“Orange County isn’t what it once was,” writes the CA DSA, who hopes to flip Assembly District 72—and the key MAGA strongholds therein—from red to blue.
There’s no mistaking it: socialist have racked up a series of extremely notable electoral wins over the past year. Between Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City mayor’s race in November and Angie Nixon clenching the Democratic Party’s nomination for U.S. Senate in Florida last week, a host of DSA-backed candidates have routinely upset the political establishment on both sides of the aisle. Among them are Claire Valdez, Daria Lisa Aila Shioalier, and Diana Moreno in New York; Donovan McKenna in Michigan; and Meot Kirros in Colorado, just to name a few.
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is the largest socialist organization in the United States, and they’re headed into the 2026 general elections with the wind at their backs. With that in mind, its endorsements and recommendations (as well as those of its regional chapters) are worth watching as we head into November.
Naturally, one of those local groups is the Orange County DSA (OC DSA), which describes itself as “a bulwark against America’s descent into fascism.” They describe their mission as “[overcoming] OC’s woeful reputation” by “actively demonstrating solidarity with the working class at-home and abroad, and committing ourselves to radical empathy through our extensive mutual aid efforts.”
But it’s not easy to get the OC DSA’s endorsement. They require that candidates should “at minimum” commit to: no donations from corporate PACs, pro-Israel groups, the fossil fuel industry, the defense industry, “landlord lobbies,” and “similarly destructive causes,” which is not further defined. Candidates must also participate in a Socialists-in-Office program and must maintain an “ongoing co-governance and collaboration with OC DSA.” They must also presumably identify as socialists and/or be DSA members.
Since—by their own admission—no local candidate fulfills their requirements, their primary voter guide did not include a single endorsement, but did offer three recommendations (two of which are “no recommendation.”)
“None of the candidates discussed below are socialists or DSA members and none of them align entirely with DSA’s program,” writes the OC DSA Electoral Politics Committee.
As such, the only candidate this voter guide supports is incumbent Vicente Sarmiento, who seeks reelection to the Orange County Board of Supervisors’ District. They describe Sarmiento’s bid as part of a “three pronged strategy to solidify the pro-labor Democratic supervisorial majority,” commending him for voting against a raise for OC Sherriffs’ in 2023 and working to end Santa Ana’s contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
They write that this makes Sarmiento “the most DSA-aligned candidate of the crop this cycle.” But, evidently, even the most aligned candidate was still only eligible for a recommendation rather than a formal endorsement.
Indeed, the “DSA’s endorsements are rare and special,” reads the California Democratic Socialists of America (CA DSA) primary voter guide. Note that at the time of writing, neither the CA DSA nor the OC DSA have published a general election voting guide.
So rare and special, in fact, that only four candidates in the entire state have received official endorsements: Oliver Ma (candidate for Lieutenant Governor), Chris Bennett (candidate for CD 3), Mai Vang (candidate for CD 3), and Sean Dougherty (CA 19).
Similarly to the OC DSA, however, they do make the following recommendations, starting with the only one that the voter guide describes as [enthusiastic].
Assembly District 72, which covers most of OC’s coastal cities—including Republican stronghold Huntington Beach—will be an open seat as current representative Asm. Diane Dixon is vacating the position to run for OC’s 5th Supervisorial District. Democratic socialists practically salivate at the prospect of flipping AD 72, which they believe “represents much of what people imagine Orange County to be: MAGA flags over boardwalks, old money stucco malls, [and] faux mediterranean suburbia.”
“But Orange County isn’t what it once was, and 2026 is the first opportunity since 1992 where this district may swing left in an extremely anti-Trump year with no incumbent,” the CA DSA writes.
While Republicans have coalesced behind Huntington Beach City Councilwoman Gracey Van Der Mark, Democrats (including the DSA) backed social activist and former NFL player Chris Kluwe. The DSA writes that Kluwe “[extolls] the virtues of democratic socialism,” which more recently has included support for government-owned grocery stores and instituting public utilities.
Last year, Kluwe was arrested for civil disobedience at a Huntington Beach City Council meeting. Prior to walking onto the stage, Kluwe issued public comment and stated that “MAGA is explicitly a Nazi movement.” The arrest attracted national headlines. He announced his campaign for State Assembly about three months later.
“If elected, he would easily be one of, if not the most progressive member of the State Assembly,” the CA DSA states. “Due to Kluwe’s national celebrity status assisting in fundraising, as well as his local grassroots support that earned him the backing of almost every possible state group (from the CA Dems, to CA WFP, to the CA Labor Federation), Kluwe is in an extremely good position to flip this seat.”
However, while Kluwe was the top vote-getter in the primary election at 51,402 votes, it’s important to note that former Assemblyman Matt Harper was in the running, which ate into the Republican vote that would otherwise go to Van Der Mark. Between her 47,559 and Harper’s 20,488, Van Der Mark enjoys a comfortable 13% lead over Kluwe, assuming margins hold.
Another State Assembly seat which will see an open contest is Assembly District 67. Since Democrat incumbent Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva is termed out, the two challengers will be Republican Paulo Morales and Democrat Mark Pulido. A third Democrat, Ada Briceño, was the favored candidate by DSA groups (even though they acknowledge “she’s not a socialist.”) However, Briceño was defeated in the primary election and the DSA groups have yet to recommend Pulido, who they write is “backed by $4.1m (and counting) of crypto, AirBnB, and assorted other billionaire money,” as well as police unions.
The socialists faced a similar fate in Congressional District 40, where favored candidate Lisa Ramirez received only 14% of the vote and did not advance to the general election. Now that the runoff is between Republican incumbents Rep. Ken Calvert and Rep. Young Kim—whose districts were deliberately merged by Democrats as part of Proposition 50’s successful partisan redistricting effort to eliminate red seats—it seems unlikely the DSA groups will offer any action.
But that wasn’t the case for every race. In the primary election for the solid-blue Assembly District 68, their recommended candidate, Santa Ana Councilmember Jessie Lopez, came within one percentage point of Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem David Penaloza. As it stands, this looks to be possibly the most winnable seat for socialists in Orange County.
The same cannot be said for Congressional District 41, where the DSA recommends casting “a protest vote for Shonique Williams” over sitting Congresswoman Linda Sánchez (who has taken money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)). However, they acknowledge that “Sánchez is a shoe-in for the seat.”
Another race that feels hopeless for socialists is Assembly District 71, a veritable conservative bastion more less on lock by Asm. Kate Sanchez. The Democrat challenger, JJ Galvez, is the Treasurer for the Silverado-Modjeska Recreation and Parks Board and, according to the DSA, “has little to show for platform, endorsements, or money.” Hence, no recommendation.
Despite the DSA’s national momentum, its candidates clearly have a tougher road ahead in Orange County. Their only recommended candidates to advance out of the primary elections in OC were Lopez in AD-68 and Kluwe in AD-72—and Kluwe faces a double-digit deficit. Still, the DSA and its candidates demand attention.
If the past year has shown anything, it’s that even when the odds aren’t in their favor, counting the socialists out entirely is folly.
