Andra Hoffman, a longtime trustee on the Los Angeles Community College District board, is the latest person to announce her candidacy for state superintendent of public instruction, shaping up to be a crowded contest in 2026.
So far, 13 people have filed statements of intention with the California secretary of state’s office to run for this seat. Superintendent Tony Thurmond, who can’t seek reelection in 2026 due to term limits, is running for governor next year.
In an interview on Tuesday, May 13, the same day she formally announced her candidacy, Hoffman noted her nearly three decades of working in education.
Hoffman taught political science courses at Glendale Community College from 2007 to 2015 and now runs the college’s career services center. She’s also worked to expand the college’s dual enrollment program, which gives high school students access to college courses.
In addition, Hoffman has served as a trustee on the L.A. Community College District board for about a decade. She was first elected in 2015, served as board president in 2019 and now chairs the board’s budget and finance committee.
She previously served as president of the statewide Community College League of California Trustees Board.
“I feel like I’ve been effective, and so I’d like to take all those skills to a much higher level … for the state of California,” Hoffman said about her decision to run for the state superintendent post.
“The superintendent has a lot of influence over how education policy is created for the state of California. We’re the fourth largest economy,” she said, adding that it’s important to create policies so that “all Californians feel like they can send their kids to public school.”
The superintendent of public instruction is responsible for the education of some 5.8 million public school students in the state.
If elected to be the state schools chief, Hoffman said she would focus on improving literacy and math skills; increasing graduation rates; expanding workforce education, career training, internships and apprenticeship programs; and boosting teacher recruitment and retention, among other things.
She also stressed that she would advocate for and protect special education funding.
A mother of two from the San Fernando Valley, Hoffman, who lives in Encino, said there was a time when she felt her son’s needs weren’t being met by his school, and she needed to advocate for him.
In addition, she said she would support educating children even if their parents are undocumented immigrants, and she’d speak out if President Donald Trump’s administration attempted to cut education funding or take actions she felt would harm California’s students.
“We really should not be politicizing public education because all kids deserve to have a good, safe, fair, funded education,” said Hoffman, a registered Democrat.
One person Hoffman will go up against in the race for superintendent is Nichelle Henderson, a Democrat and fellow trustee on the L.A. Community College District board who also has a background as an educator.
Others who have formally announced their candidacies include: Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, who chairs the Assembly Education Committee; Chino Valley Unified School District board president Sonja Shaw, a Republican who has pushed for conservative policies such as notifying parents if their child identifies as transgender; and former state Sen. Josh Newman, a Democrat who led the Senate Education Committee while in the legislature.
The office of the superintendent of public instruction is considered nonpartisan. The top two vote-getters in the June 2, 2026, primary, regardless of party affiliation, will face off in the November 2026 election.
