Sara H. Deen, a Democrat, is running for California State Assembly District 66 in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. She faces Paul Seo, also a Democrat.

Deen, a dentist and South Bay resident since 2014, said on her campaign website that she wants to expand access to affordable health care, tackle rising costs and stabilize the state budget.

Candidate information

  • Name: Sara H. Deen
  • Party: Democratic
  • Office sought: California State Assembly, District 66
  • Election date: Nov. 3, 2026
  • Ballot status: Certified for the ballot
  • Education: Bachelor's degree in molecular and cell biology, University of California, Berkeley (2001); doctorate in dentistry, University of California San Francisco (2006); advanced dentistry, University of California Los Angeles School of Dentistry (2014), according to Deen's campaign and BallotReady profile data
  • Residence: South Bay (since 2014), according to her campaign website

Deen said she grew up in California to immigrant parents focused on education and financial stability. She said she and her siblings spent weeknights being tutored by their father and weekends accompanying their parents as they performed maintenance repairs at their single-family rental home.

Experience and public service

Deen serves as a board member on the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School Board, a position she has held since 2022, according to BallotReady. She also serves as a board member at the Southern California Regional Occupational Center (SoCal ROC), according to her campaign.

Deen said she co-owns an urgent care clinic in Torrance and previously taught at the UCLA Advanced Dentistry Program. She said she served as president of the South Coast Interfaith Council in 2020. In 2019, Deen said she was honored in the California State Legislature as "Woman of the Year" by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi for her interfaith and community work in the South Bay.

Deen said she facilitated a Jewish-Muslim conflict resolution high school leadership training program from 2021 to 2023. She also said she served as an advisory board member for the Gardena High School Global Business Magnet Program in 2024.

On the issues

The following positions are drawn from Deen's responses on her campaign website.

Health care: Deen said she wants to expand access to quality, affordable health care, including mental health and substance abuse treatment, by removing barriers to care.

Economy: Deen said she wants to ensure accountability in the utility and insurance industries while streamlining permitting and reducing regulations she described as unnecessary red tape, to make it easier and more affordable to start a business or build in communities. She said she would maintain strong environmental and safety protections.

Taxes and budget: Deen said she wants to stabilize the state budget, close what she called unfair tax loopholes and pursue responsible new sources of non-tax revenue.

Education: Deen said she wants to make sure every student, teacher and school has the tools and support they need to thrive.

Government reform: Deen said she wants to stand up to extremism and division, reduce the influence of special interests in elections and ensure government reflects the values and needs of everyday families.

Endorsements

Deen has received endorsements from the California Teachers' Association, the California School Employees Association, the American Nurses Association of California, the California Women's List, the National Women's Political Caucus of California, Indian American Impact, 314 Action and Initiate Justice Action, according to BallotReady and Initiate Justice Action.

Candidate information was gathered from BallotReady, Deen's campaign website and publicly available records. Voters can find more information at saradeenforca.com.