Welcome to your guide to the 2026 California governor’s race. The election may be a long way off, but campaigns for the state’s most coveted political prize already are underway.
The race is wide open since Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is serving his second term as California governor and by law cannot run again.
Democrats running for California governor met Sunday morning for the first major candidate forum of the 2026 election, a cordial discussion with few fireworks and almost no jabs at the politician they hope to succeed, Gov. Gavin Newsom.
With a large and diverse field of candidates vying for the state’s highest office, the winner may make history. California has never elected a woman as governor, and only once has a person of color held the office: Gov. Romualdo Pacheco, for just a few months in 1875.
Speculation continues to swirl about former Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris possibly jumping into the race, but thus far she has not announced a decision.
Here are the declared candidates and some potential hopefuls:
Top job: California Senate president pro tem
Biggest splash: First female and first out LGBTQ+ president pro tem in state history
Particulars: Atkins, 62, lives in San Diego with her wife, Jennifer LeSar, an affordable housing and economic development consultant. Atkins grew up in rural Virginia, the daughter of a coal miner and a seamstress. She’s a Democrat.
Campaign launch: January 2024
Atkins was elected to the California Legislature in 2010 and is serving her final term as a state lawmaker. She is a former Senate president pro tem and a former Assembly speaker, the first legislator since 1871 to hold both leadership posts. She was the first female and first out LGBTQ+ Senate leader in state history.
Atkins began her political career on the San Diego City Council after serving as a women’s clinic administrator. As Assembly leader, she championed a $7.5-billion water bond that was approved by voters in 2014, fought back against planned tuition hikes at the University of California and battled for a new state tax credit for the working poor.
Atkins has been a champion of affordable housing while serving in Sacramento. She also wrote the legislation that became Proposition 1 in 2022, codifying abortion rights in the California Constitution after national protections were undone by the U.S. Supreme Court.
She often talks about growing up as a miner’s child in Virginia in a house that lacked indoor plumbing, and said she first heard of California as a “magical place” her father had visited while serving in World War II. She eventually followed her sister to San Diego and began working at a reproductive health clinic.
Democrat Toni Atkins has made history as a legislative leader but she’s never run in a statewide race before and is largely unknown north of San Diego.
Top job: U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services
Biggest splash: As California attorney general, sued the Trump administration roughly 120 times.
Particulars: Becerra, 67,lives in Sacramento with his wife, Dr. Carolina Reyes, and they have three adult daughters. Born in Sacramento, he is the son of Mexican immigrants: His mother was a clerical worker and his father picked vegetables, worked construction and had other jobs. He is a Democrat.
Campaign launch: April 2025
After working for Legal Aid in Massachusetts, Becerra came back to Sacramento to work for state Sen. Art Torres. After serving in the California Assembly for a two-year term, Becerra was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992, where served until 2017 and rose to become the highest-ranking Latino at the time. While in Congress, Becerra voted against the Iraq war and against the Defense of Marriage Act, which sought to limit marriage to a union between a man and a woman.
After then-state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris was elected to the U.S. Senate, Gov. Jerry Brown nominated Becerra to succeed her as California’s top law enforcement official. Despite his lengthy career in national politics, Becerra quickly became known as the top legal antagonist of the Trump administration. As the state’s attorney general, Becerra filed roughly 120 lawsuits against the federal government over issues including immigration, healthcare, the environment and civil rights.
After his election in 2020, President Biden nominated Becerra to become the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services and he took office during one of the worst health crises in a century, the COVID-19 pandemic.
Becerra has said that among the administration’s top accomplishments was getting 700 million COVID vaccination shots into the arms of Americans, and he touted the administration’s efforts to expand access to healthcare under the Affordable Care Act. Becerra also faced criticism as secretary over his handling of issues including the monkeypox outbreak.
Xavier Becerra, who served as California attorney general, joined a growing field of Democrats running next year to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Top job: Riverside County Sheriff
Biggest splash: In an Instagram post, he endorsed Donald Trump for president, playfully saying it’s time we put “a felon in the White House.”
