2026 VOTER GUIDE | PART 3 of 8
STATE
SENATE
STATE SENATE ENDORSEMENTS & RECOMMENDATIONS QUICK GUIDE
Scroll down for detailed information on each candidate.
*Endorsed by La Defensa
- SD 20 | Caroline Menjivar
- SD 22 | Susan Rubio
- SD 24 | John Erickson*
- SD 26 | Sarah Rascón*
- SD 28 | Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
- SD 30 | Bob Archuleta
- SD 34 | Avelino Valencia
Who They Are
California’s 40 State Senators serve four-year terms. Legislators are limited to 12 years of combined service in the Senate and Assembly.
Our Vetting Criteria
Our questionnaire asked state legislative candidates how they would approach the budget as it relates to CDCR spending, whether they would support closing prisons, where they stand on qualified immunity, how they would use their platform to strengthen sanctuary protections, and what their positions are on the criminalization of homelessness and on incarcerated labor reform. For candidates who did not submit a questionnaire, our research focused on their positions on public safety and pretrial justice, based on their campaign websites and legislative records where available. In assessing the public safety voting records of incumbents, we drew heavily from Initiate Justice Action’s 2025 Senate Scorecard and Courage Score profiles.
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CA STATE SENATE
CANDIDATE
PROFILES
Senate District 20
Caroline Menjivar
👍 Recommended
The district includes most of the San Fernando Valley, including Burbank, Van Nuys, Reseda, Canoga Park, Tujunga, Sun Valley, Shadow Hills, Lake View Terrace, Arleta, Panorama City, Pacoima, Mission Hills, San Fernando, and Sylmar.
D(Incumbent)
State Senator
Menjivar is endorsed by the Working Families Party and various progressive organizations, labor associations, and women’s groups. She received $1,500 this election cycle from the California Association of Highway Patrolmen.
Senator Caroline Menjivar was elected to the Legislature in 2022, becoming the first LGBTQ+ legislator to represent the San Fernando Valley. She is Chair of the Democratic Caucus and of the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. Before joining the Senate, she served in the U.S. Marines and worked as a social worker and an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).
La Defensa recommends Caroline Menjivar for SD-20. Menjivar frames public safety around investment in community stability rather than criminalization, naming the protection of CalWORKs, childcare, foster care, and food benefits as core public safety priorities.
Menjivar has historically had a strong record of championing and supporting decarceration policies, including:
- SB 749 (2023; Smallwood-Cuevas): eliminated the application deadline to reclassify old low-level, non-violent felony convictions into misdemeanors under Proposition 47, giving more people access to relief from prior convictions.
- SB 809 (2023; Smallwood-Cuevas): Would have made it easier for formerly incarcerated people to gain employment.
- SB 1282 (2024; Smallwood-Cuevas): Would have significantly expanded drug diversion opportunities.
However, in the 2025-2026 legislative session, she introduced SB 1198 (2026), a bill that would have increased penalties for reckless driving convictions, and she was unwilling to accept amendments that would have focused on structural rather than carceral solutions to unsafe driving.
As Senator, she has also worked to secure investments in her district that are known to prevent incarceration, such as eviction protections for families and small businesses, childcare, food assistance, and neighborhood revitalization.
Our recommendation is based on her progressive track record in alignment with La Defensa’s values, but her authorship of SB 1198 and her acceptance of law enforcement contributions raise concerns.
Senate District 22
Susan Rubio
⚠️ Harm Reduction
The district includes Azusa, Baldwin Park, Bradbury, Chino, Covina, Duarte, El Monte, Irwindale, La Verne, Montclair, Ontario, Pomona, San Dimas, South El Monte, and West Covina, as well as the unincorporated communities of Charter Oaks, Citrus, North El Monte, South Monrovia, and Vincent.
D(Incumbent)
State Senator / Teacher
Rubio does not list endorsements on her campaign website. This election cycle, she has accepted nearly $30,000 in contributions from the National Peace Officers & Fire Fighters Benefit Association Trust, California Correctional Peace Officers Association, and Peace Officers Research Association of California.
