# State Senator, District 26 Compare records and positions simply between Sara Hernandez or Sarah Rascón for State Senator, District 26 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat in the California State Senate (4-year term). - Jurisdiction: California Legislature - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/state-senate-26 - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: August 30, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 95 out of 100 (Very strong), across 4 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Sara Hernandez** — Affordable Housing Advocate · Democratic - **Sarah Rascón** — Environmental Protection Director · Democratic An open Eastside seat — María Elena Durazo left it to run for County Supervisor — covering Los Feliz, Highland Park, Boyle Heights, and Koreatown. Two Democrats advance to November 3: Sara Hernandez (31%) and Sarah Rascón (19%). Termed-out Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo finished third and is out. State Senate terms run four years, representing nearly a million people — the 40 Senate districts are the most populous in American state politics. The winner joins a Democratic supermajority, where the real contests are within the party: committee posts, housing bills, budget priorities. Same party, different theories of the Eastside's biggest problem. Hernandez leads with housing production — build more, near transit, faster. Rascón leads with environmental justice and neighborhood investment. Both would be freshman legislators; weigh whose first-hand experience maps to what you want fixed first. ## Sara Hernandez Democrat; community-college trustee, former LAUSD teacher, and housing attorney. Her platform is detailed housing production: multifamily near transit, streamlined approvals, tenant protections. She's the race's housing-first candidate. **Strengths:** The most specific housing agenda in the field, plus debt-free community college proposals; endorsed by Abundant Housing LA. **Trade-offs:** She was an aide to José Huizar, whose office was later central to a federal corruption case; no allegation has ever been made against her. **Keep in mind:** A rival publicly called on her to return AIPAC-tied donations — check her current filings if funding sources matter to your vote. ## Sarah Rascón Democrat; director of county and regional affairs for Mayor Karen Bass, previously an environmental-equity official for the region's parks agency. They spearheaded the Upper LA River revitalization plan. They're the race's environmental-justice candidate, with deep El Sereno roots. **Strengths:** A hands-on delivery record — river revitalization, federal funding for park rangers at Elephant Hill — rather than a platform of positions. **Trade-offs:** Coverage surfaced fewer specifics on their legislative agenda, and no major endorsements were reported by primary day. **Keep in mind:** Their current job in the Bass administration ties them to the mayor's record — fair game in both directions. ## Record in office This is an open seat: no candidate on the November ballot currently serves in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress, so there is no legislative record to compare here. These records cover only those offices. ## Financial info - **Sara Hernandez** - Primary: $859,500 raised (Small donors: $4,105; Individuals: $444,850; PACs & committees: $311,275; Businesses & other orgs: $95,000) - November: $52,462 raised (Individuals: $10,562; PACs & committees: $30,100; Businesses & other orgs: $11,800) - **Sarah Rascón** - Primary: $187,858 raised (Small donors: $15,878; Individuals: $129,877; PACs & committees: $17,150; Businesses & other orgs: $7,599; Self-funding: $14,055) - November: $61,911 raised (Individuals: $45,435; PACs & committees: $15,900; Businesses & other orgs: $577) Figures are CA Form 460 filings through June 30, 2026 by committees controlled by each candidate, and can include transfers from a candidate's earlier committees. Semi-annual reports covering January–June 2026 were due July 31, 2026, so some totals lag a period behind. Per the California Secretary of State's Cal-Access raw data export, retrieved 2026-09-21. Total is itemized (Schedule A) contributions and self-funding loans dated after the June 2, 2026 primary, through June 30, 2026 — small-dollar unitemized (under $100) contributions aren't independently dated in Cal-Access's raw export, so they aren't reflected here and this may undercount true small-donor activity since the primary. This also doesn't include money reported only on 24-hour late-contribution reports (Form 497) that haven't yet appeared in a periodic Form 460 filing. Per the California Secretary of State's Cal-Access raw data export, retrieved 2026-08-30. ## Sources 1. [CA Secretary of State — Statement of Vote, June 2, 2026 primary (certified 2026-07-10)](https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/prior-elections/statewide-election-results/primary-election-june-2-2026/statement-vote) 2. [The Eastsider — 2026 Eastside legislative race coverage](https://www.theeastsiderla.com) 3. [Ballotpedia — June 2026 California primary](https://ballotpedia.org) 4. [Cal-Access raw data export — California Secretary of State](https://www.sos.ca.gov/campaign-lobbying/helpful-resources/raw-data-campaign-finance-and-lobbying-activity) ## The rest of the ballot State Senator, District 26 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "State Senator, District 26 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/state-senate-26 (sources last retrieved August 30, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.