Equality California endorses and supports 100% pro-equality candidates — up and down the ballot — fighting for LGBTQ+ civil rights, reproductive freedom and social justice. Use our official Pro-Equality Voter Guide below to make a plan to vote!
Equality California will begin our endorsement process for candidates with a June 2026 primary election in the Fall of 2025, and will continue endorsing candidates on a rolling basis through the Spring of 2026. Candidates who are interested in our endorsement should contact Lauren Cazares, Associate Director of Political Affairs, at lauren@eqca.org OR Tom Temprano, Managing Director, at tom@eqca.org as early as possible to inform us of your candidacy.
Equality California endorses viable candidates running for local office, statewide offices, the state legislature and Congress who have a proven track record of supporting equal rights and legal protections for LGBTQ+ Californians and who are committed to advancing these goals in their capacity as elected officials.
Except in rare circumstances, Equality California only endorses openly LGBTQ+ candidates in local school board races, with the goal of supporting the careers of exceptional leaders in our community to build and develop a bench of strong openly LGBTQ+ leaders and candidates for higher office.
In races for California Assembly and Senate, the United States House of Representatives and Senate and California State Constitutional Offices, Equality California considers endorsement of all candidates — those who are openly LGBTQ+ and pro-equality allies — who meet our screening and endorsement criteria.
Congressional District 1: Mike McGuire Congressional District 2: Jared Huffman Congressional District 3: Ami Bera Congressional District 4: Mike Thompson Congressional District 6: Dr. Richard Pan Congressional District 7: Doris Matsui Congressional District 8: John Garamendi Congressional District 9: Josh Harder Congressional District 10: Mark DeSaulnier Congressional District 11: Scott Wiener Congressional District 12: Lateefah Simon Congressional District 14: Aisha Wahab Congressional District 15: Kevin Mullin Congressional District 16: Sam Liccardo Congressional District 17: Ro Khanna Congressional District 18: Zoe Lofgren Congressional District 19: Jimmy Panetta Congressional District 21: Jim Costa Congressional District 22: Jasmeet Bains Congressional District 24: Salud Carbajal Congressional District 25: Raul Ruiz Congressional District 26: Jacqui Irwin Congressional District 27: George Whitesides Congressional District 28: Judy Chu Congressional District 29: Luz Rivas Congressional District 30: Laura Friedman Congressional District 31: Gil Cisneros Congressional District 32: Brad Sherman Congressional District 33: Pete Aguilar Congressional District 34: Jimmy Gomez Congressional District 35: Norma Torres Congressional District 36: Ted Lieu Congressional District 37: Sydney Kamlager-Dove Congressional District 38: Hilda Solis Congressional District 39: Mark Takano Congressional District 41: Linda Sánchez Congressional District 42: Robert Garcia Congressional District 43: Maxine Waters Congressional District 44: Nanette Barragán Congressional District 45: Derek Tran Congressional District 46: Lou Correa Congressional District 47: Dave Min Congressional District 48: Marni von Wilpert Congressional District 49: Mike Levin Congressional District 50: Scott Peters Congressional District 51: Sara Jacobs Congressional District 52: Juan Vargas
Governor: Xavier Becerra Lieutenant Governor: Fiona Ma Secretary of State: Shirley Weber Attorney General: Rob Bonta Treasurer: Eleni Kounalakis State Superintendent of Public Instruction: Al Muratsuchi Controller: Malia Cohen Board of Equalization, District 1: Nelson Esparza Board of Equalization, District 2: Sally Lieber Board of Equalization, District 3: Mike Gipson Board of Equalization, District 4: Tom Umberg