Senator Susan Rubio has served in the State Senate since 2018. She currently serves as Senate Assistant Majority Whip and as the first Latina Chair of the Senate Insurance Committee, and she chairs the Senate Select Committee on Domestic Violence. Before entering electoral politics, Rubio taught public school in the Baldwin Park and Monrovia Unified School Districts for 17 years. She was elected Baldwin Park City Clerk in 2005 and served two terms on the Baldwin Park City Council beginning in 2009.
Susan Rubio is the harm reduction vote for this seat because of her voting record and her acceptance of law enforcement dollars. Rubio does not have an explicit criminal justice reform platform on her campaign website, and her voting record on justice reform has been inconsistent, earning her average scores on our partners’ scorecards. She was one of a number of Democratic legislators who supported Proposition 36 in 2024, the ballot measure that increased penalties for retail theft and fentanyl-related offenses.
In the 2025–26 session, she voted in support of legislation to ban ICE agents from wearing masks and to limit youth probation, but did not support legislation to expand court diversion opportunities. Her primary legislative focus has been on domestic violence prevention and survivor protections, an area where her record is substantial and consistent. Outside of that lane, justice reform has not been a stated priority of her tenure, and her votes have at times favored criminalization over the decarceral approaches La Defensa prioritizes.
Senate District 24
John Erickson
✅ Endorsed
Covers Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice, Beverly Hills, Pacific Palisades, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Hollywood, and West Hollywood.
Democrat
Councilmember / Community Organizer
Erickson is endorsed by Smart Justice California, the Working Families Party, California Nurses Association, California Teachers Association, ACCE, and Supervisors Horvath, Hahn, and Solis, among others. His campaign does not accept law enforcement or PAC donations.
John Erickson has served on the West Hollywood City Council since 2020. On the council, he co-authored the highest minimum wage in the country, expanded renter protections, and helped build the city’s 24/7 unarmed crisis response team (WeHo Cares). He has been a regional leader in LGBTQ+ advocacy, served as President of Hollywood NOW (where he helped change California’s statute of limitations for rape prosecutions), and was a founding organizer of the Women’s March in Los Angeles. As a Vice President at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, he helped establish California as a sanctuary state for reproductive freedom after the Dobbs decision. He previously served as President of the ACLU of Southern California.
La Defensa is proud to endorse John Erickson for SD-24. Erickson is explicit and detailed on criminal justice reform. On sentencing and release, he would author legislation to expand earned-time credits and parole eligibility, safely accelerating release for people who have already completed rehabilitation. He would co-sponsor bills to end mandatory minimums and fully eliminate cash bail, and he supports “second look” sentencing and record-sealing pathways to reduce barriers to employment and housing. On crisis response, he would invest in diversion, mental health response teams, substance use treatment, and restorative justice programs to stop criminalizing crises.
On the CDCR budget, Erickson supports redirecting CDCR savings into community-based violence prevention and reentry support. He would also tie CDCR funding to population reduction benchmarks, with savings automatically reinvested into behavioral health care, permanent supportive housing, education, and community-based violence prevention. He supports closing state prisons over a five- to seven-year timeline, beginning with the most costly and underutilized facilities, and would support legislation to close prisons responsibly as decarceration occurs.
Erickson supports ending qualified immunity and would support legislation to limit or eliminate it. On immigration, he would strengthen the California Values Act to further limit cooperation with federal agencies and close loopholes in existing law. He would also expand access to legal representation for immigrants facing detention or deportation and protect sensitive locations from enforcement. On homelessness, he supports banning the criminalization of homelessness and would champion care-first approaches.
Erickson would reform incarcerated labor to ensure it is fair, voluntary, and focused on rehabilitation rather than exploitation. He would also support legislation to raise wages for incarcerated workers, eliminate mandatory work requirements, and establish strict oversight of private contracts.
