Your last-minute guide to obscure but important statewide races in California
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The California governor’s race is getting all the attention in the November general election. But there are a host of down-ballot races for statewide office as well:
California attorney general
The attorney general is the state’s chief law enforcement officer and top lawyer. The candidates are:
- Incumbent California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, a former prosecutor and Democratic state legislator who has been battling the Trump administration in court and recently reached a settlement with Paramount Skydance after leading an effort to block its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
- Former Huntington Beach City Atty. Michael Gates, a Republican who repeatedly has sided with the Trump administration on a number of hot-button issues and believes many of Bonta’s lawsuits against the administration are misguided.
Incumbent Rob Bonta faces challengers, including Republican Michael Gates, after Democrats cleared the path in the California Attorney General race.
California treasurer
The treasurer is the state’s chief financial manager and responsible for overseeing public investments and issuing bonds to fund major projects including roads, sewers, schools and affordable housing. The candidates are:
- Democrat Eleni Kounalakis, elected lieutenant governor in 2018 and reelected in 2022. Kounalakis holds a master’s degree in business administration from UC Berkeley and is the daughter of Sacramento real estate magnate Angelo Tsakopoulos.
- Republican Jennifer Hawks, who has not held elected office and touts herself as a political outsider. Hawks spent two decades working as an executive assistant at the Sacred Hearts School in Atherton, Calif. She has served as the president of Palo Alto Republican Women Federated.
The race for California’s open treasurer seat is between Eleni Kounalakis, the current lieutenant governor, and Republican Jennifer Hawks, who has not held elected office.
California secretary of state
The secretary of state is in charge of administering statewide elections, providing information about ballot measures and candidates to voters and overseeing campaign financing. The office also handles business licensing and filings. The candidates are:
- Incumbent Democrat Shirley Weber. She was elected in 2020, becoming the first Black woman to hold the role. She was a longtime professor at San Diego State University and served on the San Diego Board of Education and in the California Assembly.
- Republican Don Wagner, a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors and former mayor of Irvine. He served more than a decade on the South Orange County Community College District Board of Trustees before he was elected to the state Assembly.
Democrat Shirley Weber, the incumbent, faces Republican Don Wagner in the race for California secretary of state. Here is your election guide.
California controller
The controller serves on dozens of boards, including those of the nation’s two largest public pension funds, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS). The candidates are:
- Democrat Malia Cohen, elected controller in 2022 after serving as a member of the state Board of Equalization from San Francisco. She also said she helped modernize the state’s escheatment process and had increased the amount of funds returned to their rightful owners.
- Republican Herb Morgan, a finance and investment advisor. He argues that his background will help California find waste and fraud. From San Diego, he started an investment firm that managed $1.5 billion in assets and was sold to Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors in 2017.
Incumbent California Controller Malia Cohen faces San Diego Republican challenger Herb Morgan, who promises more aggressive oversight.
California lieutenant governor
If the sitting governor dies, resigns or is removed from office, the lieutenant governor is elevated to take over. The candidates are:
- Democrat Fiona Ma, who has charted a quarter of a century in electoral politics including stints on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, in the state Assembly and on the state Board of Equalization. She was elected treasurer in 2019 and is termed out.
- Republican Gloria Romero, a member of the Legislature from 1998 to 2010. She became a Republican in 2024, asserting that Democratic Party standards no longer aligned with her beliefs. She was a college professor and an L.A. Community College District trustee.
California’s low-profile lieutenant governor race pits Democratic Treasurer Fiona Ma against former Democratic Senate leader Gloria Romero, who’s running as a Republican.
California insurance commissioner
The insurance commissioner regulates the state’s insurance industry. The candidates are:
- State Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), a veteran lawmaker serving his third and final term in the Senate. Allen has pointed to a long legislative record seeking to reform the industry and make the home-insurance market more attractive to insurers.
- Jane Kim served as a San Francisco supervisor from 2011 to 2019 and is considered a leading progressive in the city. Kim has proposed establishing a nonprofit “single payer” insurance plan run by the state to cover catastrophic fire damage.
State Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) is facing off against former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim in the race for California insurance commissioner.
California state schools superintendent
The state schools superintendent manages the California Department of Education, which guides local school districts and also provides partial oversight. The superintendent also works in close conjunction with the state Board of Education — appointed by the governor — and often in concert with the governor and Legislature. The candidates are:
- Richard Barrera, a liberal Democrat backed by the California Teachers Assn. He is the president of the San Diego Unified Board of Education. Barrera defends the quality of public schools and advocates for increased funding and expanding what works from successful campuses to those with poorer academic results.
- Sonja Shaw is a conservative Republican whose views align closely with those of the Trump administration. She is the president of the Chino Valley Unified Board of Education and says the public education system is failing because of liberal Democratic policies.
Although the race for state superintendent of public instruction is nonpartisan, Sonja Shaw aligns closely with Trump Republicans, while Richard Barrera aligns with liberal Democrats.
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