Senate District 2: Damon Connolly Senate District 4: Jaron Brandon Senate District 8: Angelique Ashby Senate District 14: Esmeralda Soria Senate District 16: Melissa Hurtado Senate District 18: Steve Padilla Senate District 20: Caroline Menjivar Senate District 22: Susan Rubio Senate District 24: John Erickson and Ellen Evans (dual endorsement) Senate District 26: Juan Camacho Senate District 28: Lola Smallwood-Cuevas Senate District 30: Bob Archuleta Senate District 34: Avelino Valencia Senate District 36: Chris Duncan Senate District 38: Catherine Blakespear Senate District 40: Mara Elliott
California State Assembly
Assembly District 2: Chris Rogers Assembly District 4: Cecilia Aguiar-Curry Assembly District 5: Neva Parker Assembly District 6: Maggy Krell Assembly District 7: Amy Slavensky Assembly District 9: Matthew Adams Assembly District 11: Lori Wilson Assembly District 12: Eli Beckman and Holli Thier (dual endorsement) Assembly District 13: Rhodesia Ransom Assembly District 14: Buffy Wicks Assembly District 15: Anamarie Ávila Farías, Assembly District 16: Rebecca Bauer-Kahan Assembly District 17: Matt Haney Assembly District 18: Mia Bonta Assembly District 19: Catherine Stefani Assembly District 20: Liz Ortega Assembly District 21: Diane Papan Assembly District 23: Marc Berman Assembly District 24: Alex Lee Assembly District 25: Ash Kalra Assembly District 26: Patrick Ahrens Assembly District 28: Gail Pellerin Assembly District 29: Robert Rivas Assembly District 30: Dawn Addis Assembly District 31: Annalisa Perea Assembly District 34: Randall Putz Assembly District 36: Ida Obeso-Martinez Assembly District 37: Gregg Hart Assembly District 38: Steve Bennett Assembly District 39: Juan Carrillo Assembly District 40: Pilar Schiavo Assembly District 41: John Harabedian Assembly District 42: Deborah Klein Lopez Assembly District 43: Celeste Rodriguez Assembly District 44: Nick Schultz Assembly District 46: Jesse Gabriel Assembly District 49: Mike Fong Assembly District 50: Robert Garcia Assembly District 51: Rick Chavez Zbur Assembly District 52: Jessica Caloza Assembly District 53: Michelle Rodriguez Assembly District 54: Mark Gonzalez Assembly District 55: Isaac Bryan Assembly District 56: Lisa Calderon Assembly District 57: Sade Elhawary Assembly District 58: Clarissa Cervantes Assembly District 60: Corey Jackson Assembly District 61: Tina McKinnor Assembly District 62: José Luis Solache Assembly District 64: Blanca Pacheco Assembly District 65: Ayanna Davis Assembly District 66: Scott Houston Assembly District 67: Ada Briceño Assembly District 69: Josh Lowenthal Assembly District 70: Paula Swift Assembly District 71: JJ Galvez Assembly District 72: Chris Kluwe Assembly District 73: Cottie Petrie-Norris Assembly District 74: Sergio Farias Assembly District 75: Gerald Boursiquot Assembly District 76: Darshana Patel Assembly District 77: Tasha Boerner Assembly District 78: Chris Ward Assembly District 79: LaShae Sharp-Collins Assembly District 80: David Alvarez
Compton City Council, District 2: Skyy Fisher Covina City Council, City Treasurer: Neil Polzin Covina City Council District 5 (dual endorsement): Dr. Bri Sérráno or Drew Aleman Culver City School Board: Triston Ezidore Elk Grove Unified School District Board of Trustees, District 2: Michael Vargas Los Angeles County Assessor: Jeffrey Prang Los Angeles Superior Court, Seat 2: Tal Khan Valbuena San Diego City Council, District 2: Josh Coyne San Diego Superior Court, Seat 31: Jodi Cleesattle San Francisco Unified School District Board of Trustees: Phil Kim San Jose City Council, District 3: Anthony Tordillos
Los Angeles County: Measure ER (Essential Services Restoration Act): YES
Bold indicates an openly LGBTQ+ candidate.
Click here for a list of our 2025 special election endorsements Click here for a list of our 2024 election endorsements. Click here for a list of our 2024 primary election endorsements. Click here for a list of our 2023 election endorsements. Click here for a list of our 2022 election endorsements. Click here for a list of our 2021 election endorsements. Click here for a list of our 2020 general election endorsements. Click here for a list of our 2020 primary election endorsements. Click here for a list of our 2019 endorsements. Click here for a list of our 2018 endorsements. Click here for a list of our 2017 endorsements. Click here for a list of our 2016 endorsements.
