DSA-backed candidates – At the Fonda Theatre, six leftist candidates backed by the Los Angeles chapter of Democratic Socialists of America played a Dungeons & Dragons-themed game for 400 people, raising $30,000 in campaign contributions and framing the election as a community-buildin
The first thing people saw under the Fonda Theatre’s spooky red lights wasn’t a podium or a stage banner. It was a witch hat, a dice tray, and the feeling that the campaign had become something you could step into.
On June 2, Democratic Socialists of America backed a Dungeons & Dragons-style political event in Los Angeles municipal elections for 400 people. Six far-left candidates—endorsed by the Los Angeles chapter of Democratic Socialists of America—played an election-themed game at the Fonda Theatre. The night’s campaign fundraising totaled $30. 000 in campaign contributions. a modest sum compared with the star-studded fundraisers Los Angeles is known for. But organizers said the goal wasn’t just the money.
“It was exciting to introduce our slate of candidates to a wider audience,” said Leslie Chang, co-chair of the socialist group’s Los Angeles chapter.
Kamy Akhavan. managing director of the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future. said the unconventional format turns spectators into participants. He pointed to how the game creates community between voters and candidates—drawing people into the race and making them more likely to donate. vote. and bring others along.
“The people who participate in this experience are not just passively writing a check to a candidate. Those people have become activated to become more engaged in the campaign,” Akhavan said.
Dungeons & Dragons is a tabletop roleplaying game in which players create fantasy characters and roll dice to determine whether actions—like a sword attack or a persuasive argument—succeed. Its appeal runs deeper than entertainment for the event’s supporters. DSA members described a tight connection between the game and leftist politics: a shared ideological template of imagining how to “save the world” through a small group of individuals pushing back against powers bigger than themselves.
Several of the candidates’ fantasy roles were literal. City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, a labor organizer running for reelection, played a barbarian named “Hugo the Organizer.” In the game, he used “righteous indignation” to organize workers.
Estuardo Mazariegos, running to replace Curren Price in a South L.A. district, meowed throughout the game while playing a purple-striped humanoid cat named “Nine Lives E.” Marissa Roy, the DSA pick for city attorney, played a gavel-carrying paladin focused on upholding the law.
Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez leaned into her own comic mythology: she played a druidic dragon that owned a cannabis dispensary and lit city lights with her lightning breath.
With two magical allies—Faizah Malik. challenging Councilmember Traci Park. and Board of Education member Rocio Rivas—the group saved homes from being bulldozed by corporate villains. Spells and legal reasoning were part of the storyline as they rallied the community to defeat a greedy dragon and use its gold hoard to rebuild the city.
When players rolled poorly. the audience could put money behind the momentum: they could donate $20 to allow a reroll or $50 to have them automatically succeed. As Roy turned her gavel into a warhammer to defeat the dragon. a supporter shouted that he would pay $150 for her to automatically do maximum damage.
In the middle of the action, people weren’t just watching the rules—they were participating in them. Eric Parsons, 41, of Westwood, said Dungeons & Dragons and socialism were his two favorite things. He described the game as “inherently a communal experience where everyone is working together.” He said D&D and DSA both faced ridicule for being outside the expected norm for years before eventually entering the public consciousness.
The game itself is five decades old. In recent years, Dungeons & Dragons has surged in popularity, in part due to television shows such as “Stranger Things” and web series including “Dimension 20” and “Critical Role,” where comedians like Brennan Lee Mulligan have flourished and become celebrities.
Mulligan. who served as the game master for the political evening. told The Times he has been a member of DSA since 2013. He said he starred in a DSA political ad featuring the six candidates and has run other D&D games for political purposes. arguing it’s more important than ever to reach people about the current slate.
“We are very lucky that we get to tell stories about heroes going and saving the world, and it makes it very special to be here with people that are saving this city,” Mulligan said.
Nicholas Byrnes. a 30-year-old DSA member from Orange County. said leftist beliefs and the fantasy behind Dungeons & Dragons are “intrinsically intertwined.” He said the game gives players a chance to imagine what’s possible and take down threats bigger than themselves. Byrnes echoed that purpose with the simplest slogan of the night.
“It’s about fighting the dragons,” he said.
Backstage. the six candidates and Mulligan reflected the same blend the event brought into the room: politics and play. campaign work and story. persuasion and dice rolls—aimed at turning attention into action for a campaign that. on paper. can look like just another election night in Los Angeles. until you see it played out under red lights at the Fonda Theatre.
Democratic Socialists of America DSA Los Angeles municipal elections Dungeons & Dragons Fonda Theatre Hugo Soto-Martinez Marissa Roy Eunisses Hernandez Faizah Malik Rocio Rivas Estuardo Mazariegos Brennan Lee Mulligan