15 Races Where Democratic Socialists Can Reshape California Politics

Ten candidates backed by both the California Working Families Party and the Democratic Socialists of America are all but certain to win in November. The open question is how many more will join them.

The two groups are working to pull California's dominant Democratic Party leftward, one race at a time. This fall, their candidates are on the ballot for Congress, the state Senate, the Assembly, insurance commissioner, the Board of Equalization and mayor of four cities, including Los Angeles.

Nationally, most of the DSA's 2026 victories came in closed Democratic primaries, where a small and motivated electorate can carry a race (IVN). California does not hold closed primaries. Under the Top Two system, every voter gets the same ballot, the two highest finishers advance regardless of party, and independents get a say in November.

In several of the state's bluest districts, that produced general elections with two Democrats and no Republican. In those races, a DSA-backed Democrat faces a more mainstream Democrat, and independent and Republican voters will decide between them, if they vote (IVN).

The left's ground game showed its strength in June. Tom Steyer spent more than $200 million of his own money in the governor's race and helped fund the progressive turnout operations that DSA and WFP canvassers run in dense urban neighborhoods. Late mail ballots from those neighborhoods lifted Nithya Raman past Spencer Pratt into the Los Angeles mayoral runoff (IVN).

The 10 Near-Certain Winners

All 10 are Democrats, and nine are incumbents. Each finished first in June, most with more than 60 percent of the vote.

Wahab's race is the closest of the 10. She led the regular primary 34.3 percent to 16.1 percent and then beat BART Director Melissa Hernandez in an August special election to finish former Rep. Eric Swalwell's term (CBS News Bay Area; NBC Bay Area). Wahab was the first Afghan American elected to public office in the United States, when she won a Hayward City Council seat in 2018. The November rematch uses new district lines that add about 26,000 Dublin voters who could not vote in the August special.

Fifteen more candidates backed by both the DSA and the WFP are in closer races. Most are challengers or running for open seats.

1. Insurance Commissioner

The highest office on the progressive left's list this year is insurance commissioner, where Jane Kim faces state Sen. Ben Allen. It is the first time since the office became elected that two Democrats will compete for it (Santa Barbara Independent/CalMatters).

Kim led the June primary with 27.4 percent to Allen's 19.4 percent in certified results (Santa Monica Daily Press).

She is a former San Francisco supervisor and was Bernie Sanders' California political director in 2020 (SPUR). She also led the California Working Families Party and, as its state director, announced the group's endorsement of Mai Vang for Congress last year (Working Families Party).

WFP endorsed Kim in January and pledged a statewide organizing effort (Working Families Party). DSA-LA recommends her, and California DSA lists her as its pick (DSA-LA). Sanders, SEIU California and the California Teachers Association also back her.

Kim proposes "natural disaster insurance for all," a state-run program modeled on New Zealand's, and refuses money from insurance companies and their executives. Allen, who represents Los Angeles's Westside, has called for more oversight of the FAIR Plan.

Most voters have not made up their minds. A recent NBC Los Angeles poll put Kim at nearly 25 percent and Allen at 18 percent, with more than 57 percent undecided (NBC Los Angeles).

A recent IVP survey shows the Kim-Allen race as the most open contest on California's ballot.

The DSA connection may matter. In a split-sample IVP survey, respondents who saw only the candidates' names were divided, with nearly two-thirds undecided. When respondents were told that DSA backs Kim and that Allen is a mainstream Democrat, they favored Allen 36 percent to 23 percent (IVN).

2. Board of Equalization - District 2

Two more candidates backed by both the DSA and WFP are running for the Board of Equalization, the elected panel that oversees property tax assessment and some state taxes.

In District 2, WFP endorses Sally Lieber, and California DSA lists her as its pick (California DSA). Her opponent is John Pimentel. San Francisco groups split along familiar lines: the local Democratic Party and SEIU 1021 back Lieber, while GrowSF and the San Francisco Republican Party back Pimentel (SF Endorsements).

3. Board of Equalization - District 3

In District 3, which covers all of Los Angeles County, Sam Sukaton faces termed-out Assemblymember Mike Gipson, another Democrat. Sukaton is a higher education labor organizer and a DSA-LA member. WFP endorses him, and DSA-LA and California DSA recommend him (California DSA).

