Richard Barrera
Office sought: Superintendent of Public Instruction
Party: No Party Preference
Ballot designation: State Superintendent adviser
Background
Biography. Barrera has experience as a community organizer and a leader in labor relations. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in American history from the University of California, San Diego. He went on to earn a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University. [1]
Prior offices and election history
2026
See also: California Superintendent of Public Instruction election, 2026 General election The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary. The candidate list in this election may not be complete. Nonpartisan primary Nonpartisan primary election for California Superintendent of Public Instruction The following candidates are running in the primary for California Superintendent of Public Instruction on June 2, 2026. Candidate Richard Barrera (Nonpartisan) Wendy Castaneda Leal (Nonpartisan) Nichelle Henderson (Nonpartisan) Frank Lara (Nonpartisan) Ainye Long (Nonpartisan) Gus Mattammal (Nonpartisan) Al Muratsuchi (Nonpartisan) Josh Newman (Nonpartisan) Anthony Rendon (Nonpartisan) Sonja Shaw (Nonpartisan) There are no incumbents in this race. = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. Withdrawn or disqualified candidates Andra Hoffman (Nonpartisan) Jeff Maffly (Nonpartisan)
2026 — Endorsements
Barrera received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here . CalMatters Voter Guide (Sway voting group by CalMatters) California Teachers Association’s Voting Group (Sway voting group by California Teachers Association) Courage California’s Voting Group (Sway voting group by Courage California) East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club’s Voting Group (Sway voting group by East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club) Fullerton Observer’s Voting Group (Sway voting group by Fullerton Observer) KPBS Endorsement Guide (Sway voting group by KPBS) San Diego Democrats for Equality’s Voting Group (Sway voting group by San Diego Democrats for Equality) San Francisco League of Pissed Off Voters’ Voting Group (Sway voting group by San Francisco League of Pissed Off Voters)
2024
See also: San Diego Unified School District, California, elections (2024) General election General election for San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District D Incumbent Richard Barrera won election in the general election for San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District D on November 5, 2024. Candidate % Votes ✔ Richard Barrera (Nonpartisan) 100.0 64,671 Incumbents are bolded and underlined . The results have been certified. Source Total votes: 64,671 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. Nonpartisan primary election Nonpartisan primary for San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District D Incumbent Richard Barrera advanced from the primary for San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District D on March 5, 2024. Candidate % Votes ✔ Richard Barrera (Nonpartisan) 100.0 26,882 Incumbents are bolded and underlined . The results have been certified. Source Total votes: 26,882 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.
2024 — Endorsements
Barrera received the following endorsements. San Diego County Democratic Party
2020
See also: San Diego Unified School District, California, elections (2020) General election General election for San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District D Incumbent Richard Barrera defeated Camille Harris in the general election for San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District D on November 3, 2020. Candidate % Votes ✔ Richard Barrera (Nonpartisan) 61.1 252,241 Submit photo Camille Harris (Nonpartisan) 38.9 160,708 Incumbents are bolded and underlined . The results have been certified. Source Total votes: 412,949 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. Nonpartisan primary election Nonpartisan primary for San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District D Incumbent Richard Barrera and Camille Harris advanced from the primary for San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District D on March 3, 2020. Candidate % Votes ✔ Richard Barrera (Nonpartisan) 97.1 38,220 ✔ Submit photo Camille Harris (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) 2.6 1,040 Other/Write-in votes 0.2 85 Incumbents are bolded and underlined . The results have been certified. Source Total votes: 39,345 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.
2016
See also: San Diego Unified School District elections (2016) Three of the five seats on the San Diego Unified School District Board of Education were up for general election on November 8, 2016 . A primary election for all three seats was held on June 7, 2016. In his bid for re-election in District A, incumbent John Lee Evans faced challenger Stephen Groce . District D incumbent Richard Barrera ran unopposed. Incumbent Sharon Whitehurst-Payne , who was appointed to the District E seat in February 2016 after former member Marne Foster pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and resigned from the board, ran for re-election against challenger Lashae Collins . Because no more than two candidates ran in each race, all the candidates who ran in the primary advanced to the general election. [2] [3] All three incumbents won re-election in the general election. [4]
2016 — Results
San Diego Unified School District, District D General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 Candidate Vote % Votes Richard Barrera Incumbent (unopposed) 100.00% 282,195 Total Votes 282,195 Source: San Diego County Registrar of Voters , “Presidential General Election - Tuesday, November 8, 2016,” accessed December 9, 2016 San Diego Unified School District, District D Primary Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 Candidate Vote % Votes Richard Barrera Incumbent (unopposed) 100.00% 32,314 Total Votes 32,314 Source: County of San Diego , “Presidential Primary Election Tuesday, June 7, 2016,” accessed July 12, 2016
2016 — Funding
Barrera filed an exemption form detailing he would not spend or receive more than $2,000 for this campaign. Because of this, he did not have to file additional campaign finance reports. [5] [6]
2016 — Endorsements
Barrera received official endorsements from the San Diego Democratic Party , the San Diego Democrats for Equality, Planned Parenthood Action Fund of the Pacific Southwest, SEIU Local 221, and UFCW Local 135. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
2012
San Diego Unified School District, District D General Election, 4-year term, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes Nonpartisan Richard Barrera Incumbent 100% 244,943 Total Votes 244,943 Source: San Diego County Registrar of Voters, “November 6, 2012 Official Results,” accessed June 9, 2016 San Diego Unified School District, District D Primary Election, 4-year term, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes Nonpartisan Richard Barrera Incumbent 100% 20,555 Total Votes 20,555 Source: San Diego County Registrar of Voters, “Tuesday, June 5, 2012 Official Results,” accessed June 9, 2016
Issue positions (campaign themes)
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses See also: Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection Richard Barrera has not yet completed Ballotpedia’s 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Richard Barrera asking him to fill out the survey . If you are Richard Barrera, click here to fill out Ballotpedia’s 2026 Candidate Connection survey . Who fills out Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey? Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia’s Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate’s Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for. More than 28,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia’s candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here . You can ask Richard Barrera to fill out this survey by using the button below or emailing barreraforedu@gmail.com.
2024
Richard Barrera did not complete Ballotpedia’s 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Richard Barrera did not complete Ballotpedia’s 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Enrichment source: Ballotpedia — https://ballotpedia.org/Richard_Barrera
Sources
- CalMatters 2026 Voter Guide
- Ballotpedia (enrichment, when available)