{"id":330404,"date":"2026-05-24T11:03:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T11:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/330404\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T11:03:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T11:03:11","slug":"dungeons-dragons-and-democratic-socialists-a-leftist-fundraiser-in-hollywood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/330404\/","title":{"rendered":"Dungeons, dragons and democratic socialists: a leftist fundraiser in Hollywood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Democratic socialists won a decisive victory in Hollywood recently, albeit on a political battlefield few politicians have tread.<\/p>\n

Dressed in witch hats and long green robes, and bathed in spooky red light, six far-left candidates in the Los Angeles municipal elections June 2 played an election-themed Dungeons & Dragons game at the Fonda Theatre before 400 people.<\/p>\n

The event, starring candidates endorsed <\/a>by the L.A. chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, raised $30,000 in campaign contributions \u2014 small change compared to the millions of dollars hauled in at the star-studded fundraisers<\/a> Los Angeles is famous for. <\/p>\n

But this event was less about hauling in cash than about engaging D&D aficionados with the DSA\u2019s progressive politics. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was exciting to introduce our slate of candidates to a wider audience,\u201d said Leslie Chang, co-chair of the socialist group\u2019s Los Angeles chapter. <\/p>\n

Kamy Akhavan, managing director of the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, said the unconventional nature of the event creates community between voters and their candidates, getting them invested in the race and making them more likely to donate, vote and get their friends and family involved. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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,\u201d Akhavan said. <\/p>\n

Dungeons & Dragons is a tabletop roleplaying game where players create fantasy characters and roll dice to determine whether their actions, like a sword attack or a persuasive argument, are successful against their foes. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s also tied in tightly with the leftist movement, attending DSA members said, fulfilling the ideological patterns of coming up with ways to save the world as a small group of individuals fighting powers bigger than themselves. <\/p>\n

Some of the candidates\u2019 fantasy characters were literal \u2014 City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, a labor organizer running for reelection, was a barbarian named \u201cHugo the Organizer\u201d using his \u201crighteous indignation\u201d to organize workers. <\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Celebrity Dungeons & Dragons game master Brennan Lee Mulligan leads six DSA candidates in a game on May 17.<\/p>\n

(Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Estuardo Mazariegos, who is running to replace Curren Price in a South L.A. district, meowed throughout the game, as he was playing a purple-striped humanoid cat named \u201cNine Lives E.\u201d <\/p>\n

Marissa Roy, DSA\u2019s pick for city attorney, played a gavel-carrying paladin looking to uphold the law. To her left, Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez played a druidic dragon that owned a cannabis dispensary and lit city lights with her lightning breath.<\/p>\n

With two magical allies \u2014 Faizah Malik, who is challenging Councilmember Traci Park, and Board of Education member Rocio Rivas \u2014 they saved homes from being bulldozed by corporate villains. Using spells and legal reasoning, they rallied the community to defeat a greedy dragon and use its gold hoard to rebuild the city.<\/p>\n

When players would roll poorly, audience members could donate $20 to allow them to reroll, or $50 to have them automatically succeed. As Roy turned her gavel into a warhammer to defeat the dragon, one supporter shouted out that he would pay $150 for her to automatically do maximum damage. <\/p>\n

\"People <\/p>\n

People clap while they attend the Democratic Socialists of America fundraiser.<\/p>\n

(Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Eric Parsons, 41, of Westwood called D&D and socialism his two favorite things. The game is \u201cinherently a communal experience where everyone is working together,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

D&D players faced ridicule for being outside of the expected norm for years before it entered the public consciousness, much like DSA, he said. <\/p>\n

The game is five decades old and has seen a resurgence of popularity in recent years, partially due to popular TV shows like \u201cStranger Things\u201d and web series like \u201cDimension 20\u201d and \u201cCritical Role\u201d where comedians such as Brennan Lee Mulligan have flourished and become celebrities in their own right. <\/p>\n

\"Hugo <\/p>\n

Hugo Soto-Martinez, Eunisses Hernandez, Estuardo Mazariegos, Faizah Malik, Marissa Roy and Rocio Rivas talk backstage.<\/p>\n

(Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Mulligan has been a member of DSA since 2013, he told The Times. He starred in a political ad<\/a> for DSA highlighting the six candidates and has run other D&D games for political purposes, arguing that it is more important than ever to get the word out about the current slate of candidates. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

The audience was filled with DSA and D&D fans alike. Leftist beliefs and the fantasy behind D&D are intrinsically intertwined, said Nicholas Byrnes, a 30-year-old DSA member from Orange County. It gives players a chance to imagine what\u2019s possible and take down threats bigger than themselves \u2014 a goal echoed by DSA\u2019s effort to push corporate interests away from politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about fighting the dragons,\u201d Byrnes said. <\/p>\n