Heath Flora

On July 19, 1983, Flora was born in Stanislaus County, California.^[4]

Flora served for over 15 years as a volunteer fire fighter.^[5] From 2005 to 2007, Flora was a firefighter with the California Department Forestry and Fire Protection.^[6] Flora is a businessman and owner of Golden Valley Equipment.^[6]

In 2016, Flora's political career began when he ran for the California State Assembly to succeed fellow Republican Kristen Olsen, who ran successfully for the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors. In a surprise, he won the election and became a Republican member of California State Assembly for District 12, encompassing part of the San Joaquin Valley. Flora defeated Ken Vogel, a former San Joaquin County Supervisor, with 52.2% of the votes in an upset.^[6][7][8]

On November 6, 2018, as an incumbent, Flora won the election and continued serving District 12. Flora defeated Robert D. Chase with 60% of the votes.^[9][10]

In Flora's first term as a member of the Assembly, Flora authored seven bills that were ultimately signed into law,^[11] including bills to develop a firefighter pre-apprenticeship program^[12] and to reduce the impact of property taxes on new construction.^[13]

In 2020, Flora was reelected with 67% over Lathrop City Councilman Paul Akinjo.

In November 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Heath Flora travelled to Hawaii to attend a conference with 120 other people.^[14]

Following the 2022 sale of his Ripon home, Flora registered to vote at his parents’ property in Modesto. However, reports indicated the property, also registered to his family’s business, was occupied by relatives while Flora resided in Sacramento. Because his Modesto registration is over 50 miles from the Capitol, Flora was eligible for taxpayer-funded tax-free per diem stipends, receiving $42,416 in 2024.^[15]

In 2024, Flora spent $606,213 from his campaign account, a significant portion of which was used for meals in Sacramento and travel to Las Vegas. While labeled as "district meetings" in campaign finance filings, many of these expenditures occurred on weekends or during legislative recess at locations outside of Flora’s district.^[16][17]

In July 2025, the Assembly Republican caucus voted unanimously to make Flora the next Republican leader, succeeding term-limited minority leader James Gallagher when he resigns on September 16, 2025.^[18]