From the Activism Chair
April 2026
by Caryl Schwartz
As of 3/27/26, Democrats continued to overperform, even flipping State House seats in Florida and Arkansas that Democrats have not held for over a decade. Democrats have flipped 30 state legislative seats since Trump retook office. How many seats have Republicans flipped? ZERO!
More good news: a federal judge blocked Trump's policy that would have allowed the detention of potentially over 100,000 refugees who had not yet obtained green cards after one year in the U.S. The court ruled the policy unlawfully reinterpreted immigration law, halting a broader DHS program aimed at expanding detention.
We have too many Democrats running for Governor in the June 2nd jungle primary. Unfortunately, the low polling candidates refused to drop out prior to the ballots being printed. It's critical that we unite to support one candidate for the California Gubernatorial race; otherwise potentially two Republicans could face off in November.
Trump's war in Iran is a disaster. When you are surrounded by sycophants, it is difficult to receive accurate assessments. No matter how many precision bombs and how many billions the U.S. spends, Iran can use cheap drones to effectively wreak havoc on Middle Eastern oil infrastructure. Don't expect gas prices to go down anytime soon. Repairs could take years. The true beneficiary of the war is Russia, whose oil revenues are potentially doubling as U.S. weapons stocks become depleted.
The war is already costing at least $1 billion a day, and administration officials have suggested they are going to ask Congress for more money. On March 10th, the Congressional Budget Office reported the U.S. has borrowed $1 trillion over the past five months - that's $50 billion a week on average, while Trump's tax cuts slash revenue. Remember when the GOP claimed they cared about the deficit.
The SEC's top enforcement official resigned due to political interference in financial enforcement of cases involving Trump allies and donors. Investigations hindered include those involving Elon Musk and crypto figure Justin Sun.
Trump's pressure shaped the latest major media transaction involving Warner Brothers. The result is CNN will be owned by Paramount Pictures, under Trump ally David Ellison. The Regime is ensuring that independent news outlets fall under loyal ownership. It is true in social media too. Musk owns X. In January, TikTok was sold to a consortium of investors including Oracle (Larry Ellison) and Abu Dhabi's MGX. The new ownership is more threatening to American Democracy than Chinese ByteDance.
The Trump Regime is turning back the clock and shutting down clean energy projects, using taxpayer money to pay a French energy company up to $1 billion to abandon two U.S. offshore wind projects. This is after legal attempts FAILED to block the wind projects. Now the company is being directed to fossil fuel development.
In DHS funding news: Mike Johnson, per Trump's request, rejected the Senate bill that carved out ICE and CBP but funded TSA and FEMA.
Trump wants to use the DHS shutdown standoff as leverage to pass a strict voter ID bill. The legislation, pushed by lies of widespread voter fraud, would impose new documentation requirements on voters.
On March 31st, Trump addressed his fears of Midterm election losses by issuing an Executive Order for a nationwide list of verified voters in each state and instructing the U.S. Postal Service to send ballots only to verified voters.
The SAVE America Act Trump is trying to push through the House doesn't enhance election integrity; it's a voter suppression bill that will make it more difficult for qualified Americans to vote. It would require Americans to provide a birth certificate, a passport, or one of a limited number of documents to register or re-register to vote. It's estimated that over 21 million Americans don't have that kind of proof.
Other voter suppression tactics involve U.S. Department of Education attempts to suppress college student voter turnout ahead of the 2026 midterms by launching an investigation into Tufts University and the National Student Clearinghouse. The plan is traced back to election deniers driving Trump's election "takeover" plans.
Montana has a creative tactic to fight against Citizen's United SCOTUS 2010 ruling. Signatures are currently being gathered for a ballot measure in November's election that would strip corporations of the legal power to spend money on elections.
If it passes and survives court challenges it could potentially be replicated in other states. It would neutralize the need for Constitutional amendment to end corporate PACs and dark money influence in American politics.
We witnessed Trump ordering ICE agents to airports to manage security lines during DHS funding negotiations. This action expanded ICE into a general-purpose enforcement agency to project authority, blurring the lines between immigration policy and political objectives. I am concerned it's an attempt to normalize law enforcement at locations where they traditionally don't belong.
We need to ask what local and state officials across the country are doing to prepare for the possibility of law enforcement (ICE) at the polls. Are there actionable plans to protect voting locations in minority, rural, and low-income communities against intimidation?