Senate District 26
SARAH RASCÓN
✅ Endorsed
Covers the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Boyle Heights, El Sereno, Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Glassell Park, Mount Washington, Cypress Park, Lincoln Heights, Atwater Village, Elysian Valley, Arlington Heights, Echo Park, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, East Hollywood, Little Armenia, Thai Town, Larchmont, Koreatown, Pico-Union, Westlake-MacArthur Park, Historic Filipinotown, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Arts District, Civic Center, City Terrace, and East Los Angeles.
D
Environmental Protection Director
Rascón is endorsed by Assemblymember Alex Lee, Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia, Los Angeles City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, and Initiate Justice Action. She does not have any law enforcement endorsements and has not accepted any campaign contributions from law enforcement.
Sarah Rascón is a native Angeleno from El Sereno who was raised by her immigrant grandmother. She is a first-generation college graduate from UC Merced. As a Community Development Organizer, she developed STEM programming and career curriculum for Northeast LA youth. She also worked as a field representative in the California State Assembly for then-Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez. Most recently, she served as Director of County and Regional Affairs for Mayor Karen Bass
La Defensa is proud to endorse Sarah Rascón for SD-26. Rascón is dedicated to keeping people safe from violence, which for her means rethinking what public safety actually looks like. Her campaign promises include expanding non-police crisis response, investing in community-based models that pull people out of cycles of violence, re-evaluating how public safety dollars are spent, and strengthening accountability and oversight of law enforcement. As she puts it: “Real public safety isn’t measured by the number of weapons on our streets or the size of a police budget — it’s measured by whether every family feels safe in their home, their school, and their neighborhood.” Rascón also supports the full liberation of Palestine as a sovereign state free from the occupation of Israel. She is deeply concerned with advancing environmental protections and directing funding toward climate resilience ahead of 2030, which scientists are dubbing the “point of no return.”
Senate District 28
Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
👍 Recommended
Covers Downtown Los Angeles and most of South Los Angeles, including Park La Brea, Pico-Union, Mid City, West Adams, Baldwin Hills, Hyde Park, Nevin, Leimert Park, Jefferson Park, Crenshaw, Vermont Square, Adams-Normandie, Florence, Exposition Park, and University Park. It also includes Culver City, Ladera Heights, and a small part of the Westside, including Palms, Mar Vista, and Playa Vista.
D(Incumbent)
State Senator
Smallwood-Cuevas is endorsed by numerous labor unions, the Working Families Party, EMILY’s List, and the California Legislative Black Caucus, among others. She has accepted $5000 in campaign contributions from the California Association of Highway Patrolmen this election cycle.
Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas has served in the State Senate since 2022, representing communities across the Westside, South Los Angeles, and the Crenshaw corridor. She is a former educator, labor organizer, and community advocate, and co-founder of the Los Angeles Black Worker Center. In the Senate, she has spearheaded the creation of California’s first Black Cultural District and has been a leading voice on reparations.
La Defensa recommends incumbent Lola Smallwood-Cuevas for SD-28. Smallwood-Cuevas previously received our endorsement because of her strong track record, but she has since accepted campaign contributions from the California Association of Highway Patrolmen. We are still recommending her as the best candidate in the race.
She has been a consistent champion for justice reform, earning high scores on our partners’ legislative scorecards year after year. She authored SB 749 (2023) to remove procedural barriers preventing people from accessing resentencing relief under Proposition 47. She also authored SB 809 (2023), which would have made it easier for formerly incarcerated people to gain employment, and SB 1282 (2024), which would have significantly expanded drug diversion opportunities. She supported ACA 6 (2025; Wilson) to eliminate the constitutional exception permitting involuntary servitude for incarcerated people.
On the state budget, she approaches CDCR funding with a focus on long-term public safety and fiscal responsibility, supporting greater transparency and accountability for rehabilitation and reentry programs while opposing continued growth in correctional spending at the expense of prevention. She supports reducing the prison population through expanded diversion, reentry support, and behavioral health programs, and would support prison closures where population declines make them feasible, paired with reinvestment in housing, healthcare, and workforce development. She supports reforming qualified immunity and is open to legislation that meaningfully limits it.
