Why wait? Six weeks before the 2024 election, California is having a 2026 governor’s debate
If you’re tired of thinking about who’s going to be the next president, why not start thinking about who’s going to be California’s next governor?
Although the 2024 election is still six weeks away, Golden State Democrats are preparing for their first major candidate forum in the wide-open race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2026.
Newsom is serving his second term and cannot run again. The field of candidates vying to replace him includes five Democrats, four of whom will face off Sunday at a forum in San Francisco sponsored by the National Union of Healthcare Workers.
The panel will feature Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, State Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, state Sen. Toni Atkins and former state Controller Betty Yee. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is also running for governor, declined an invitation to participate, the union said.
The forum, which begins at 10 a.m. Sunday, is held in partnership with the Los Angeles Times and will be live-streamed on latimes.com.
The wide-open race to succeed Gavin Newsom as California governor has already attracted a large and diverse field of candidates.
The candidates will answer questions from Laurel Rosenhall, the California politics editor for The Times; Lisa Matthews, national planning editor at the Associated Press; and Melanie Mason, a senior reporter at Politico.
The healthcare union has about 19,000 members in California, including psychologists, pharmacists, nurses, janitors and social workers. The union also hosted the first major candidate forums in the 2024 California Senate primary and in the 2018 gubernatorial race.
Sal Rosselli, the director of political and legislative campaigns for the union, said in a prepared statement that the union’s members want to know positions on healthcare, housing, transportation, education and workers’ rights.
“We hope this year’s forum will provide those answers for our members and other California voters,” Rosselli said.
Democrats are expected to dominate the statewide contest to replace Newsom in 2026, and more candidates could still enter the race.
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta has said he’s “seriously considering” running for governor, but hasn’t announced a bid. Nor has Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine), whose name has been in the mix of potential candidates since she lost her bid for the U.S. Senate in the March primary.
Other possible candidates include Xavier Becerra, President Biden’s health and human services secretary, and developer Rick Caruso, who ran for Los Angeles mayor in 2022, losing to Karen Bass.
Caruso made clear two years ago that he wouldn’t run for mayor a second time if he lost to Karen Bass. But lately, he’s been behaving like a candidate again.
Several Republicans have been said to be considering whether to enter the race, including Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and conservative commentator Steve Hilton.
Each of the Democratic candidates who has entered the race thus far has a chance to make history. California has never elected a woman as governor, and a person of color has held the office only once: Gov. Romualdo Pacheco, for just a few months in 1875.
Atkins, 62, represents the San Diego area in the state Senate 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.
Kounalakis, 58, was first elected lieutenant governor in 2018 and reelected in 2022. Kounalakis has highlighted her work in the largely ceremonial job opposing college tuition hikes, combating climate change and protecting women’s rights. She lives in San Francisco.
Thurmond, 56, represented the East Bay in the state Assembly before he was elected to California’s top education post in 2018 with strong support from the California Teachers Assn. and other labor unions.
Yee, 66, was elected state controller in 2014. During her tenure, her agency uncovered tens of millions of dollars of local government misspending and questionable financial practices. She was born to Chinese immigrant parents in San Francisco, where the family lived behind their dry cleaning business.
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
