Eduardo Vargas

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Eduardo Vargas

Peace and Freedom Party

Candidate, California Commissioner of Insurance

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 5, 2024

Next election

June 2, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

Kenyon College, 2018

Other

California State University, Los Angeles, 2021

Personal

Profession

Teacher

Contact

Campaign website

Personal LinkedIn

Eduardo Vargas (Peace and Freedom Party) (also known as Lalo) is running for election for California Commissioner of Insurance. He declared candidacy for the primary scheduled on June 2, 2026.^[source]

Vargas completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Eduardo Vargas earned a bachelor's degree from Kenyon College in 2018 and graudated from the California State University, Los Angeles in 2021. His career experience includes working as a teacher.

On March 9, 2026, Vargas informed Ballotpedia that he changed party affiliation from Democratic to Peace and Freedom.

Elections

2026

See also: California Insurance Commissioner election, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Nonpartisan primary

Nonpartisan primary election for California Commissioner of Insurance

The following candidates are running in the primary for California Commissioner of Insurance on June 2, 2026.

		Candidate
		Ben Allen (D)
		Steven Bradford (D)
		Jane Kim (D)
		Patrick Wolff (D)
	Submit photo	Robert Howell (R)
		Stacy Korsgaden (R)
		Eduardo Vargas (Peace and Freedom Party)

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

See also: City elections in Los Angeles, California (2024)

General election

General election for Los Angeles City Council District 14

Ysabel J. Jurado defeated incumbent Kevin de León in the general election for Los Angeles City Council District 14 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ysabel J. Jurado (Nonpartisan)	57.2	46,007
		Kevin de León (Nonpartisan)	42.8	34,472

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 80,479
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Los Angeles City Council District 14

The following candidates ran in the primary for Los Angeles City Council District 14 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ysabel J. Jurado (Nonpartisan)	24.5	8,618
✔		Kevin de León (Nonpartisan)	23.4	8,220
		Miguel Santiago (Nonpartisan)	21.3	7,470
		Wendy Carrillo (Nonpartisan)	15.1	5,321
		Eduardo Vargas (Nonpartisan)	4.7	1,638
	Submit photo	Teresa Y. Hillery (Nonpartisan)	4.3	1,519
	Submit photo	Genny Guerrero (Nonpartisan)	4.1	1,457
		Nadine M. Diaz (Nonpartisan)	2.6	904

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 35,147
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Vargas in this election.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Eduardo Vargas completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Vargas' responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I have taught environmental science and biology at the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for the past five years. I am a proud member of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) and member of the bargaining team, negotiating contracts on behalf of 39,000 educators. In 2023 along with thousands of other teachers I went on strike in solidarity with SEIU Local 99 for better student outcomes and learning conditions at LAUSD. When I am not teaching I spend my time organizing working class communities to fight for what they deserve. In January 2025 when the LA Wildfires broke out, I was one of the first organizers in Altadena and Pasadena to provide aid to families who were displaced and lost their homes. In 2022 I helped Pasadena tenants organize against evictions and form their own tenant union, including canvassing to pass Measure H, a local rent control measure. From helping fire survivors clean up affected areas to organizing immigrants to fight back against ICE terror, my extensive experience serving the people has prepared me better than any other candidate to become California’s next Insurance Commissioner.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• INVESTIGATE THE 10 LARGEST INSURERS - As the head of the Department of Insurance, I will lead the department in market conduct investigations of the ten largest property and casualty insurance companies in California. Investigations will seek to expose the exploitative nature of all internal claim procedures and any unfair competition or illegal coordination between insurance companies. Each investigation will include a massive public outreach campaign to solicit stories, formal complaints, and first hand accounts from policyholders. Organizations representing policyholders and survivors of natural disasters will be tapped to help spearhead these efforts and will be included in every step of these investigations.

• Full Compensation for Fire Survivors - Countless survivors of fires have reported that their insurers have partially or fully denied their insurance claims and are refusing to pay for the actual costs for repairs or rebuilds. Survivors from other California wildfires have reported similar experiences. Insurance companies are violating Califonia’s Insurance Code when they refuse to meet their obligation to restore damaged property to its previous condition. As Insurance Commissioner, I will immediately issue insurance companies a cease and desist to end this behavior, vigorously investigate all complaints from fire survivors, and levy fines on insurers for every day that fire survivors have been denied full and fair compensation.

• Free universal healthcare - Healthcare should be a right for all, not a commodity sold for profit. Every person regardless of immigration status, employment, identity or other should have access to free and comprehensive health care including preventative, reproductive and gender affirming care. The current system of “healthcare for some” rather than free universal healthcare is an expensive drain on taxpayer dollars that ensures huge profits for health-industry corporations. The solution is to create a single payer system, such as Cal Care, that ensures health care for all. We must also defend pre-existing healthcare programs like Medi-Cal. A statewide single-payer system would guarantee health care for all by taxing the billionaire class.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Families whose houses were lost or damaged in the 2025 fires were cheated out of their coverage. By refusing to fully pay out claims and threatening to not renew or write new policies, the private insurance industry is trying to hold California hostage. Their ransom: rate hikes, more money for less coverage. Every worker in California is now being asked to pay for a climate crisis caused by the richest corporations in the world. Everyday people’s livelihoods are destroyed and those in charge of regulating the industry aid this activity. I'm running for Insurance Commissioner to end the stranglehold of private insurance, to investigate and hold corporate executives accountable and to fight for a society with full and fair coverage for all.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2024

Eduardo Vargas completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Vargas' responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Eduardo Ezequiel Vargas, but my family calls me "Lalo". I'm a public school teacher, a former first responder, a tenant organizer, and a proud socialist.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Housing is a right
• End police terror & defund the police
• Environmental justice

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Housing & homelessness, public safety, environment protections, workers rights, immigrant rights, public transportation, etc

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Party for Socialism & Liberation
Peace and Freedom Party

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.

See also

2026 Elections

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External links

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Candidate

California Commissioner of Insurance

Website

Personal

LinkedIn

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