Former Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo has announced her candidacy for state Senate District 26, a seat that will open up next year with current Sen. María Elena Durazo not seeking reelection.

Carrillo, who served in the Assembly from 2017 to 2024, said actions by President Donald Trump’s administration fueled her desire to return to Sacramento. In addition, the seven years she previously spent in Sacramento means she would be able to hit the ground running, she said.

“The election of Trump back into the White House really pushed me forward to return to the Legislature,” Carrillo said during an interview on Thursday, March 13. “The Legislature needs fearless warriors to fight for our community. I wouldn’t be learning on the job; I know it.”

“More than ever, we see the federal administration and the White House fire people for no cause, disrupt our civil liberties and rights, shut down programs. … The Legislature plays a big role in fighting for our families and the safety nets,” she said.

If elected to the Senate, Carrillo said her priorities would be to ensure that all Californians have access to health care — especially in light of growing concerns about potential cuts to Medicare under a Republican-controlled Congress and White House —as well as to move the state toward 100% renewable energy and advocate for economic opportunities that will support a workforce that can afford to live and thrive in the state.

Carrillo, who launched her campaign website Wednesday evening, March 12, is the second person to formally declare a run for Senate District 26.

Los Angeles Community College District Trustee Sara Hernandez announced her candidacy on Monday. Both candidates, as is the current District 26 officeholder they hope to replace, are Democrats.

Durazo has decided not to seek reelection to the Senate but will instead run for a seat on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors next year when current Supervisor Hilda Solis is termed out.

Senate District 26 represents a part of Los Angeles County that stretches from L.A.’s Eagle Rock and Highland Park neighborhoods in the north, toward Los Feliz and Koreatown in the west, and Boyle Heights, East L.A. and the city of Vernon in the southeastern part of the district.

Carrillo, 44, is a resident of El Sereno.

Before her election to the Assembly, Carrillo was a community organizer and communications manager for a local branch of the Service Employees International Union, advocating for homecare and skilled nursing home employees. She also hosted a radio show called “Knowledge is Power” for a decade.

In 2019, while in the Assembly, Carrillo received a “Rising Star Award” from Emily’s List, which works to elect Democratic female candidates.

But she ran into problems in November 2023 when she was arrested for drunken driving. She later pled no contest to a misdemeanor DUI charge.

After losing her bid for a seat on the L.A. City Council in March 2024, Carrillo, during her final year on the Assembly, pushed through a bill requiring schools to provide instruction to students about the short- and long-term health risks associated with excessive alcohol use, including the potential to develop chronic diseases and mental health problems. The bill passed with bipartisan support and was signed into law last year.

On Thursday, Carrillo said she’s been sober since the DUI incident.

“It’s been the most rewarding thing to remember what it feels like to be healthy,” she said.

A year ago, Carrillo acknowledged that the pressures of working 12- to 14-hour days as a legislator can be challenging and that she needed to learn how to manage such stress.

Carrillo said she’s been humbled by people who have reached out to share their own struggles and that it has allowed her to relate to others in a deeper way.

“Our legislature needs people that have everyday experiences of everyday families across our state, good and bad,” said Carrillo.

Experiences like hers, she said, lead to “compassionate leadership,” guided by empathy that results in “policy that creates safer and healthier communities that can live in dignity.”

According to Carrillo’s campaign, the former assemblymember is endorsed by former L.A. Mayor and 2026 gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigosa, former state Sen. Richard Polanco and Assemblymember Alex Lee, D-Milpitas, who chairs the California Legislative Progressive Caucus.

“I feel a calling to return (to the legislature), and I’m excited about that,” said Carrillo.

“You have a very public fall, but you can also have a very public rise,” she said.