The following describes how our chapter approaches candidate endorsements and candidate recommendations.
What does a Sonoma County DSA candidate endorsement mean?
If a candidate is endorsed by the Sonoma County Democratic Socialists of America, it indicates that the chapter believes the candidate will advance the platform of the chapter or will meaningfully fight for working class people and challenge the capitalist elite.
When a candidate is endorsed, their campaign becomes a chapter priority. This means the chapter will dedicate a significant amount of resources to making the candidate’s campaign a success through canvassing, phonebanking, research, social media content, etc.
Upon winning their race, most candidates should join the chapter’s Socialist in Office program. The SIO serves two purposes: a forum for the elected and the chapter to collaborate on policy, and an avenue for the chapter to provide community support for the candidate throughout their term.
As Sonoma County DSA endorsements have a high bar and require significant chapter commitment, Sonoma County DSA endorses far fewer candidates than most political organizations.
Our current endorsements:
What are Sonoma County DSA candidate recommendations?
In addition to endorsements, the chapter will recommend candidates in its Voter Guide. This indicates the chapter believes the candidate is the best choice in the race, but nothing more.
A recommendation is not an endorsement. The Voter Guide is meant to be a helpful resource for the community and, as such, will frequently recommend candidates who would not meet the bar for chapter endorsement. Candidates cannot treat recommendations as endorsements, meaning the chapter cannot be featured on their website or literature, and candidates must ask permission from the chapter before making any public comment which mentions said recommendation.
What are the criteria for candidate endorsement?
The criteria for endorsement are listed below; however, which criteria must be met depends on the type of endorsement, which are described after the criteria.
- The candidate’s race shall be winnable, with the chapter having the capacity to contribute significantly to the race.
- The candidate’s platform must be notably progressive, either sharing significant similarities with an adopted chapter platform or the DSA national Workers Deserve More (2024) platform, and their positions shall not cross any “red lines”* the chapter possesses.
- The candidate shall reject donations from corporate PACs or lobbying organizations which exist to advance priorities that contradict the chapter platform, including but not limited to: fossil fuel interests, law enforcement groups, Zionist lobbying organizations, charter school associations, and real estate interests.
- The candidate shall publicly identify as a Democratic Socialist.
- The candidate shall be a DSA member.
- The candidate shall invite committed members of the chapter into key campaign roles, including communications, field, and literature development and design.
- The candidate shall promote the chapter or the national organization and encourage supporters to get involved in DSA.
- The candidate shall join the Socialist in Office Committee after winning their election.
- The candidate shall commit to endorsing other candidates endorsed by the chapter.
* Individual positions the chapter determines to be disqualifying, such as denying the genocide in Gaza.
A cadre endorsement is given to a candidate who fulfills all described criteria and is a committed member of the chapter.
A class struggle endorsement is given to a candidate that meets at least the first four criteria, and whose campaign is in conflict with the capitalist elite and mobilizes the working class. Any additional criteria that are met (#5 – #9) improve their odds of endorsement.
When the chapter has limited resources and multiple campaigns to consider, cadre endorsements are prioritized over class struggle endorsements. This distinction is primarily for the chapter and candidates who apply for endorsement, and are not delineated in public communications.
What is the endorsement process?
A candidate may submit a request for endorsement to electoral@socodsa.org, which will then be reviewed by the Electoral Committee Co-Chairs.
Their endorsement will then be considered by the Electoral Committee, which normally involves answering a questionnaire and participating in an interview. The Electoral Committee will then vote whether to recommend endorsement to the broader chapter.
If so, the vote is then brought to the next chapter meeting, or a special session will be scheduled. The candidate will have a chance to speak to the chapter. Then, the chapter will deliberate and vote whether or not to endorse.