CalBike’s 2026 Primary Election Endorsements
At CalBike, we work not just to improve what policymakers decide about transportation but to improve who those policymakers are. In 2026, California needs leaders who are up to the challenge of the current moment to face the climate crisis and prioritize active transportation.
Because the California Bicycle Coalition is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, we can engage with electoral politics. The critical victories we’ve achieved to make our streets safer for people biking and walking wouldn’t have been possible without strong champions in the California Assembly and Senate.
This year, and every year, it is vital to elect officials who share our goals of creating equitable, inclusive, and prosperous communities where bicycling helps to enable all Californians to lead healthy and joyful lives.
AD 65 Fatima Iqbal-Zubair
Iqbal-Zubair supports reshaping our transportation budget so it matches our climate, safety, and mobility goals. “Right now,” she said, “we are spending too much on projects that lock us into more driving, more pollution, and more displacement. I would prioritize faster, more reliable public transit; safer streets for walking and biking; better connections to schools, jobs, and essential services; and infrastructure investments that actually improve daily life for working families.”
We are impressed by Iqbal-Zubair’s track record in South LA and her support for prioritizing low-income communities of color in transportation decisions. We’re excited to see her vision and passion at the state level.
AD 66 Sara Deen
Deen advocates for “a significant increase to expand safe and accessible walking and biking options,” while understanding that “expanding highway capacity often leads to more driving, more emissions, and only temporary congestion relief.” A current school board member, Deen supports devoting more of California’s transportation budget to active transportation. Her answers to CalBike’s questionnaire demonstrated her support for prioritizing low-income communities of color for transportation funding.
AD 68 Jessie Lopez
Jessie Lopez thinks California should look at our transportation budget and how it prioritizes projects that increase vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions. Lopez said her priority “would be to rebalance funding toward projects that reduce car dependence and expand real transportation choices.”
Lopez’s answers to CalBike’s candidate questionnaire showed a strong desire to work with active transportation and environmental advocates to shape better state policy. She understands the need to prioritize low-income communities for infrastructure funding.
SD 40 Mara Elliott
Mara Elliot understands the need to shift from being a car-dependent state. She believes we must prioritize investments in our public transportation system and infrastructure that increase transit ridership, advance our climate goals, and improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and those using other modes of transportation.
Elliot would prioritize shifting our state transportation budget to make substantial investments in disadvantaged communities across California. She would work to empower the communities most impacted by pollution to choose their own goals, strategies, and projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution.
CalBike Endorsement Process
CalBike sends questionnaires to candidates for Assembly and Senate and evaluates the responses. The candidates we endorse support safe streets and funding for active transportation infrastructure. They don’t support freeway expansion and projects that will add to vehicle miles traveled, and they favor using money for sustainable transportation instead.
