Statewide offices 8
Each candidate read like a job applicant: what have they actually done that proves they can do this job?
0/8 decided
The jobRuns the executive branch, proposes the ~$250B General Fund budget, signs or vetoes bills, appoints judges and agency heads, commands emergency response.
Experience- State Assembly 1990–1992; U.S. House 1993–2017, rising to Chair of the House Democratic Caucus (2013–2017).
- California Attorney General, Jan 2017 – Mar 2021 (appointed by Gov. Brown; elected 2018 with 63.6%).
- U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Mar 2021 – Jan 2025: ran the federal department that oversees Medicare, Medicaid, the ACA marketplaces, FDA, CDC and NIH.
- Ran HHS, the federal department over Medicare, Medicaid, FDA, CDC and NIH, from 2021 to 2025. Rolled out Medicare's first drug-price negotiations: 38–79% discounts on 10 drugs.
- As AG, California sued the first Trump administration 123 times. Wins included DACA and the ACA at the Supreme Court; losses included the travel ban.
- Management red flag: HHS's own inspector general found sponsor safety checks undocumented in 16% of migrant-child cases reviewed (Feb 2024).
Full research on Becerra →
Experience- UK: Conservative Party strategist; co-founded consulting firm Good Business (clients incl. Nike, McDonald's, Coca-Cola); Director of Strategy to PM David Cameron, May 2010 – May 2012.
- Moved to California 2012; Stanford visiting scholar; co-founder/CEO of political tech startup Crowdpac until May 2018.
- Fox News host of "The Next Revolution," 2017–2023.
- No elected office or agency-head experience. His listed past roles are adviser to UK Prime Minister Cameron (strategy director 2010–12), crowdfunding co-founder, author and Fox News host.
- His signature government project, the "Big Society," is widely judged to have under-delivered. Hilton himself said the government lacked the "political will" to carry it out.
- Fox News host 2017–2023. Pushed claims about Fauci that PolitiFact found rested on "unsubstantiated allegations."
Full research on Hilton →
How they compare for this job
Deep government résumé, including running a federal cabinet department (HHS). Strongest proof points are legal wins and health-cost enforcement. Biggest management red flags: the unaccompanied-children oversight failures and the police-records fight, both of which are about how he runs an agency and handles transparency.
The jobFirst in line to succeed the governor; acting governor when the governor is out of state; president of the state Senate with a tie-breaking vote; sits on the UC Regents, CSU Trustees, community college board and State Lands Commission.
Experience- CPA. San Francisco Board of Supervisors 2002–2006; State Assembly 2006–2012 (majority whip, then Speaker pro Tem 2010–2012); Board of Equalization 2015–2019 (chair 2016–2017); State Treasurer since Jan 2019.
- As Treasurer, launched CalSavers (2019). By July 2026 it held $1.89B in 655,000 funded accounts, but the average balance is $2,877 and about 35% of workers opt out.
- The state paid $350K in 2024 to settle a former staffer's sexual-harassment suit. Ma denies wrongdoing.
- On the Board of Equalization, requested investigations of the agency; a 2017 audit led to it being stripped of most duties.
Full research on Ma →
Experience- Born in Barstow (San Bernardino County); Ph.D. in psychology, UC Riverside; university professor. State Assembly 1998–2001; State Senate 2001–2010 representing East LA/San Gabriel Valley; Senate Majority Leader 2005–2008 (first woman); chaired Senate Education and Public Safety committees.
- After leaving office: led the California chapter of Democrats for Education Reform; founded Scholarship Prep Charter School (TK–8). Switched to the Republican Party Sept 4, 2024. Running as Hilton's ticket-mate.
- Wrote the 2010 "parent trigger" law, which lets parents force changes at failing schools.
- State Senate Majority Leader 2005–08 (the first woman in the role). Hasn't held office since 2010.
- Switched to the Republican Party in Sept 2024. She is Hilton's running mate.
Full research on Romero →
The jobChief elections officer (certifies results, sets voting-system rules, publishes the voter guide, oversees but does not run county counts), plus business filings and campaign/lobbying disclosure.
