Actors' Equity Association Endorses Three Candidates for U.S. Congress

Actors' Equity Association's National Council has voted to endorse Darializa Avila Chevalier (NY13), Brad Lander (NY10) and Claire Valdez (NY7) for their respective United States House of Representatives campaigns, on behalf of the more than 51,000 actors and stage managers working in live entertainment.

'Darializa Avila Chevalier, Brad Lander and Claire Valdez stand to represent districts in four New York City boroughs where thousands of our members live and work,” said Al Vincent Jr., executive director of Actors' Equity Association. “These candidates share a fierce commitment to the labor movement and an earnest desire to help the arts industry make real progress for its workers as equal partners with Equity. We look forward to welcoming all of them to Congress and building on this momentum.”

Equity's public policy priorities include defending and protecting the right to collectively bargain, stronger federal and state arts funding, a prevailing wage in the arts, a strong minimum wage, universal federal health care, tax fairness, racial justice, gun violence prevention and LGBTQ non-discrimination protections.

Equity previously endorsed Betty McCollum's reelection campaign for the United States House of Representatives (MN4), Rebecca Bennett's campaign for the United States House of Representatives (NJ7), and Juliana Stratton's campaign for United States Senate. Equity's ongoing list of 2026 candidate endorsements can be found here.