Particulars: Bianco, 57, lives in Riverside with his wife, Denise, and has four adult children. He was born at Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, Utah, and grew up in a small mining town. He’s a Republican.
Campaign launch: February 2025
Bianco was elected sheriff in 2018 after a long career at the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office and reelected in 2022. Bianco is a law-and-order conservative and strong supporter of President Trump.
As sheriff, Bianco has been a harsh critic of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and the California Legislature, especially their public safety policies. During the 2024 election, Bianco supported Proposition 36, the ballot measure approved by voters to reverse course on progressive criminal justice reform, cracking down on theft crimes and the use of the deadly drug fentanyl.
Bianco faced scrutiny after a data leak revealed that in 2014 he was a member of the Oath Keepers, a far-right, anti-government group whose members took part in the pro-Trump insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Bianco later said he had discontinued his membership because, like many other law enforcement officers, he felt the organization “did not offer me anything.”
In 2024, Bianco joined a coalition of sheriffs across the country who endorsed the tough stance on border security taken by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, including transporting immigrants to “sanctuary” cities across the country.
Earlier this month, though, Bianco announced that Riverside County deputies will not perform “any type of immigration enforcement,” saying that fear among local immigrant communities has increased due to raids ordered by the Trump administration.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, an avid supporter of President Trump and fierce critic of Gov. Gavin Newsom, will run for governor in 2026.
Top job: Founder of the timeshare company Diamond Resorts International
Biggest splash: Appeared on the TV show “Undercover Boss”
Particulars: Cloobeck, 63, grew up in Encino and has lived in Nevada and California. He lives in Beverly Hills and has three adult children. He’s a Democrat.
Campaign launch: November 2024
Cloobeck made his fortune in real estate and hospitality, and founded Diamond Resorts International, a sprawling timeshare and vacation property company. He sold the firm in 2016.
This is Cloobeck’s first run for public office, but not his first foray into politics. Cloobeck is a longtime donor and fundraiser for Democrats and philanthropic causes. He backed former Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in the 2018 California governor’s race, along with former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman’s successful bid for Los Angeles County district attorney in the 2024 election.
Nearly half of California voters would be very or somewhat likely to support Kamala Harris if she were to run for governor in 2026, according to a UC Berkeley poll.
Last year he said he contributed $1 million to LA4LA, a public-private partnership launched by Mayor Karen Bass to build affordable housing in Los Angeles, and has given to Southern California schools, police departments and churches.
Cloobeck has lived in Nevada and California and was recently the chair of Nevada’s athletic commission. Cloobeck also appeared on several episodes of “Undercover Boss,” the reality show that sends executives in disguise into low-level jobs at their own companies, including in one episode where he donned a Guy Fieri-like disguise and played the character of an out-of-work construction worker from Bakersfield.
Cloobeck, 63, struck a pro-business tone in the crowded governor’s race, saying in an advertisement that California is “closed for business, and we’ve had enough.”
Top job: Senior advisor to British Prime Minister David Cameron
Biggest splash: Fox News commentator
Particulars: Hilton, 55, was born in England and lives in the Northern California town of Atherton with his wife, Rachel Whetstone, who worked as a public relations executive for Google, Uber, Facebook, and Netflix. They have two children. He is a Republican.
Campaign launch: April 2025
The son of Hungarian immigrants, Hilton began working for Britain’s Conservative Party shortly after graduating from Oxford University and steadily rose up the ranks.
Described as “part Svengali, part spin doctor, part strategist” by the London Standard in 2006, Hilton was a senior advisor and close confidant of Cameron, who served as Britain’s prime minister from 2010 to 2016. Hilton was credited with modernizing the British conservative movement, remaining true to free-market ideals while also supporting liberal social policy, such as backing gay rights and fighting climate change.
Hilton immigrated to California in 2012 with his wife. Since he moved to the United States, Hilton has taught at Stanford University, hosted a Fox News show called “The Next Revolution,” and co-founded Crowdpac, a nonpartisan political fundraising website. He parted ways with the company 2018 after his support of President Trump created controversy. After Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, Hilton called for an investigation into allegations of voter fraud.
