DSA-L.A. announces first endorsements for the 2026 elections

This week, the Los Angeles Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA-LA) announced the organization's first phase of endorsements for next year's elections. 

The organization, with over 70,000 members nationally, looks to build progressive movements for social change while establishing a democratic socialist presence in communities and politics, as stated on their website. 

On Wednesday, DSA-LA announced the endorsement of four candidates running in the November 2026 election, some incoming and others existing incumbents in the City of L.A. City Council, including Eunisses Hernandez (CD-1), Estuardo Mazariegos (CD-9) and Faizah Malik (CD-11), as well as Rocío Rivas (LAUSD School Board, District 2).

“When our members get behind a candidate, we’re committing to put in hundreds of hours knocking doors, fundraising, making calls and getting the word out,” Marc Krause, DSA-LA co-chair, said.

As stated by DSA-LA, endorsed candidates must pledge to not take corporate, real estate, fossil fuel or police union donations; commit to advancing and fighting for universal programs paid for by taxing the rich and recapturing the wealth generated by workers; use their office to draw attention to issues affecting the multi-racial working class in L.A. County and California; and, if elected, “continue to work with DSA-LA and its other elected politicians to organize a working-class majority and demand socialism in our city and county.”

Hernandez, who is running for reelection as councilmember for L.A.’s District 1, which encompasses Cypress Park, Highland Park, Echo Park, Westlake, Lincoln Heights, Pico Union, Koreatown, Mid Cities and MacArthur Park, among other neighborhoods, is one of the individuals being endorsed by the organization. 

The daughter of Mexican immigrants and co-founder of La Defensx, an organization dedicated to shifting the county’s reliance on criminalization and incarceration towards systems of care, 

she took office in 2022.DSA-LA attributes the endorsement for Hernandez to her work in the city’s council, including, as they stated, her efforts to pass the strongest tenant protections in 40 years, authoring the Sanctuary City Ordinance and her commitment to interim and permanent housing initiatives. 

“I’m very proud of the support of DSA-LA,” Hernandez told CALÓ News on Thursday morning. “There are a lot of people I connect with there; we believe the same things. We believe that everyone should have housing, we believe that our budget should meet the desires and values of our city and that we should be listening to the working class and working families to see how we can better people's lives.” 

Mazariego, who is running for City Council District 9, is also being endorsed by the organization.  

Mazariegos has worked with local tenant organizing groups and coalitions—including DSA-LA, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) and the Keep LA Housed (KLAH) Coalition. He is looking to be elected to the city council seat that is currently being held by incumbent Curren Price since 2013. 

As Price leaves office, DSA-LA believes Mazariegos’s campaign offers a unique opportunity for the organization to build deeper relationships and broaden its engagement with communities of color in South Central L.A. “The field for CD-9 is deeply fragmented, with six candidates in the race and existing political forces divided between them. DSA-LA plans to enact a socialist, left-labor campaign to support Mazareigos—a longtime organizer and DSA member with a strong base—to win the open primary and consolidate the support of the rest of the insurgents,” DSA-LA stated. 

Mazariego expressed his gratitude for the endorsement of DSA-LA via a statement. “Whenever there's a choice between working people and moneyed interests, there's never a doubt about whose side DSA-LA is on,” he said. “It means a lot to me that in this race, they're on mine.” 

According to Mazariego, DSA-LA has been present many times in which South Central has gone to city hall to mobilize to protect public education, hold Amazon accountable and demand rent and housing justice.  

“DSA-LA understands solidarity and demonstrates it constantly,” he said. “I've been grateful for DSA-LA's partnership on these and so many more key working-class policy wins, for their unwavering presence on strike lines and for our shared efforts to elect bold, progressive leaders. It's exciting and humbling to have their endorsement.” 

Civil rights attorney Malik is also among those endorsed by the organization. She announced her candidacy in May for L.A. City Council District 11, challenging incumbent councilwoman Traci Park. Malik is the managing attorney at Public Counsel and was born and raised in Southern California to South Asian Muslim immigrants.  

“Her decades of experience as an advocate, public interest attorney, and government attorney have prepared her for the task of building the change we need to see citywide and on the Westside,” DSA-LA stated. “Malik has a strong history of crafting and advocating for specific legislative reforms and interventions and, importantly, is a Muslim woman who supports the human rights of Palestinians and a ceasefire resolution.”

DSA-LA is also continuing its endorsement for Rivas for the LAUSD School Board, District 2. Rivas immigrated to the United States from Mexico at the age of two, attended LAUSD schools, graduated from Reseda High School and is the mother of a current LAUSD student.

“In the 2022 election cycle, DSA-LA endorsed Rivas’s successful first campaign, ensuring an anti-privatization and pro-public education voice on the LAUSD school board. Rivas has been a local DSA member since 2020 and has actively engaged with the chapter’s Green New Deal for Public Schools campaign,” DSA-LA stated. “LAUSD is the second-largest school district in the country and is a crucial public service that must be defended. If Rivas is re-elected in 2026, DSA-LA looks forward to continued collaboration with LAUSD, particularly around housing and immigration issues.”

The first phase of DSA-LA’s endorsement process focused on L.A. city candidates; additional endorsements for candidates in other municipalities and the state legislature will be announced in November 2025 and June 2026.  Past DSA-LA–backed wins include Councilmembers Nithya Raman (CD 4), Hugo Soto-Martínez (CD 13), Ysabel Jurado (CD 14) and Hernandez.