Equality California endorses viable candidates running for local office, statewide offices, the state legislature, and Congress who have a proven track record of supporting equal rights and legal protections for LGBTQ+ Californians and who are committed to advancing these goals in their capacity as elected officials.
Except in rare circumstances, Equality California only endorses openly LGBTQ+ candidates in local races, with the goal of supporting the careers of exceptional leaders in our community to build and develop a bench of strong openly LGBTQ+ leaders and candidates for higher office.
In races for California Assembly and Senate, the United States House of Representatives and Senate, California State Constitutional Offices, and the United States Presidency, Equality California considers endorsement of all candidates — those who are openly LGBTQ+ and pro-equality allies — who also meet our screening and endorsement criteria.
Absent extraordinary circumstances, Equality California will extend pro forma endorsements to incumbent state and federal elected officials running for reelection who scored 100% on Equality California’s legislative scorecard. These candidates are not required to submit a new questionnaire and are considered to be in full support of equality.
If an incumbent state or federal elected official does not meet the 100% threshold but has still received high scores in past years, they may still be eligible for an endorsement but will need to submit a questionnaire and participate in the endorsement process.
Voting by mail is SAFE and EASY — and you don’t even need a stamp in California! All active registered California voters will receive a vote-by-mail ballot for each election. If you live in California, click here to check your voter registration status.
If you are registered to vote in California, your county elections office will begin mailing ballots approximately one month before Election Day. It can take a few days for your ballot to arrive in the mail. Click here to track your ballot or click here to contact your county elections office if you think your ballot may have been lost in the mail. If you aren’t registered to vote in California, click here for more information about how to vote in your state.
When you receive your California vote-by-mail ballot, make sure to read and follow the included instructions carefully. After carefully marking your choices on your ballot, simply:
If you lost your ballot or didn’t receive it in the mail, voting locations will offer replacement ballots, voter registration, accessible voting machines and language assistance. Voting locations will be available in all California counties before and on Election Day. Click here to find an early voting location near you.
Vote-by-Mail Ballots: • All active voters will receive a vote-by-mail ballot For the June 2, 2026 Primary Election.
• County elections offices will mail ballots by May 4, 2026.
• Ballot drop-off locations open on May 5, 2026.
• Vote-by-mail ballots can be returned by mail, at a drop-off location, or your county elections office.
• Vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked on or before Primary Election Day (June 2, 2026) and received by June 9, 2026. Due to recent U.S. Postal Service policy changes, it is recommended that any mail-in ballots be sent and postmarked by Tuesday, May 26, 2026. If you plan to vote between May 27-June 2, 2026, it is recommended you go in-person or drop your ballot off an an official dropbox.
Early Voting:
• Vote centers open for early in-person voting in all Voter’s Choice Act counties beginning on May 23, 2026.
• Voting locations will provide: Voter registration Replacement ballots Accessible voting machines Language assistance
Equality California PAC works to elect pro-equality candidates running for local, state legislative and statewide offices, who have a proven track record of supporting civil rights and social justice for LGBTQ+ people and who are committed to advancing these goals in their capacity as elected officials.
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Equality California Federal PAC works to elect pro-equality candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate or president, who have a proven track record of supporting civil rights and social justice for LGBTQ+ people and who are committed to advancing these goals in their capacity as elected officials.
Equality California Issues PAC endorses or opposes select initiative and issue campaigns that come before California’s voters. This PAC endorses or opposes initiatives relevant to the LGBTQ+ community, as well as initiatives that are important to the diverse communities to which LGBTQ+ people belong or that have a substantial impact upon our state.
Equality California’s PACs are overseen by a group of dedicated community leaders and activists:
Alex Randolph, Chair* Brenda Aguirre* Jimmy Biblarz Jerry Bloom* Sue Burnside* Cecilia Cabello* Jason Chan* Bevan Dufty* Shayna Englin Joe Goldman Steve Hansen Drexel Heard^ Cheryl Hori Leslie Katz* Adam Ma* Susan McCabe^ Jane Natoli* Alfredo Pedroza* Richard Poppen^ Gabriel Quinto* Zachary Sokoloff Darrell Tucci* Shawnda Westly*
* Member of Equality California Board of Directors
^ Member of the Equality California Board of Advisors
