SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, has endorsed 29 incumbent legislators running for re-election to the California Senate and Assembly in 2022. Equality California extends pro forma endorsements to incumbent candidates in the California Assembly and Senate who have earned a 100% pro-equality rating on the organization’s legislative scorecards in both of the last two years and who meet Equality California’s code of ethics, standards of conduct and other applicable endorsement criteria. (See below for additional details.)
The organization released the following statement from Executive Director Tony Hoang on Thursday announcing the endorsements:
“LGBTQ+ Californians are lucky to have so many strong pro-equality champions fighting for our civil rights and social justice in Sacramento. Indeed, the Golden State is leading the nation’s fight for full, lived LGBTQ+ equality — serving as a beacon of hope to LGBTQ+ people around the world — because of our partners in the California Legislature. As they continue to stand with Equality California and demonstrate their unwavering support for a world that is healthy, just and fully equal for all LGBTQ+ people, we’ll continue to stand with them — and we’re confident that California voters will, too.”
Equality California has endorsed the following legislators for re-election in 2022:
California Senate
Senate District 2: Mike McGuire
Senate DIstrict 24: Ben Allen
Senate DIstrict 26: María Elena Durazo
California Assembly
Assembly District 2: Jim Wood
Assembly District 4: Cecilia Aguiar-Curry
Assembly District 6: Kevin McCarty
Assembly District 14: Buffy Wicks
Assembly District 18: Mia Bonta
Assembly District 19: Phil Ting
Assembly District 23: Marc Berman
Assembly District 24: Alex Lee
Assembly District 25: Ash Kalra
Assembly District 26: Evan Low
Assembly District 28: Mark Stone
Assembly District 29: Robert Rivas
Assembly District 38: Steve Bennett
Assembly District 41: Chris Holden
Assembly District 46: Jesse Gabriel
Assembly District 52: Wendy Carrillo
Assembly District 54: Miguel Santiago
Assembly District 55: Isaac Bryan
Assembly District 56: Lisa Calderon
Assembly District 57: Reggie Jones-Sawyer
Assembly District 62: Anthony Rendon
Assembly District 65: Mike Gipson
Assembly District 66: Al Muratsuchi
Assembly District 78: Chris Ward
Assembly District 79: Akilah Weber
Candidates shown in bold are members of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus.
Additional Details:
Candidates who took office in 2021 are evaluated based on last year’s score only. Incumbents running in the same race as other incumbents are not eligible for pro forma endorsements but have been invited to apply for endorsement. Equality California’s Endorsement Process and Guidelines are available online at eqca.org/elections. Equality California’s 2020 and 2021 Legislative Scorecards are available online here.
For a full list of Equality California’s 2022 endorsements to date, visit eqca.org/elections.
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Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization. We bring the voices of LGBTQ people and allies to institutions of power in California and across the United States, striving to create a world that is healthy, just, and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. We advance civil rights and social justice by inspiring, advocating and mobilizing through an inclusive movement that works tirelessly on behalf of those we serve. www.eqca.org