If recent history is any guide, few races in the Coachella Valley will be closer than that in the 47th Assembly District.
This year’s race pits incumbent Republican Greg Wallis, who is seeking a third term in Sacramento, against a new opponent: Democrat Leila Namvar.
Namvar works as a public arts analyst for the City of Indio and was previously a planner for the city. She formerly served as the president of the union representing municipal employees in Indio and has emphasized her labor and union credentials in her campaign.
Wallis, meanwhile, previously worked for then-Assemblymember Chad Mayes before he first ran for assembly in 2022. He has positioned himself as an independent and pragmatic assemblymember with a moderate voting record.
Wallis
ran against then-Palm Springs City Councilmember Christy Holstege in his first two assembly races, eking out fairly close wins both times. The 2022 race generated national headlines when Wallis defeated Holstege by just 85 votes in the closest assembly race in decades.
As of late 2025, about 39% of registered voters in the district were registered Democrats while about 34% were registered Republicans. However, Democrats also held party registration advantages in the previous two cycles that Wallis ultimately won in.
The district includes much of the Coachella Valley's western half and also sprawls north, east and west, covering Yucca Valley, Beaumont, Banning and Idyllwild, among other communities.
Many voters in Assembly District 47 have received a flurry of campaign mailers supporting and denouncing both candidates, which have generally been paid for by independent groups, not the candidates themselves. Many of the anti-Wallis mailers have focused on campaign donations he took from oil and utility companies, including one alleging he took a trip to Maui on the oil and gas industry's dime. Meanwhile, the anti-Namvar mailers have condemned the Democrat for being endorsed in the race by the Democrat Socialists of America and describe her as supporting a radical tax increase plan.
Ahead of the Nov. 3 election, The Desert Sun interviewed Wallis and Namvar, asking each candidate the same four questions about why they were running and what they hoped to accomplish in Sacramento.
Videos of those interviews are below.
Greg Wallis, Assembly District 47
Leila Namvar, Assembly District 47
Paul Albani-Burgio covers growth, development and business in the Coachella Valley. Email him at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Can Democrat Leila Namvar oust Republican Greg Wallis from assembly?