Sukaton beat 10 opponents to reach November but trails Gipson, who has Democratic Party and California Labor Federation backing, by about 10 points (DSA-LA).

Congress

Three congressional candidates backed by DSA and WFP face tougher races than Simon and Wahab. Two are challenging Democratic incumbents. The third is trying to unseat a Republican.

4. Sacramento: Vang vs. Matsui

Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang finished first in the June primary in the 7th District with 30.8 percent to Rep. Doris Matsui's 29.1 percent, a margin of 3,510 votes. Matsui led through the first week of counting before late ballots put Vang ahead. It was the first time in more than two decades that Matsui finished behind an opponent in a primary (CapRadio).

Vang, 41, is the daughter of Hmong refugees and a lifelong South Sacramento resident. Matsui, 81, has held the seat since 2005, when she succeeded her late husband, Rep. Bob Matsui (Bangor Daily News/AP).

WFP endorsed Vang in September 2025 and pledged to put its members and resources behind her. Her campaign rejects corporate PAC money (Working Families Party).

Vang has a formal DSA endorsement at the Congressional level. Sacramento DSA endorsed Vang, and California DSA lists Vang as "Endorsed by CA DSA" (California DSA).

5. Central Valley: Villegas vs. Valadao

In the 22nd District, Rep. David Valadao took 40.74 percent in June. Randy Villegas finished second with 32.36 percent, edging out Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains at 26.90 percent. Fewer than 25 percent of registered voters cast ballots (IVN).

Villegas, 31, is a College of the Sequoias political science professor, a Visalia Unified school board member, and the son of Mexican immigrants. He holds a doctorate from UC Santa Cruz and is a UAW member.

WFP endorses him, and the Working Families Party PAC spent $441,035 for him and $232,817 against Bains in the primary. California DSA recommends Villegas and called the race "an easy choice for DSA members." Bernie Sanders, Rep. Ro Khanna, the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Dolores Huerta also back Villegas.

Valadao, a Hanford dairy farmer, has won the seat five times since 2012. He is one of two House Republicans still in office who voted to impeach Donald Trump after Jan. 6.

Prop 50 redrew the district from Trump plus 5.8 points to Trump plus 1.7 points and cut Hanford, Valadao's hometown, out of it, according to the California Target Book. Democrats now lead registration 40.5 percent to 27.6 percent.

Outside groups have spent more than $25 million on ads, making it one of the country's most expensive races.

More than 100,000 district voters belong to neither major party. Their average age is 39, and about 71 percent of those with a known ethnicity are Hispanic. Valadao has never won the seat on Republican votes alone (IVN).

6. Eastside Los Angeles: Gonzales-Torres vs. Gomez

In the 34th District, Rep. Jimmy Gomez took 46.1 percent in June. Angela Gonzales-Torres finished second with 30.6 percent. Both Democrats have advanced to compete against each other in the general (California Secretary of State).

WFP endorses Gonzales-Torres. DSA-LA formally endorsed her, and California DSA recommends her (DSA-LA). She also has the backing of Justice Democrats.

This is a real fight within the left flank of the left flank of the Democratic Party. Rep. Gomez, in Congress since 2017, is deputy whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and is endorsed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The district, which includes Boyle Heights, Eagle Rock and Highland Park, is about 65 percent Latino (The Eastsider).

State Senate

Three state Senate candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists and the WFP are in contested races. Two of them face moderate Democrats in Los Angeles. The third is challenging a Republican incumbent.

7. West LA: Erickson vs. Goldsmith

Senate District 24 runs from Santa Monica and Malibu to the South Bay beach cities. West Hollywood Councilmember John Erickson finished first in June with 20.5 percent, and media consultant Brian Goldsmith was second with 18.3 percent. Erickson ran third on election night and climbed to first as late ballots were counted (Santa Monica Daily Press; IVN).

Two Republicans split their party's vote, leaving no Republican in the top two.

Erickson, 40, is a former West Hollywood mayor and a former vice president at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles. WFP, the California Labor Federation and the California Teachers Association endorse him, and California DSA recommends him as the field's leading progressive. He took just 8 percent at the California Democratic Party's February endorsing convention.