Experience- San Diego State professor for nearly four decades (founding faculty of Africana Studies); a local school board; State Assembly 2012–2021; appointed Secretary of State 2021 (first Black person in the role), elected 2022.
- More than five years running statewide elections (appointed 2021), including the 2021 recall. Oversaw making universal vote-by-mail permanent.
- Counting is slow (counties get 30 days), and 1.73% of mail ballots were rejected in the June 2026 primary, up from 1.56% in 2024, mostly for arriving late.
- As a legislator, wrote AB 392 (2019), the stricter police deadly-force standard.
Full research on Weber →
Experience- Attorney; judge pro tem; president of the South Orange County Community College District board; State Assembly 2010–2016 (vice chair, Judiciary); Mayor of Irvine 2016–2019; Orange County Supervisor (District 3) since 2019, re-elected 2020 and 2024.
- Advanced from the June 2 primary with ~36.7%.
- Long local executive record: Orange County supervisor since 2019, Irvine mayor 2016–19, Assembly 2010–16.
- No election-administration role in his résumé. His main goals (voter ID, ending universal mail ballots) require the Legislature.
- Pushed to release sensitive voter data to the Trump Justice Department.
Full research on Wagner →
How they compare for this job
Weber has run statewide elections for more than five years, with no major administration failures found, and the main critique is speed. Wagner has a long executive record in local government but none administering elections; his agenda depends mostly on laws the Legislature would have to pass.
Experience- President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors; Board of Equalization (elected 2018, chaired 2019 and 2022); elected Controller Nov 2022, in office since 2023.
- Delivered on the core job: cleared the backlog of the state's chronically late annual financial report, releasing 4 reports in 2 years.
- Didn't deliver on her 2022 audit promises (homelessness, EDD, DMV), saying the State Auditor had covered them. A 2024 State Auditor report found the state had not consistently tracked and evaluated its homelessness efforts.
- Career path: SF supervisor, then Board of Equalization, then Controller. Raised $1.2M+.
Full research on Cohen →
Experience- Founded a San Diego investment firm later acquired by Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors. No government experience listed there.
- Founded a San Diego investment firm later bought by Cantor Fitzgerald. No government experience listed in his CalMatters profile.
- Pitch: log every state-funded nonprofit payment in a public database and use AI to flag fraud. He posts his own donations in real time. Raised $367K by April.
Full research on Morgan →
How they compare for this job
Cohen has delivered on the unglamorous core of the job (clearing the late financial-report backlog, systems modernization) but not on the high-profile audit promises she ran on. Morgan has real private investment-management experience, relevant to the pension boards, but no public-sector accounting or audit record.
Experience- Developer; her father, Angelo Tsakopoulos, founded Sacramento's AKT Development; major Democratic fundraiser; U.S. Ambassador to Hungary under Obama; Lieutenant Governor (two terms), with seats on the UC Regents and CSU Trustees.
- No public-finance job appears in her résumé: real-estate development (her father founded AKT Development), Ambassador to Hungary, then two terms as Lt. Governor.
- Conflict question: the Treasurer chairs the committee that awards housing tax credits, and her family is in real-estate development.
- Moved over from the governor's race in Aug 2025, when she was polling ~3%.
Full research on Kounalakis →
Experience- Silicon Valley retiree; most recently on the executive team at Sacred Heart Schools (Atherton private Catholic school); local GOP activist; no elected office.
- Pitch: business background and independence as a check on state government. Endorsed by CA Republican Party, California Republican Assembly, Reform California.
- No public-finance or investment record found in CalMatters' coverage.
- Retired private-school executive and local GOP activist. No public-finance or investment record found.
Full research on Hawks →
How they compare for this job
Neither candidate has a deep public-finance résumé. Kounalakis has statewide governance experience and real-estate development background; Hawks has private-sector management experience but little documented relevant record.
Experience- Alameda city council (vice mayor) 2010–2012; State Assembly 2012–2021 (East Bay); appointed AG by Gov. Newsom in 2021, elected 2022.
