FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Thursday, December 18, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
Run For Something Endorses 56 Young Candidates Across 19 States, Supporting the Next Generation of Leaders
NEW YORK — Today, Run for Something (RFS) announced its newest slate of endorsements for the 2026 election cycle, backing 56 young, diverse, and community-rooted candidates across 19 states running for offices ranging from state representative and city attorney to mayor and board commissioner. These endorsements reflect Run for Something’s ongoing commitment to recruiting and supporting leaders who bring lived experience, urgency, and bold ideas to the offices that most directly impact people’s everyday lives.
“Sitting on the sidelines isn’t an option anymore,” said Amanda Litman, co-founder and President of Run for Something. “These candidates are choosing to run because the moment is urgent. They’re bringing their lived experience and real solutions to the offices that shape people’s everyday lives, and supporting them is how we build durable power where it matters most.”
This latest round of endorsements builds on victories across the ballot in 2025. This year, RFS endorsed over 300 candidates, with 65% of those on the ballot in November winning their race. Of those, 43 flipped their seats from red to blue on Election Day, including seats in Virginia, Colorado, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Hampshire. Since its founding in 2017, Run for Something has helped elect more than 1,600 young progressives, building one of the largest and most effective candidate pipelines in the country with nearly 250,000 potential candidates.
This month’s slate continues that momentum, underscoring a core truth of Run for Something’s mission: when everyday people run — and get the support they deserve — they can win and govern effectively.
Learn more about Run for Something’s endorsements here or see the full slate of candidates below:
CALIFORNIA
Destiny Briscoe, Pittsburg Unified School District, Board of Trustees
Dr. Bri Sérráno, Covina City Council, District 5
Jon Rawlings, Los Angeles City Council, District 3
Joz Sida, Fontana Mayor
Luz Perez, Fontana City Council, District 4
Marissa Roy, LA City Attorney
Mayra Campa, Fresno City Council, District 1
Ryan Schavrien, Redlands Unified School District, Trustee Area 2
COLORADO
Chauncy Johnson, State House, District 17
Dr. Alexis Hoffkling, State House, District 23
Jeremiah Medina, State House, District 23
Kenny Nguyen, State House, District 33
DELAWARE
Nikhil Dutta-Roy, Milford School Board, Area C
FLORIDA
Emily Gregory, State House, District 87
Neil Manimaal, Hillsborough County Commissioner, District 5
Rob Long, State House, District 90
GEORGIA
Zae Brewer, State House, District 95
ILLINOIS
Demi Palecek, State House, District 13
James O’Brien , State House, District 13
Jessica Vásquez, Cook County Commissioner, District 8
José “Che-Che” Turrubiartez Wilson, Cook County Commissioner, District 12
Cat Sharp, Cook County Commissioner, District 12
Miguel Alvelo Rivera, State House, District 40
Miguel Valente , Sangamon County Board, District 18
Nick Uniejewski, State Senate, District 6
Shantel Franklin, State House, District 8
Zoey Carter, State House, District 93
INDIANA
Chloe Andis, State Senate, District 15
Joel Levi, State House, District 37
IOWA
India May, State House, District 58
Leila Staton, State House, District 54
KANSAS
Kylie Kilmer, State House, District 70
MARYLAND
Amar Mukunda, State Senate, District 39
Anthony Lyon, House of Delegates, District 34B
MICHIGAN
Justin Onwenu, State Senate, District 1
Kali Scales, State House, District 5
Kimberly Fisher, State House, District 11
MINNESOTA
Uriah Ward, Saint Paul School Board
NEBRASKA
Jayden Speed, State Legislature, District 2
Nate Ostdiek, State Legislature, District 6
NEW YORK
Josh Arnon, State Assembly, District 74
Liz Santillanes, Board of Education, Public Schools of the Tarrytowns
Mahtab Khan, State Assembly, District 24
NORTH CAROLINA
Jess Rivera, State Senate, District 4
PENNSYLVANIA
Brad Chambers, State House, District 41
SOUTH DAKOTA
Claire Ketcham, State House, District 10
TEXAS
Adrian Reyna, State House, District 125
Dolores Lozano, Harris County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2, Place 2
Jeneba Barrie, 282nd Judicial District Court Judge
Josh Reyna, State House, District 49
Julio Salinas, State House, District 41
Michelle Netsai Butler, Denton County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 6
Staci Childs, State House, District 131
Thomas Ray Garcia, State Board of Education, District 2
Tyler Smith, State House, District 138
WISCONSIN
Juliana Bennett, State Assembly, District 76
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Run for Something (RFS) recruits and supports young progressive candidates running for state and local offices. Since its founding, RFS has helped elect over 1,600 candidates across the country, including 43 candidates in red-to-blue seats in the 2025 election cycle. Today, RFS has the largest database of any other Democratic organization, with 75,000 people reaching out since last November with interest in running for office.