgender concepts” and instead provide an alternative educational activity. She also introduced a bill to promote

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, fro ...

as an alternative to

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

with the

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

California Family Council's support. In April, she supported a failed voter ID law which would have required proof of citizenship in order to register to vote as well as requiring a government-issued ID at

polling places A polling place is where voters cast their ballots in elections. The phrase polling station is also used in American English, British English and Canadian English although a polling place is the building and polling station is the specific r ...

and the last four digits of a government ID number on an

absentee ballot Absentee or The Absentee may refer to: * Absentee (band), a British band * The Absentee, a novel by Maria Edgeworth, published in 1812 in ''Tales of Fashionable Life'' * ''The Absentee'' (1915 film), a 1915 American silent film directed by Christy ...

Electoral history

2024

2022

References

California Republicans Living people 21st-century members of the California State Legislature Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California American politicians of Mexican descent 1971 births {{California-politician-stub