A persistent critic of Newsom and the policies of California’s Democratic state leadership, Hilton in 2023 founded Golden Together, a research group focused on restoring the California dream.
Conservative commentator and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Hilton is the second prominent Republican to enter the 2026 race to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Top job: California lieutenant governor
Biggest splash: Major fundraiser for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 and 2016 presidential campaigns
Particulars: Kounalakis, 59, is the daughter of wealthy Sacramento developer Angelo Tsakopoulos and is married to foreign affairs columnist Markos Kounalakis. They live in San Francisco and have two children. She’s a Democrat.
Campaign launch: April 2023
Kounalakis was first elected lieutenant governor in 2018 and reelected in 2022. The office is largely a ceremonial post that’s been used as a launchpad for the governor’s mansion. Both Newsom and former Gov. Gray Davis previously served as lieutenant governor. Kounalakis has highlighted her work in the job opposing college tuition hikes, combating climate change and protecting women’s rights.
As the daughter of a real estate magnate, she and her family have spent generously on their political priorities in the past, including Kounalakis’ first lieutenant governor’s race.
She was the first major candidate to formally launch a gubernatorial campaign when she announced in April 2023. Kounalakis quickly received endorsements from Clinton, her former boss, and from former California U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer.
Kounalakis helped raise money for Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and then worked for her when Clinton was secretary of State and Kounalakis was ambassador to Hungary. In 2016, Kounalakis was a California co-chair of Clinton’s presidential campaign, helping raise money and advising on foreign policy.
During a visit to Sacramento this week, Vice President Kamala Harris spent time with two women aiming to become California’s first female governor.
Top job: Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Orange County
Biggest splash: Using a whiteboard to embarrass CEOs
Particulars: Porter, 51, served in the House for three terms after capturing an Orange County congressional seat held by a Republican incumbent. Porter is a law professor at UC Irvine, a job she returned to after losing a 2024 bid for U.S. Senate. Porter is a single mother and has three children.
Campaign launch: March 2025.
After winning a competitive Orange County House seat in 2018, Porter quickly became known for her incisive questioning of corporate leaders and use of a whiteboard to distill complex concepts during congressional hearings.
Porter returned to her job as a law professor at UC Irvine after a failed bid for the U.S. Senate in 2024, when she finished in a distant third place in the March primary. Her decision to run for Senate annoyed some party leaders who feared that a Republican might win her vacant House seat and tip the balance of power in Congress. Democrat Dave Min won her seat, however.
Porter clashed with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) in 2021 over committee assignments, and Pelosi also was initially cool to Porter’s support to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks. That resoluteness helped transform Porter into a standout national political figure. She became one of the House’s top fundraisers.
In 2012, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) recommended Porter to then-California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris to be the independent monitor over a $25-billion settlement of mortgage lenders. Porter was a law professor at the time.
Porter focused on protecting Californians from President Trump’s policies, a theme that is expected to be a throughline in next year’s gubernatorial contest.
Top job: California superintendent of public instruction
Biggest splash: Kicked out of a Chino Valley Unified School District board meeting after opposing a policy to inform parents about student gender identity
Particulars: Thurmond, 56, represented the East Bay in the state Assembly before he was elected to California’s top education post in 2018. He is engaged and has two children. He is a Democrat.
Campaign launch: September 2023
Thurmond served on the West Contra Costa Unified School District board and the Richmond City Council before he was elected to the state Assembly in 2014, serving two terms. With strong support from the California Teachers Assn. and other labor unions, Thurmond was elected as California’s superintendent of public instruction in 2018 and was reelected in 2022.
When he announced his campaign for governor, Thurmond highlighted his youth living in poverty, having been essentially orphaned at 6 years old after his mother, an immigrant from Panama, died, and his father, a veteran, was absent. Inspired by his Afro Latino heritage, he has vowed to tackle California’s economic inequality, calling for a higher minimum wage, higher pay for teachers and more affordable housing.
