Here are some of the major voter guides I rely on to make decisions:
California Democratic Party: Endorsements
Orange County Democrats: Endorsements
California Democratic Socialists of America: Voter Guide
Orange Juice Blog (The Orange Juice blog is generally progressive. Vern likes a lot of third party candidates, though, and I don’t bother with them.)
Orange County Republican Party: Endorsements (I use this list to help rule people out in nonpartisan races.)
A Note
This is a difficult election, because the state and county Democratic Parties have not endorsed candidates in most of the races on our ballots.
I’m relying heavily on candidates’ endorsements lists. Things I look for: endorsements from labor unions, endorsements from environmental organizations or other interest groups (LGBTQIA+, progressive organizations, women’s organizations, etc.), and endorsements from progressive leaders whose values are similar to my own.
(A WARNING: When evaluating a candidate based on their endorsements, please be aware that politicians typically endorse their friends, colleagues, and former employees. Sometimes they endorse people they think will be useful to them. A candidate earning an endorsement from someone like Gavin Newsom or Kamala Harris, for example, doesn’t mean Newsom and Harris evaluated all of the candidates in the race and decided who was best. Organizational endorsements are more likely to be a matter of an organization’s members or Executive Board debating the merits of the candidates, assessing whether or not a campaign is viable, and picking the candidate most aligned with the organization’s goals.)
I do not, when evaluating candidates below the level of Governor, bother digging deep into the details of what they’re promising to do, because, most of the time, they aren’t going to end up doing any of it. There are candidates who make pie-in-the-sky promises to stand out, which gives you a sense of their values but not what they will actually accomplish, and there are candidates who are very realistic about what they can accomplish, which is usually a lot of stuff we aren’t particularly interested in. A lot of government work is boring when you aren’t setting out to wreck it.
PLEASE NOTE: These are not endorsements. In some cases, especially the Orange County non partisan races, after looking at a bunch of options I hate, I decided one candidate seems approximately 1% less horrible than their opponent(s).
Governor
Tom Steyer (website)
This was a difficult choice for me. I’ve written a long post, citing lots of sources, explaining my reasoning here: Why I’m voting for Tom Steyer instead of Xavier Becerra
The short version is: Reading a list of the people and PACs donating to Becerra is like reading a list of my enemies. If he’s backed by SCE, PG&E, oil companies, police unions, the Resnicks, etc. I can’t trust him to do what’s right for the people of California. Becerra is going to screw us. And, based on current polling, our only viable options in this race are Steyer and Becerra.
Liutenant Governor
Oliver Ma (website)
(Caveat: Michael Tubbs and Fiona Ma probably have a better chance of making it to the General Election. If that’s important to you, choose one of them instead.)
I’ve been following him on Instagram and am impressed with what he stands for. A lot of it seems to be outside the scope of what a Lt. Governor handles, but it gives me a good impression of his overall goals and values.
Some of the other Democrats in this race are Michael Tubbs, Fiona Ma, and Josh Fryday. My preference is in that order.
I’m somewhat familiar with Fiona Ma from my time in Orange County and California politics. I’m concerned about the allegation of sexual harassment from one of her former employees (female)–which was either dropped or settled?–but I otherwise don’t have problems with her. Many progressives (Ro Khanna, Barbara Lee, etc.) are supporting Tubbs. Gavin Newsom is supporting Fryday.
Fiona Ma (website – endorsements)
Michael Tubbs (website)
Josh Fryday (website)
The other Democratic candidates in this race–Abdur Rahman Sikder, Jeyson Lopez, Tim Myers, and Janelle Kellman–do not appear to be serious candidates.
Secretary of State
Shirley Weber (website)
There is only one Democrat running for this seat, and it’s the incumbent, Shirley Weber, who is endorsed by the California Democratic Party.
Controller
Malia Cohen (website – Her website wouldn’t load when I attempted to access it.)
There is only one Democrat running for this seat, and it’s the incumbent, Malia Cohen, who is endorsed by the California Democratic Party.
Treasurer
Eleni Kounalakis (website)
The Democratic options are Eleni Kounalakis, who is our current Lt. Governor, Tony Vazquez, and Anna Caballero. Vazquez and Caballero are The California Democratic Socialists of America’s preferred candidates, but neither earned an endorsement.
Eleni is probably the frontrunner in this race. She’s endorsed by Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, Barbar Boxer, Adam Schiff, Alex Padilla, Gavin Newsom, and many others. She’s also endorsed by many labor unions, Sierra Club, and Equality California.
Tony Vazquez is mostly endorsed by members of the state legislature and local leaders.