On immigration, she has supported policies that protect workers regardless of immigration status and would work to ensure state and local law enforcement do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. She opposes the criminalization of homelessness and authored SB 572 (2023), which converted an unused state building in the Crenshaw corridor into mixed-use housing.
On reparations, she describes herself as one of the leading proponents within the Black Caucus. She helped craft the 2025 Road to Repair package, which she describes as ranging from abolishing slavery in all its forms to regulating AI bias in healthcare.
Senate District 30
Bob Archuleta
⚠️ Harm Reduction
The district includes Downey, Norwalk, Bellflower, La Mirada, Santa Fe Springs, Los Nietos, Montebello, Pico Rivera, Whittier, Hacienda Heights, La Puente, Valinda, Avocado Heights, Industry, Rowland Heights, Walnut, and Diamond Bar, along with Brea in northeastern Orange County.
D(Incumbent)
State Senator
Archuleta does not list endorsements on his campaign website. This election cycle alone, he has accepted more than $30,000 in campaign contributions from the following law enforcement organizations: L.A. County Probation Officers Union AFSCME Local 685 PAC, California Correctional Supervisors Organization PAC, California Correctional Peace Officers Association PAC, Peace Officers Research Association of California PAC, California Association of Highway Patrolmen PAC, and the Santa Ana Police Officers Association PAC.
Senator Bob Archuleta has represented portions of southeastern Los Angeles County and Orange County since 2018. He grew up in Lincoln Heights, served in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, and later worked as a reserve police officer for the Montebello Police Department. He served on the Pico Rivera City Council, including as Mayor, before his election to the Senate. He chairs the Senate Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs and was appointed by President Obama to the Board of Visitors at West Point. In 2021, a former Capitol staffer filed a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and retaliation; he denied the allegations.
Bob Archuleta is the harm reduction vote for this seat over Republican challenger Araceli Martinez. Archuleta has consistently been one of the weakest Democratic votes on justice reform in the Legislature, earning low scores on our partners’ criminal justice reform scorecards. He has authored two failed bills that reflect his law-and-order orientation:
- SB 537 (2025): Would have required people convicted of murder who are released on parole to return to state prison, rather than county jail, for any parole violation, reversing recent reforms.
- SB 923 (2024): Introduced alongside Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, this bill would have increased penalties for people with multiple theft convictions by reinstating serial theft provisions that Proposition 47 eliminated, punishable by imprisonment of six months to three years beginning on a third offense.
His campaign website describes him as a “trusted partner of public safety professionals” and prominently highlights his law enforcement background. His opponent does not present a more progressive platform on the issues La Defensa prioritizes.
Senate District 34
Avelino Valencia
⚠️ Harm Reduction
The district includes all or portions of the following Orange County cities: Anaheim, Buena Park, Fullerton, Garden Grove, La Habra, Orange, Placentia, and Santa Ana. It also includes portions of East and South Whittier in Los Angeles County.
D
California State Assemblymember
Valencia does not list endorsements on his campaign website. This election cycle, he has accepted more than $76,000 in contributions from law enforcement groups, including the Peace Officers Research Association of California PAC, Los Angeles Police Protective League PAC, and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association.
Avelino Valencia worked as a legislative staffer and chief deputy for Assemblymember Tom Daly before being elected to the Anaheim City Council in 2020. He was elected to the State Assembly in 2022, representing Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Orange, and currently chairs the Assembly Banking and Finance Committee. He is running for SD-34 to replace termed-out Senator Tom Umberg.
Avelino Valencia is the harm reduction vote for this seat, compared to his opponent, Republican Rhonda Shader. Valencia’s voting record on justice reform has been consistently poor during his time in the Assembly, where he either missed or voted against key public safety priorities. He has also accepted many law enforcement contributions.