4 Democrats vying to grow to be California’s subsequent governor will meet for a candidates discussion board Sunday at 10 a.m. livestreamed at latimes.com.
In case you’re uninterested in interested by who’s going to be the following president, why not begin interested by who’s going to be California’s subsequent governor?
Though the 2024 election continues to be six weeks away, Golden State Democrats are making ready for his or her first main candidate discussion board within the wide-open race to exchange Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2026.
Newsom is serving his second time period and can’t run once more. The sphere of candidates vying to exchange him contains 5 Democrats, 4 of whom will face off Sunday at a discussion board in San Francisco sponsored by the Nationwide Union of Healthcare Staff.
The panel will characteristic 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 can also be operating for governor, declined an invite to take part, the union mentioned.
The discussion board, which begins at 10 a.m. Sunday, is held in partnership with the Los Angeles Occasions and shall be live-streamed on latimes.com.
The candidates will reply questions from Laurel Rosenhall, the California politics editor for The Occasions; Lisa Matthews, nationwide planning editor on the Related Press; and Melanie Mason, a senior reporter at Politico.
The healthcare union has about 19,000 members in California, together with psychologists, pharmacists, nurses, janitors and social staff. The union additionally hosted the primary main candidate boards within the 2024 California Senate main and within the 2018 gubernatorial race.
Sal Rosselli, the director of political and legislative campaigns for the union, mentioned in a ready assertion that the union’s members wish to know positions on healthcare, housing, transportation, training and staff’ rights.
“We hope this yr’s discussion board will present these solutions for our members and different California voters,” Rosselli mentioned.
Democrats are anticipated to dominate the statewide contest to exchange Newsom in 2026, and extra candidates might nonetheless enter the race.
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta has mentioned he’s “significantly contemplating” operating for governor, however hasn’t introduced a bid. Nor has Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine), whose identify has been within the mixture of potential candidates since she misplaced her bid for the U.S. Senate within the March main.
Different attainable candidates embrace Xavier Becerra, President Biden’s well being and human companies secretary, and developer Rick Caruso, who ran for Los Angeles mayor in 2022, shedding to Karen Bass.
A number of Republicans have been mentioned to be contemplating whether or not to enter the race, together with Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and conservative commentator Steve Hilton.
Every of the Democratic candidates who has entered the race to this point has an opportunity to make historical past. California has by no means elected a lady as governor, and an individual of shade has held the workplace solely as soon as: Gov. Romualdo Pacheco, for just some months in 1875.
Atkins, 62, represents the San Diego space within the state Senate and is serving her remaining time period as a state lawmaker. She is a former Senate president professional tem and a former Meeting speaker, the primary legislator since 1871 to carry each management posts. She was the primary feminine and first out LGBTQ+ Senate chief in state historical past.
Kounalakis, 58, was first elected lieutenant governor in 2018 and reelected in 2022. Kounalakis has highlighted her work within the largely ceremonial job opposing faculty tuition hikes, combating local weather change and defending ladies’s rights. She lives in San Francisco.
Thurmond, 56, represented the East Bay within the state Meeting earlier than he was elected to California’s high training publish in 2018 with sturdy help from the California Lecturers Assn. and different labor unions.
Yee, 66, was elected state controller in 2014. Throughout her tenure, her company uncovered tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} of native authorities misspending and questionable monetary practices. She was born to Chinese language immigrant dad and mom in San Francisco, the place the household lived behind their dry cleansing enterprise.