Anna Caballero is endorsed by a few labor unions, a few members of Congress, some members of the state legislature, and some local leaders.
Attorney General
Rob Bonta (website)
There is only one Democrat running for this seat, and it’s the incumbent, Rob Bonta, who is endorsed by the California Democratic Party.
Insurance Commissioner
Jane Kim (website)
Jane Kim is the only candidate on my ballot that I’m excited about.
Jane Kim is endorsed by Bernie Sanders, The California Democratic Socialists of America, some statewide officers (Kounalakis, Cohen), Barbara Lee, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, several labor unions (nurses, teachers, longshoremen, autoworkers), the National Women’s Political Caucus, Our Revolution, the Working Families Party, CAIR, the California Young Democrats, and more. It’s an impressive endorsements list.
This is also impressive: The American Prospect – The Candidate Pitching Single-Payer—for Disaster Insurance
The other Democratic candidates in this race are Ben Allen, Steven Craig Bradford, and Patrick Wolf.
Ben Allen is endorsed by Adam Schiff, Alex Padilla, some labor unions, some environmental organizations, and some Democratic clubs.
Steven Craig Bradford is endorsed by some labor unions, some members of Congress, some members of the state legislature.
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Al Muratsuchi (website)
It looks to me like this race is primarily between Al Muratsuchi and Richard Barerra. Barerra has the support of the larger teachers’ union, the California Teachers Association. Muratsuchi has the support of the California Federation of Teachers and California School Employees Association. Barerra serves on a school board but doesn’t seem to have any background in teaching. Muratsuchi is an adjunct professor at a community college. That, to me, gives Muratsuchi an edge. He is also the former head of the Assembly education committee.
Nichelle Henderson is supported by the California Democratic Socialists of America. She has thirty years of teaching experience. Josh Newman is supported by most of Orange County’s Democratic leaders. Anthony Rendon is supported by some labor unions, members of Congress, and state legislators. All three of these candidates support some use of AI in education, which is a dealbreaker for me. AI is often wrong, and it makes students dumber and lazier. Our students need to learn how to think without it. (For those of you who believe AI is the future, I’d still argue that you need to learn how to accomplish a thing without shortcuts before you start using shortcuts. It gives you a significantly stronger foundation and enables you to spot the flaws in the shortcuts.)
Gus Mattammal, Wendy Castaneda Leal, and Ainye Long do not appear to be serious candidates. Frank Lara is a supported by the Green Party. Sonja Shaw is endorsed by the Republican Party.
Cal Matters has information on most of the candidates here:
CalMatters – Superintendent of Public Instruction
The Advocate compares the candidates here:
The governor’s race is getting attention, but another race is going unnoticed
State Board of Equalization, 4th District
Tom Umberg (website)
The other Democrats in this race are Cody Petterson, who appears to be the progressive’s favorite, and Martin Arias, who doesn’t appear to be a serious candidate.
Cody Petterson is endorsed by the California Federation of Teachers, Our Revolution, Progressive Democrats of America, and a lot of San Diego-based elected officials. If you consider yourself a progressive Democrat, Petterson may be a better choice for you. I’ve decided, in this race, to go with the safe bet, which is Umberg.
United States Representative, 47th District
Dave Min (website)
I helped Dave Min on his first Congressional campaign, which he lost, but then he went on to serve in the state legislature, and I was impressed with him there. Since he’s been elected to Congress, he’s mostly been pissing me off with the way he votes, but the other Democrat on the ballot isn’t anyone impressive, so let’s hope Dave doesn’t make me curse as much during this term.
The other Democrat in this race is Hunter Garcia Miranda.
United States Representative, 40th District
Note: This was my district, where I was previously represented by Young Kim, but I’m now in the 47th.
LISA RAMIREZ (website)
OR JOE KERR!!!! (website)
This is a tricky race because it’s possible that both Republicans (Young Kim and Ken Calvert) make it to the General Election and Democrats get shut out. If it was an all-Dem primary, I’d support Ramirez. Because it’s not, I lean more toward Kerr.
Kerr is a retired firefighter endorsed by local members of Congress, members of the state legislature, labor unions, and Moms Demand Action.
Ramirez is an immigration attorney endorsed by local members of Congress, Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva, several local leaders, a couple of labor unions, and the California Democratic Socialists of America.