Goldsmith, a journalist and first-time candidate, raised more than $2 million, more than anyone else in the primary. Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Pete Buttigieg, Antonio Villaraigosa, Rick Caruso, and the Teamsters back him.

Democrats outnumber Republicans more than 2 to 1 in the district. But 199,320 of its 665,754 voters belong to neither major party, including about 162,000 No Party Preference voters. The race could be the state's most expensive legislative contest this year (IVN).

8. East LA: Rascón vs. Hernandez

In Senate District 26, Los Angeles Community College District Trustee Sara Hernandez led the June primary with 31.2 percent. Sarah Rascón finished second with 19.4 percent, ahead of former Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo at 13.7 percent (California Secretary of State).

Rascón grew up in El Sereno and most recently directed county and regional affairs for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. She supports single-payer health care through CalCare, repealing the Ellis Act and Costa-Hawkins and reforming Prop 13 (IVN).

WFP and the New Deal Democrats endorse Rascon. DSA-LA recommends Rascon and notes she has since won endorsements from Carrillo, fellow primary candidate Maebe Pudlo, and Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, who holds the seat now (DSA-LA).

Hernandez, a former middle school teacher and an attorney, is backed by the California Teachers Association, the California Labor Federation, and many sitting state senators.

The district includes Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, Highland Park, Los Feliz and Koreatown. It has the highest concentration of DSA-LA members in Southern California. Democrats hold just under 60 percent of registrations and Republicans 11 percent, leaving 144,000 voters registered with neither party, nearly three times the Republican electorate (IVN).

9. Placer County & Sacramento County: Frame vs. Niello

In Senate District 6, Republican Sen. Roger Niello took 56.2 percent in June. Sean Frame finished second with 28.5 percent, and fellow Democrat Sara Velasco took 15.3 percent (Critical Report).

Frame is a union leader at the Sacramento County Office of Education, a former school board member and a Sacramento DSA member. WFP endorses Frame, and California DSA recommends Frame (California DSA).

The district has long been Republican. Even with Velasco's share added to Frame's, Democrats took less than 44 percent in June.

Assembly

Four Assembly candidates backed by Democratic Socialists and WFP are in competitive races. Two face moderate Democrats for open seats. Two are trying to take seats Republicans hold now. A fifth DSA-backed candidate in the South Bay lacks WFP's endorsement.

10. Marin and Sonoma: Elward vs. Lucan

In Assembly District 12, Marin County Supervisor Eric Lucan led the June primary with 28.28 percent. Rohnert Park Councilmember Jackie Elward finished second with 22.58 percent, ahead of Republican Eryn Cervantes at 19.4 percent. Elward ran third until late ballots were counted (IVN).

The seat is open because Assemblymember Damon Connolly is running for state Senate. Connolly endorses Elward.

Elward grew up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2020, she became the first Black woman elected to the Rohnert Park City Council, and she later served as mayor. Lucan is president of the Marin County Board of Supervisors and a former Novato mayor.

WFP endorses Elward, and Sonoma County DSA and California DSA recommend Elward. The California Labor Federation, the California Teachers Association, 21 unions, and Rep. Mike Thompson also back her.

Rep. Jared Huffman, five sitting supervisors, the Marin Independent Journal, and Grow California also back Lucan.

The two split sharply on artificial intelligence and taxes. Elward wants a statewide moratorium on new AI data centers and helped gather signatures for Prop 40, the billionaire tax. Lucan favors state guardrails on AI and opposes Prop 40. Labor groups have sent mailers tying Lucan to Big Tech.

Democrats hold 57.9 percent of registration and Republicans 15.5 percent, leaving about 81,800 voters registered with neither party (IVN).

11. Coachella Valley: Namvar vs. Wallis

In Assembly District 47, Republican Assemblymember Greg Wallis took 48.1 percent in June. Leila Namvar finished second with 32.3 percent, and fellow Democrat Jason Byors took 19.5 percent (The Ballot Brief).

The two Democrats on the June ballot combined for 51.8 percent. Wallis won the seat in 2022 by less than one-tenth of a percentage point (Idyllwild Town Crier).

Namvar is an Iranian immigrant who has worked for the city of Indio since 2005. She would be the first Muslim and first Iranian American to represent the district (The New Arab).

