Lola Smallwood-CuevasIncumbent

Candidate for State Senate District 28

Lola Smallwood-Cuevas represents California's 28th State Senate District. That district covers South Los Angeles, Baldwin Hills, Downtown LA, and West LA. She has held the seat since December 2022. Before her election, she worked for more than 20 years. She was a labor organizer, journalist, and researcher. She served about 15 years as a project director. That was at the UCLA Labor Center. She also co-founded the Los Angeles Black Worker Center. That group focused on jobs for Black workers. It worked in construction and infrastructure projects. She also served as treasurer. That was for the Los Angeles County Workforce Development Board. In the Senate she chairs a committee. It is the Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee. She also sits on several other committees. These include Arts, and Budget and Fiscal Review. They also include Business and Professions/Economic Development. They include Governmental Organization and Rules as well. She holds a bachelor's degree. That degree is from California State University, Hayward. She won the 2022 general election. She got 59.9% of the vote. She advanced from the 2026 primary too. She got 77.5% of the vote there (151,178 votes). She is running for re-election. Her opponent is Republican challenger Joe Lisuzzo. The general election is in November 2026. Home: The Los Angeles area, in South Los Angeles, Senate District 28. Occupation: State Senator. She is a former labor organizer. She was also a UCLA Labor Center project director. Prior office: She has been the incumbent since December 5, 2022.

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