DO NOT vote for Esther Kim Varet. She is horrible. She has openly said she doesn’t intend to vote with the Democrats all of the time–which means voting with the Republicans to screw you. She’s trying to court Republican voters. She’s on video saying that she Googled something like “how to run for Congress” and then moved to the district to run. She’s called retired firefighter Joe Kerr “unpatriotic” for not dropping out of the race to let her have the seat, which she thinks she deserves because she has the most money. She attempted to challenge Joe Kerr’s ballot designation (“retired firefighter,” I think) to weaken his position on the ballot. She goes into the comments of her Dem opponents’ social media posts and argues with people. She is rude to people who ask her difficult questions about her positions. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
The OC for Justice Instagram account has covered a lot of the problems with Kim Varet.
I’m not going to bother posting her website or endorsements because the behavior I’ve seen from this woman is unhinged and disgusting. She doesn’t belong in the Democratic Party.
State Senator, 38th District
Catherine Blakespear (website)
There is only one Democrat running for this seat, and it’s the incumbent, Catherine Blakespear, who is endorsed by the California Democratic Party.
State Assembly, 71st District
JJ Galvez (website)
There is only one Democrat running for this seat, and it’s JJ Galvez, who is endorsed by the California Democratic Party.
JUDGES
I’m going with the OC Democratic Party’s endorsed candidates. (The OC GOP didn’t endorse candidates in the judicical races, so I don’t know the parties of the candidates who weren’t endorsed.) The surveys the candidates did with the OC Register are interesting, but, like a lot of the statements candidates make in these nonpartisan races, it’s a lot of staring at a particular phrase and trying to figure out what the candiates values are and whether or not they align with my own. It feels like reading tea leaves.
Judge of the Superior Court, Office No. 13
Robert Mestman (website)
Mestman is the candidate endorsed by the Orange County Democratic Party.
His opponent is Ann Cho.
You can read the OC Register’s candidate surveys with them here:
Orange County Register – Orange County judicial candidate surveys: Ann Cho and Robert Mestman
Judge of the Superior Court, Office No. 41
Ami Sagel (website)
Sagel is the candidate endorsed by the Orange County Democratic Party.
The other candidate is Charles Pell.
You can read the OC Register’s candidate surveys with them here:
Orange County Register – Orange County judicial candidate surveys: Ami Sagel and Charles Pell
County Superintendent of Schools
No one, or write in JEFF COLE (recommended by the Orange Juice Blog)
The only candidate on the ballot is a Republican and you are not required to vote for him. You can just leave it blank. I don’t know anything about Jeff Cole.
County Board of Education, Trustee Area 5
Jason Sams (website)
Sams, I’ve been told, is a Democrat. His opponent, Lisa Sparks, is endorsed by the Orange County Republican Party. Sams is endorsed by the California Federation of Teachers and the OC Labor Federation. He’s also recommended by the Laguna Woods Democratic Club and the Orange Juice Blog.
Assessor
No Recommendation
Janet Keo Conklin lost the Orange County Democratic Party’s endorsement. Her opponent, Claude Parrish, is endorsed by the Orange County Republican Party.
Auditor-Controller
No one, or write in JOHN MOORLACH (Moorlach is a Republican, but he’s recommended by the Orange Juice Blog.)
The only candidate on the ballot is a Republican and you are not required to vote for him. You can just leave it blank.
Clerk-Recorder
Hugh Nguyen (website – His website, when I attempted to access it, was not available.)
Nguyen is a Republican endorsed by the Orange County Republican Party, but he’s supported by the Orange Juice Blog and endorsed by the Orange County Register. He’s the incumbent and people seem to think he’s doing a good job.
His opponent, Maria Holly Barraza, does not appear to have any endorsements on her website. I do not know which political party she belongs to. I’ve been told she is not a Democrat. (She could be an independent/No Party Preference or registered with a third party. She could also be a Republican.)
Orange County Register – Endorsement: Hugh Nguyen for Orange County clerk-recorder
Treasurer-Tax Collector
Dana Schultz (website)
Dana Shultz is endorsed by OC Board of Supervisor member Don Wagner (Republican), CUSD Trustee Gila Jones (Democrat), a few unions (including OCEA), and a handful of other local leaders. I do not know which political party she belongs to, but apparently she is not a Democrat. Her opponent, Shari Friedenrich, is endorsed by the Orange County Republican Party, various Republican organizations, and what looks like most of the local Republican leaders. Friedenrich was, in the past, endorsed by several of the Democrats on the Huntington Beach City Council (Debbie Cook, Joe Shaw, and Jill Hardy).
The Orange Juice Blog recommends Schultz.
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THE END
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Additional Resources
Many newspapers have been bought up by people who don’t have our best interests at heart, so I don’t give a lot of weight to newspaper endorsements these days, but sometimes they can be helpful.
Los Angeles Times Voter guide to the 2026 California primary election