WFP endorses Namvar, and the California Democratic Party endorsed her after the primary (California Democratic Party). California DSA recommends Namvar as "the clear choice of labor" and notes her past as a chapter president of SEIU 721 (California DSA).

12. Orange County: Lopez vs. Penaloza

In Assembly District 68, Santa Ana Councilmember David Penaloza led the June primary with 32.5 percent. Fellow Councilmember Jessie Lopez took 31.4 percent, ahead of Republican Mayra Ruiz at 29.4 percent. Lopez was third on election night and moved into second as late ballots were counted (The Ballot Brief; JoinCalifornia).

Because both serve on the same council, voters can compare their records directly. Lopez cast the deciding vote on Santa Ana's 2021 rent control ordinance, the first in Orange County, and supported a failed measure allowing noncitizens to vote in city elections. Penaloza opposed both. In 2023, DSA chapters helped Lopez defeat a recall, 56 percent to 44 percent.

WFP endorses Lopez, as do Bernie Sanders, Our Revolution, SEIU California and UFCW 324. California DSA recommends Lopez. The California Democratic Party, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, outgoing Assemblymember Avelino Valencia, and most of the state's public safety unions back Penaloza.

Democrats hold 48 percent of registration and Republicans 22 percent, leaving about 68,000 voters registered with neither party. The majority-Latino district covers parts of Santa Ana, Anaheim, and Orange (IVN).

13. Coastal Orange County: Kluwe vs. Van Der Mark

In Assembly District 72, former Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe led the June primary with 43.8 percent. Huntington Beach Councilmember Gracey Van Der Mark, a Republican and former mayor, finished second with 37.7 percent, and Republican Matthew Harper took 16.4 percent (The Ballot Brief).

The seat, which runs from Seal Beach to Laguna Beach, is open because Republican Assemblymember Diane Dixon is leaving. Kluwe led in June, but the two Republicans on the ballot combined for 54.1 percent.

WFP endorses Kluwe. California DSA recommends Kluwe "enthusiastically" and calls the district a potential pickup for the left. The California Democratic Party and the California Labor Federation also back Kluwe (California DSA).

14. South Bay: Deen vs. Seo

In Assembly District 66, Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor Paul Seo led the June primary with 26.6 percent, and Sara Deen took 24.6 percent. Deen ran third on election night and passed Republican Jessica Zonia Maldonado for second four days later (The Ballot Brief; JoinCalifornia).

California DSA recommends Deen, but the Working Families Party does not list her on its endorsement list. This is the one competitive legislative race in this story where DSA backs a candidate without WFP support.

Deen is a Pakistani American dentist and president of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District board. She has faced calls to resign from that board over her social media posts about the Israel-Hamas war. The California Teachers Association and Indivisible South Bay endorse her.

Seo is a deputy state attorney general, an Army veteran and a former Los Angeles County prosecutor. The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and several law enforcement associations back him.

The seat is open. Democrats hold 43 percent of registration and Republicans 27 percent, leaving about 97,000 voters registered with neither party (IVN).

Mayor

Four mayoral candidates hold both WFP endorsements and formal DSA endorsements. The biggest prize is Los Angeles.

15. Los Angeles: Raman vs. Bass

Mayor Karen Bass led the June primary with 34.3 percent. City Councilmember Nithya Raman finished second with 29.0 percent, ahead of Republican Spencer Pratt at 25.5 percent (Santa Monica Daily Press).

Raman trailed by eight points on election night. She climbed from third to second over five days as late mail ballots arrived from neighborhoods targeted by the DSA and WFP ground operation (IVN).

That result changed the race. CNN's Harry Enten cited June polling showing Bass would have beaten Pratt by 18 points but trailed Raman by four.

Raman is a DSA member (IVN). DSA-LA formally endorsed Raman after 65.9 percent of roughly 1,427 voting members approved, and WFP endorses Raman (DSA-LA). UNITE HERE Local 11, UAW Region 6 and the Western States Carpenters also back Raman. The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and the county Democratic Party also endorse Bass.

Raman has served on the City Council since 2020 and was the first DSA-LA-endorsed candidate to win a council seat. She is running on renter protections and a plan to cut homelessness in half.