Upcoming In Person Rallies & Events:
Liberty & Justice for ALL, South Bay weekly Saturdays 11:30 am-1 pm
https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/916557/
Manhattan Beach Protests: weekly Sundays 10:30 am-Noon
Sepulveda (east side) & 33rd Street, Manhattan Beach
https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/814761/
Stand Up, Speak Out: El Segundo Monthly Rally
April 4 & May 2 10:30 am- NOON https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/811189/
Mark your calendars:
Workers Over Billionaires events throughout LA MAY DAY on May 1st
Election News:
LOCAL ELECTIONS MATTER: Torrance General Election June 2, 2026
Current Right-Wing Mayor George Chen will be running against City Councilmember Sharon Kalani
Aurelio Mattucci MAGA City Council Member is running for City Treasurer, no Democrat is running.
Democrats politically active in Torrance recommend supporting Sharon Kalani for Mayor and suggest supporting Griffiths for Treasurer to prevent a MAGA nightmare in the city.
City Clerk and Councilmembers for Districts 1, 3, 5
Betty Lieu has filed to run for District 5
April 7th Election Results:
Georgia Congressional District 14 Special Election: Democrat Shawn Harris lost to Trump endorsed candidate Clay Fuller. Harris received 44% of the vote in a very rural red district. Both will be running again in the November Midterms.
Wisconsin State Supreme Court race was won by Chris Taylor. She flipped red counties that previously were considered GOP base.This is a major Democratic victory that grew the Liberal majority on the Court to 5 -2.
Scheduled Special Elections for 2026:
TX Congressional District 18. Democrat Chris Menefee won the election on January 31, 2026.
New race for the seat opened Feb. 17,2026, early voting starts in the March primary in the newly gerrymandered 18th district. https://christianmenefee.com/
New Jersey’s Congressional District 11: April 16. Analilia Mejia is the Democratic candidate.
To donate: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/analiliafornj
Phone banking: https://www.mobilize.us/analiliafornj/
Ohio Senate. Special election to fill seat vacated by JD Vance on November 3, 2026. Sherrod Brown is running, and I encourage Club members to support him in any way they can. https://www.sherrodbrown.com/
Florida Senate. Special election for filling the reminder of Marco Rubio’s term on November 3, 2026. The primary is August 18, 2026.
Please support: Organizations Fighting Voter Suppression:
Democracy Docket: https://www.democracydocket.com/about-us/
Fair Fight:https://www.fairfight.com/
Democracy Forward:https://democracyforward.org/
Common Cause:https://www.commoncause.org
Other Organizations
Defending Our Neighbors: https://defendingourneighbors.org/
LA Regional Food Bank https://www.lafoodbank.org/find-food/pantry-locator/
Senate Campaigns to Support:
Re-elect Jon Ossoff Georgia https://electjon.com/
James Talarico for Texas Senate https://jamestalarico.com/
Sherrod Brown for Ohio Senate https://www.sherrodbrown.com/
Chris Pappas for New Hampshire Senate https://chrispappas.org/
Mary Pelota for Alaska Senate https://marypeltola.com/
Roy Cooper for North Carolina Senate https://roycooper.com/
After Democratic primaries the list will grow to include but not limited to Maine, Iowa, Minnesota. Michigan, Texas. We need to flip a minimum of five Senate seats. Goal for House of Representatives is at least 25 seats. To end our accelerating slide into autocracy 2026 demands we become more effective at reining Trump-Miller-Vance agenda. Saving Democracy is hard work and requires mobilization
Immigrant Assistance
You can download a printable sheet that outlines what to do if ICE comes to the door here. These can also be ordered as “red cards”.
Here’s a sheet that explains how to identify ICE vehicles and what to do if you see them.
Here are more ways to help immigrants.
South Bay For All – Raising rental aid for immigrant neighbors and helping them run their businesses safely from home. Instagram | southbayforall@gmail.com
Gardena Guardians – Standing in solidarity with Gardena's immigrant community, providing resources and advocacy. Instagram
HILL – Supporting day laborers and immigrant families. Instagram | hillresponseteam@gmail.com
Harbor Area Peace Patrols – A collective of concerned Harbor residents patrolling neighborhoods to defend neighbors from ICE/DHS, sharing Know Your Rights information. Instagram
CHIRLA – A California leader advocating for immigrant rights since 1986, building a just society inclusive of immigrants. Website Please donate to our CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights - Los Angeles) fundraiser. Money raised will help this highly-regarded non-profit to help inform immigrants of their legal rights. We have raised just over half of our $5,000 goal.
CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice) – Mobilizing the faith community to stand with workers and families for dignity and justice. Website
Immigrant Defenders Law Center – A social justice law firm defending immigrant communities from injustices in the immigration system. Website
Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) – Training advocates, shaping policy, and empowering immigrants through civic
For additional activism options and opportunities, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at pvcaryl@verizon.net or 310-897-0219.
Please feel free to reach out to me for suggestions or questions on Activism.
Onward,
Caryl Schwartz
Palos Verdes Democrats Activism Chair
pvcaryl@verizon.net
310 897 0219