Thurmond has leaned into increasingly politicized school culture wars. He opposed textbook bans such as those enacted in red states and attempted by conservative school boards in California and was forcibly removed from a Chino Valley Unified school board meeting in 2023 after he spoke in opposition to a policy that would force school officials to inform parents if their child identified as transgender.
Voters overwhelmingly reelected Thurmond in 2022 despite criticism of his handling of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic and an alleged turnover problem in the state’s Department of Education amid accusations that he was running a toxic workplace.
The superintendent of public instruction becomes the second Democrat to launch a campaign for California governor in a race that is still three years away.
Top job: Los Angeles mayor
Biggest splash: Increasing the Los Angeles Police Department to 10,000 officers, and leading a major drop in violent crime
Particulars: Villaraigosa, 72, served as state Assembly speaker before being elected mayor of the nation’s second-largest city. The former mayor was raised by a single mother in Boyle Heights and lives in the Los Angeles area. He has four children. He is a Democrat.
Campaign launch: July 2024
After serving as Assembly speaker and on the Los Angeles City Council, Villaraigosa in 2005 became the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since 1872. He was reelected four years later and, during his tenure, had the politically bruising task of navigating the city through the financial upheaval caused by the Great Recession.
While mayor, he brought the number of LAPD officers to more than 10,000, an effort he credited for a 48% drop in violent crime. Villaraigosa was also a vocal backer of mass transit and a key architect of the 2008 landmark sales tax increase that helped fund the construction of rail lines through South Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley and the Westside.
Although he started his career as a labor organizer, Villaraigosa evolved into something of a foil for Southern California’s labor movement, tangling at City Hall with the powerful unions representing city employees and teachers over budget cuts and seniority-based layoff protections. He became the most prominent Democrat in California to criticize teachers unions during his failed efforts to take control of L.A. schools, describing the union as an “unwavering roadblock to reform.”
Villaraigosa also drew national attention for his high-profile missteps, including an extramarital affair with Telemundo reporter and anchor Mirthala Salinas that led to the breakup of his marriage of two decades.
He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018 and has been out of public office since 2013.
Villaraigosa seems to be banking on his main opponents running as wokosos in a state where Democratic voters are complaining about crime, homelessness, the cost of living and a lagging economy while not trusting the status quo to solve anything.
Top job: California controller
Biggest splash: During Yee’s tenure as controller, her agency uncovered tens of millions of dollars of local government misspending and questionable financial practices at state agencies.
Particulars: Yee, 67, was born to Chinese immigrant parents and grew up in San Francisco, where the family lived in a one-room apartment behind their dry cleaning business. Yee lives in the Bay Area with her husband, Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs. She is a Democrat.
Campaign launch: March 2024
Yee served as state budget director under former Gov. Davis before winning a seat on the California State Board of Equalization in 2006 and again in 2010. She was elected state controller in 2014. Her audits and investigations from the controller’s office, she said, found more than $4 billion in misused funds. She won reelection in 2018, and her second term ended in January 2023.
Yee has emphasized her financial background and budget experience, both of which could appeal to California voters as the state grapples with a historic shortfall. Budget projections suggest the next governor could walk into a challenging fiscal environment if state revenue doesn’t rebound.
When she announced her campaign, Yee spoke about how her modest beginnings crystallized her focus on the importance of financial health. As a young girl, she managed the books of the family business and saw firsthand how a bad week meant cutting back on groceries and other essential spending for her and her five siblings, she said.
A 2022 Times report detailed how Yee gave behind-the-scenes advice to a politically connected company seeking a $600-million no-bid government contract to provide COVID-19 masks and raised questions about her involvement. Yee has said that she had no financial interest in the contract and that the advice was the same she would offer any business owners.
Yee serves as a vice chair of the California Democratic Party.
Former state Controller Betty Yee launched her campaign for California governor, joining a field of Democrats vying to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2026.
Times staff writers Hannah Fry, Taryn Luna, Mackenzie Mays, Laura J. Nelson, Laurel Rosenhall and Julia Wick contributed to this report.
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