- Filed his 100th lawsuit against the Trump administration in under two years. He claims an 80% success rate and $188B protected, both his office's own figures. First-year litigation cost: $19M.
- Police shootings: 41 fatal-shooting cases closed with zero officers prosecuted, an average of ~2 years 5 months per case, and none finished within his own 1-year target. The office got about half the funding it asked for.
- Spent $468K in campaign funds on lawyers for the federal probe that led to the Oakland mayor's indictment. He says he isn't a target.
Full research on Bonta →
Experience- Trial attorney; Huntington Beach City Attorney for about a decade; in 2025 appointed deputy assistant attorney general in the U.S. DOJ Civil Rights Division, then left in November 2025 to return to Huntington Beach.
- About 10 years as Huntington Beach city attorney. He lost the marquee cases he brought against the state: housing plan, voter ID and sanctuary law.
- The city attorney's budget grew from $2.5M to over $4.3M during those fights.
- Spent part of 2025 at the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, then returned to Huntington Beach.
Full research on Gates →
How they compare for this job
Gates has litigated high-profile cases against the state, but his marquee cases have mostly been lost, which is the most direct evidence of how he'd do the job. Bonta has a long record in the role and many wins against the federal government, with a campaign-money episode worth weighing.
The jobRegulates the nation's largest property and casualty insurance market, including home and auto insurance and the rules for setting premiums; enforces claims-handling laws; oversees the FAIR Plan (insurer of last resort).
Experience- State senator since 2014 (D-Pacific Palisades; his district was hit by the 2025 LA County fires).
- Directly relevant record: after the 2025 LA fires, wrote SB 495, making insurers pay 60% of contents coverage without an itemized list after a declared emergency, and SB 1209 (signed Sept 2026) letting the commissioner order fixes without a long legal process.
- First elected to the state Senate in 2014; says he wrote the 2024 climate bond (Prop 4).
- A PAC backed by crypto billionaire Chris Larsen has about $2M for him.
Full research on Allen →
Experience- Attorney; former San Francisco Supervisor; state director, California Working Families Party, Jan 2022 – Jan 2026.
- No insurance-regulation experience found; she describes herself as "a civil rights attorney and consumer advocate."
- Proposes a state-run disaster insurer. It would need the Legislature, and Allen says it has "very little chance of ever getting passed."
- As an SF supervisor, secured Free City College and an early $15 minimum wage. Led the California Working Families Party 2022–26.
Full research on Kim →
How they compare for this job
Allen has a direct, recent legislative record on the exact problem (claims handling and insurer enforcement after fires). Kim has a record of passing progressive local policy and a bold structural proposal, but no insurance background and a plan that depends on legislation Allen calls very unlikely to pass.
Experience- UC San Diego BA, Harvard MPP; held a leadership post at a regional labor council of 135 unions; San Diego Unified board member for 18 years (five as president); since 2024 a paid adviser at the state Department of Education under Supt. Tony Thurmond.
- 18 years on the San Diego Unified board (~103,000 students). 2022 to 2025: reading proficiency 53.1% → 56.2%, math 41.1% → 45.3%, graduation 90.3%.
- Keeps only the state-minimum 2% reserve, which some peers call risky.
- Former labor-council leader; CTA's independent-expenditure committee has put about $5M behind him.
Full research on Barrera →
Experience- No college; former stay-at-home mom who organized parents to attend board meetings during the pandemic, then won a board seat; now president.
- Chino Valley Unified board president (~26,500 students). 2022 to 2025: reading 58.9% → 62.1%, math 44.6% → 49.8%, graduation 95.5%.
- Her board's gender-identity parental-notification policy was ruled unconstitutional (Sept 2024), and state law now bans such policies.
- Did not attend college; was a stay-at-home mother before organizing parents during the pandemic.
Full research on Shaw →
How they compare for this job
Both point to real test-score gains in their districts. Barrera has two decades of board governance of a large district plus labor and state-department experience; Shaw has a few years on a mid-size board, with a record defined by high-profile culture-war fights and a policy courts found unconstitutional.
There is no U.S. Senate race in California this year.