Apply for Endorsement.

Only Registered Democrats are eligible for the Democratic Party of Orange County endorsement.

Per its Bylaws, the Democratic Party of Orange County Central Committee has exclusive endorsing authority for all local nonpartisan offices, judicial offices and ballot measures within Orange County. The DPOC does not endorse candidates for statewide partisan and nonpartisan offices, state senate and assembly offices, for members of the United States Congress, or for state ballot propositions, initiatives, referenda, or recalls. The endorsing authority for those races is the California Democratic Party.

The Endorsement Process

• Application and Fee:

After submitting a completed application and payment of a processing fee, candidates will be interviewed by the DPOC Endorsement Committee. The timing of a candidate’s consideration for endorsement is totally at the discretion of the DPOC. The application is confidential and will only be disclosed to members of the Central Committee. 

• The Endorsement Committee:

Candidate applications will be reviewed by the relevant DPOC Endorsement Committee selected by the Chair. Candidates will be interviewed by the Endorsement Committee either in person or virtually. The DPOC will notify candidates of the Endorsement Committee’s recommendation and will submit its recommendation to the Central Committee for final decision.

• Outreach:

Candidates may choose to reach out to Central Committee members to discuss their campaign before the endorsement vote. They may request a roster of Central Committee members’ personal contact information for the purposes of outreach only after they have submitted a completed application and paid the application fee. 

Regular Endorsement Process:

• Regular endorsements are considered after the filing period begins for a race, provided that no early endorsement has been made in that race (see below).

1. A declared candidate that has pulled papers for a race with the OC Registrar and is a registered Democrat submits a written request for endorsement to endorsements@ocdemocrats.org.
2. Notice regarding endorsements is posted on the DPOC website and given to all other Democratic candidates who have filed for the applicable race.
3. The Endorsement Committee reviews and considers all timely applicants.
4. Regular endorsements must be approved by 60%+ of the Central Committee members present and voting. A candidate cannot publicize or claim they are an endorsed candidate until the Central Committee votes on their race. Only candidates that receive 60%+ of the Central Committee will be endorsed. The DPOC will notify candidates when they are officially endorsed.
5. Once the Central Committee officially endorses in a race the endorsement committee will not consider late filing or other candidates.

Early Endorsement Process

• The DPOC may decide to open a race for consideration of applications for early endorsement before the filing period opens. Not all races or candidates will be considered for early endorsement. Notice will be posted on the DPOC website and given to all known candidates in that race that are registered Democrats.

1. A prospective candidate that intends to file to run in that race that is a registered Democrat may submit a request for an early endorsement to the DPOC Secretary (endorsements@ocdemocrats.org).
2. Early endorsements must be approved by a ⅔ vote (66%+) of the Central Committee members present and voting. A candidate in the early endorsement process cannot publicize or claim they are an endorsed candidate until the Central Committee votes on their race. Only candidates that receive a ⅔ vote 66%+ of the Central Committee will be endorsed. The DPOC will notify candidates when they are officially endorsed.

Consideration by the Central Committee:  

• Candidates will be notified of the date, time, procedures and login information or location for the Central Committee meeting that will consider their endorsement. Meetings are currently conducted either in-person or through Zoom online video conferencing. 
• Should a candidate be endorsed, the DPOC will be in contact with information on services and training. Please be aware that the DPOC will decide the timeline of the endorsement or if an endorsement will take place.

Application

BEFORE candidates begin filling out this form, please be sure to download the file and save it to locally to their computer as an editable PDF. Any edits made in a web browser will not be saved. If the space allowed for an answer is insufficient, attach additional pages as necessary, noting the question number for the additional response.

Candidates can submit their completed applications, along with any attachments via Google Form or by email to endorsements@ocdemocrats.org.

Submitted applications are confidential and will only be shared with Endorsement Committee and Central Committee members.

A $50.00 processing fee is due upon receipt of application. Checks may be delivered to our office and made payable to “Democratic Party of Orange County.” Payment may also be made online at this link. No candidate will be considered without a completed application and paid application fee.

If you have questions, please call the DPOC at (714) 634-3367 from Monday-Thursday,10 AM-6 PM, and Friday, 10 AM – 3 PM or email Jeffrey Cárdenas at jeffrey@ocdemocrats.org.