Trailing Sara Hernandez after the primary, Sarah Rascón says community organizing can overcome outside spending and negative campaign attacks in the race to replace Maria Elena Durazo.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of mailers have been distributed across Senate District 26 containing accusations against Sarah Rascón. She describes them as evidence of the fear her opponent feels in the race to decide who will become the district’s next state senator.
“I laugh about it. They accuse me of so many things, so many lies. Yesterday, instinctively, I picked up my phone and started looking through my photo gallery. You know how it shows you pictures from years ago. I saw the years of activism I’ve done in the community, the long history of my work here, not from the outside, but from within. I told myself, ‘They can attack me all they want, say whatever they want. I know who I am. I know what I’ve done in this community,’” Rascón says.
She faces Sara Hernandez in Tuesday’s general election, which will determine who will replace current state Senator Maria Elena Durazo.
In the primary, Hernandez finished first by a decisive margin, receiving nearly 20,000 more votes than Rascón. But the Glassell Park resident remains confident she can close the gap.
“Twenty thousand votes is nothing in an election like this. The other candidates who participated in the primary but didn’t make it through have supported me. They’re campaigning for me,” Rascón says.
But she wants to make one thing clear. “This campaign isn’t just about a seat in the state Senate. It’s not about Sara Hernandez or me. This election is about the future of Los Angeles. It’s about the transparency of an election, the power corporations have to buy an election, and fighting to ensure that the real voices of district residents choose the candidate who will fight to improve their lives.”
The interview takes an unexpected turn. We begin discussing a systemic problem in the country’s electoral system and the role of voters themselves.
“Millions have been contributed to my opponent’s campaign. I’m not willing to accept those funds known as Super PAC and PAC money. They create the wrong narrative for voters. Attacks are distributed instead of ideas. The challenge for voters is to take the material they receive, open it, read it, and verify the information.
“My fight in this election isn’t just against Sara Hernandez. It’s against the corporations that want to control the city’s future. Politicians who take their money represent them. They’re just their puppets, and then communities are left unprotected and excluded from political platforms. This has to change. My fight is against the system,” she adds passionately.
Rascón emphasizes the millions of dollars contributed by these groups to her opponent’s campaign and says the fight against this kind of influence has begun.
Rascón: A Rise Rooted in the Community
Sarah Rascón was born in the United States, but her mother and grandmother were born in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Her parents divorced when she was eight years old, an experience she remembers and has discussed in interviews.
“My parents weren’t ready. They got married very young, and I don’t blame them. They married twice and divorced twice,” she says with a laugh, recalling the story. “I wasn’t born during their first marriage. They separated, and when they tried again, they did everything all over again. That’s when I was born. I can say I’m the daughter of a second marriage.”
She bursts into laughter, recalling the story in a previous interview with Parriva.
Rascón received a generous scholarship to UC Merced that allowed her to navigate the world independently, somewhat apart from her family, and gave her the tools to understand that making the right decision was the only way forward.
During that time, her commitment and passion grew. Her aunt told her a famous phrase: “It’s time to be a pioneer.”
After traveling a few times, she returned to Los Angeles. She joined the Hispanic College Fund, an experience that changed her life. The organization gave her the opportunity to show young Latinos the possibilities of higher education by introducing them to major educational institutions, including UCLA, and demonstrating that a different world was within reach.
“I was passionate about being with them, meeting other mentors, exchanging opinions, seeing their amazement and their hope that those doors could be opened. We exposed Latinos to other Latinos,” she said.
During that time, Cynthia Ruiz, a representative from then Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s office, came to give a talk. Her speech was so inspiring that Rascón approached her and later requested an interview. That encounter marked the beginning of a long journey in public service, including positions in the State Assembly and State Senate, as well as roles in various agencies and municipal organizations.
“I began to understand how government works and what it takes to make a difference. I’ve worked in agencies, but I’ve also done community work, in neighborhoods, visiting people at night and on weekends, without a fixed schedule, responding to their needs. I’ve enjoyed all those jobs serving the community.”
A Campaign That Aims to Surprise
After finishing second in the primary, Rascón began developing her strategy for the November 3 general election, keeping her goal in mind: working from within the community, not imposing decisions on it.
“I’ve focused on visiting communities I hadn’t had the opportunity to reach before, strengthening other alliances and knocking on doors whenever we can. Remember, we’re up against big money.
“After the primary, I felt very positive. We achieved positive results against the roughly $3 million my opponent had. We achieved ours with only $100,000.
“For me, campaigning alongside the community is vital. I come from the community. And I want to insist on this: they can send negative messages and spread misinformation, but we have a very resilient community. People don’t need to be told what to do.
“Personally, I don’t like telling people what they have to do. I prefer to bring them into our goals, give them responsibilities, and make them part of this effort. The community is very intelligent. People look for those they can trust,” she adds.
The attacks she mentions include comments she says she has heard about her opponent.
“Someone I trust a great deal summed up her approach to me this way: ‘She does whatever she needs to do to win, no matter what.’ That explains everything.”
In the final months of the campaign, Rascón dedicated her time to organizing events in places where the community gathers, including small businesses and the L.A. River, among other locations.
“I try to make these events enjoyable, connect with people, and affirm my vision of how I can contribute to addressing the issues affecting the community. I spend time with young voters. We’re going through a crisis, and the current situation is hitting us hard. I include myself in that because I have student loans, I pay rent, and I face limitations similar to those experienced by the rest of my generation.
“I tell them, ‘The time for change is now. We don’t have to wait until we’re 60 years old to change things. Today is the moment for change,’” she adds.
“Only the People Can Save the People”
Throughout an election campaign, moments of frustration inevitably arise. Rascón says those moments come when she sees how money can influence elections and how the resources available to her opponents can be used against the communities she wants to represent. She argues that corporations contribute not simply to help, but to advance their own interests.
“We have to walk the walk. This is bigger than the election. We have to seize this moment and push for change. I repeat it: for me, ‘Only the people can save the people.’ If we don’t mobilize, nothing will change. It all starts now, with this election,” she says.
For Rascón, community work comes naturally. It is something she has always done, and she has consistently paid attention to how government works with local communities.
“I don’t believe in telling people what they have to do. We have to build a movement. The community knows best. We have to engage people in this process, bring everyone to the table and find solutions,” she insists.
During the final days of the campaign, her team will continue knocking on doors and attending scheduled events.
“Without the team we’ve built, we wouldn’t have this opportunity. It’s the best team, committed and determined to achieve a transformation. As my grandmother used to say, ‘In this house, we don’t throw food away.’ That’s how we operate, too. We don’t waste resources.
“We’ll be campaigning until the very end. And, as we used to say at home, ‘será lo que Dios quiera’ (we’ll leave the rest in God’s hands), even though we know we each have to do our part.”
