1. You answer 12 questions on a scale from "strongly support" to "strongly oppose."
2. Each question maps to one or more of 25 underlying issue positions. For example, the housing question maps to rent control, just-cause eviction, and public housing investment.
3. You also tell us how much each issue matters to you on a 0 to 3 importance scale.
4. Each candidate has a score from -1 to +1 on every one of the 25 positions, based on their published platform, voting record, administrative actions, or office record.
5. The quiz multiplies your weighted preferences by each candidate's position score and sums the result. The highest sum is your top match.

For every one of the 25 progressive litmus positions, we mark each candidate one of four ways:

• ✓ Supports (+1). The candidate has explicitly published the position on their campaign site or in a debate, or there is a documented vote, administrative action, executive order, lawsuit, or mayoral or sheriff policy that aligns with the position.
• ⚠ Mixed or conditional (+0.5 or -0.5). Hedged support, qualified support, or contradictory record. For example, Becerra supports "building toward" single-payer but hedged at the CNN debate after the California Medical Association endorsed him.
• , No public position (0). The candidate has not addressed this position in their published platform, debate appearances, or documented record. Silence is not opposition. Silence is also not support.
• ✗ Opposes (-1). The candidate has explicitly stated opposition, has voted against the position, or has refused to enforce a law that protects the position.

Every ✓, ⚠, and ✗ score links to the primary source: the campaign URL, the bill number, the debate quote, the news article that documents the action. You can verify every score yourself.

For each of the 12 questions, you pick how strongly you support the position from -1 (strongly oppose) to +1 (strongly support). The 0 in the middle is "no opinion" or "do not care."

Your strength of preference acts as both a sign and a weight. If you strongly support single-payer, your +1 multiplies the candidate's single-payer score. A candidate at +1 gets +1 from you. A candidate at -1 gets -1. A candidate at 0 (silent) gets 0. If you put 0.5 instead of 1, the multiplier drops by half. If you mark "no opinion," that issue does not factor into your match at all.

Each of the 12 questions maps to one or more of the 25 underlying positions. A primary position gets full weight. Secondary positions (positions that relate to the same theme) get half weight. So your answer to the housing question feeds rent control at full weight and just-cause eviction at half weight.

After you see your top match, you can pick a different candidate and the quiz tells you what would have to shift in your answers for that candidate to be your top match. This is not a trick. It is honest math.

The tool finds the gap between your current top match and the candidate you want to flip to. It then identifies the smallest combination of issue weight changes that would close the gap. It tells you, in plain language, what you would have to change your mind about, or stop caring about, to get the result you wanted. Often the answer is "you cannot get there without giving up something you actually care about." That is the honest result. The tool is not designed to talk you into anyone. It is designed to show you the trade-off.

If your top match candidate has many "no public position" scores on issues you care about, the quiz shows a silence note. This matters because a candidate can score well on a quiz like this without actually committing to a single one of the things you care about, simply by not opposing them. The silence note tells you: "your top match has X silences on your important issues. That is information." We will not hide it.

The quiz also reports two secondary metrics: independence (how free the candidate is from corporate and big-donor influence) and viability (how realistic their path is in the June 2 primary). These are not part of your match score by default. They are reported separately so you can decide how much they matter to you.

Independence is a 0 to 100 score combining: refusal of corporate PAC money, share of small-dollar donors, refusal of self-funding, and outside-money exposure. Viability blends polling average (last 4 weeks) and fundraising. Neither is destiny. Bernie Sanders polled at 1% the year before he became a US presidential contender.

The framework was drafted by Southeast LA community organizers in March 2026, refined through three rounds of community feedback, and locked May 11, 2026. Read the full editorial standards.

1. Block ICE from operating in California / sanctuary protections
2. Limit police surveillance technology (FLOCK, Palantir, ALPR, facial recognition)
3. Close the loopholes in the sanctuary state law (SB 54)
4. Stop state agencies from sharing data with ICE and DHS
5. Free government healthcare for everyone in California (single-payer)
6. Protect and expand abortion access
7. Protect trans healthcare access
8. Shrink the prison system (decarceration)
9. Cut police budgets, fund social services instead
10. End the death penalty
11. Let cities pass stronger rent control (Costa-Hawkins reform)
12. Make eviction harder statewide (just-cause)
13. Build state-funded public housing
14. Stop new oil and gas drilling in CA
15. Break up PG&E and other utility monopolies
16. Help fossil-fuel workers transition to green jobs
17. Refuse corporate PAC money in politics
18. Tax billionaires' total wealth, not just income
19. Raise minimum wage to $25/hr + worker bargaining
20. Create state-owned public banks
21. Make voting easier, restore rights to incarcerated people
22. Break up corporate monopolies in tech, healthcare, grocery
23. Cut CA money flowing to Israel's war on Gaza
24. Protect trans refugees, immigrants, abortion seekers
25. Free public college and cancel state student debt

• Not an endorsement. Radiant Futures and Semillas de Poder do not endorse any candidate in the June 2 primary. We publish the research. You decide.
• Not the only factor in your vote. Issue match is one input. Viability, your personal trust, your community's organized position, and the candidate's character all matter.
• Not a substitute for reading the profiles. The candidate landing pages explain the record in detail. If a candidate matches you well, read their profile before you vote.

Take the match quiz Read the candidate profiles