A Raman win would put a DSA member in charge of the country's second-largest city, joining New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Richmond, El Cajon and Vista

In Richmond, East Bay DSA and WFP both endorse City Councilmember Claudia Jimenez, whom the chapter describes as a member (East Bay DSA Organizer). Jimenez advanced from the June primary, and both mayoral candidates from that race are on the November ballot (East Bay DSA). As of 2024, Richmond was the only city in the country where a majority of the council were DSA members or endorsees (California DSA).

In San Diego County, DSA San Diego endorsed two mayoral candidates with WFP backing and runs biweekly canvasses for both (DSA San Diego).

In El Cajon, the DSA describes Alexander Kraft as a native of the city, a labor organizer, and a former educator. His platform includes a city minimum wage, an audit of police cooperation with ICE, and a community response team for mental health calls.

In Vista, Kenneth Zuniga is a DSA member and former co-chair of the chapter's North County branch. He serves on the city's homelessness commission and has organized to keep ICE out of city facilities.

Independents Hold the Deciding Vote

In the closest of these races, the margin is smaller than the number of voters who belong to neither major party.

Registration figures come from votercount.ai, as reported in IVN's district coverage and cited in each race above.

Voter Count | Talk to the data. Understand the electorate.

Ask questions in natural language and explore L2 voter data through a conversational research experience. Registration, turnout, and district profiles in aggregate — never individual records.

Voter Count

These voters have historically turned out at low rates. In Congressional District 22, only 16.7 percent of unaffiliated voters cast ballots in the 2022 midterm (IVN).

The IVP survey suggests how they may react to a DSA connection. In the insurance commissioner race, nearly half of independents stayed undecided even after hearing which candidate DSA backs (IVN).

Will the Others join the 10?

If every DSA- and WFP-backed candidate wins, the number holding these offices would grow from 10 to 25.

Most of the change would happen inside the Democratic Party, not between the parties. Eight races are contests between two Democrats: insurance commissioner, Board of Equalization District 3, Congressional Districts 7 and 34, Senate Districts 24 and 26, and Assembly Districts 12 and 68. In those races, the results will decide which party wing holds the seat. Two races pit challengers against sitting members of Congress, Matsui and Gomez.

Four races could flip Republican seats to the DSA: Congressional District 22, Senate District 6 and Assembly Districts 47 and 72.

A Raman win would put a longtime DSA member in charge of the state's largest city.

Six of the 15 hold formal DSA endorsements: Vang, Gonzales-Torres, Raman, Jimenez, Kraft and Zuniga. The rest are recommended by DSA. A Deen win would add a 10th DSA-backed member to the Assembly.

The party establishment has noticed. California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks has worked to end the Top Two system that forces these intraparty fights into the November election (IVN).

Want to Know More?

"Assessing East Bay DSA's Electoral Work." California DSA, californiadsa.org.

"California 2026 Primary Voter Guide." California DSA, accessed 6 Oct. 2026, californiadsa.org.

"California Assembly District 47," "66," "68," and "72" and "California Senate District 26." The Ballot Brief, accessed 6 Oct. 2026, theballotbrief.com.

"California DSA's Voting Group Recommendations." Sway, accessed 6 Oct. 2026, sway.co.

"California Democratic Party Announces Endorsements for Statewide, Congressional and State Legislature Candidates." California Democratic Party, cadem.org.

"California Working Families Party Endorses Mai Vang in CA-7." Working Families Party, Sept. 2025, workingfamilies.org.

"Electoral Strategy." East Bay DSA, accessed 6 Oct. 2026, eastbaydsa.org.

"Endorsements." DSA San Diego, accessed 6 Oct. 2026, dsasandiego.org.

"Jessie Lopez." JoinCalifornia, accessed 6 Oct. 2026, joincalifornia.com.

"Sara Deen." JoinCalifornia, accessed 6 Oct. 2026, joincalifornia.com.

"2026 DSA-LA General Voter Guide." DSA-LA, accessed 6 Oct. 2026, voterguide.dsa-la.org.

"WFP Endorses Jane Kim for California Insurance Commissioner." Working Families Party, 21 Jan. 2026, workingfamilies.org.