Eleni Kounalakis takes the oath of office, administered by Gov. Gavin Newsom, to serve a second term as California lieutenant governor in Sacramento on Jan. 2, 2023. Courtesy of the Office of Gavin Newsom
My, they’re starting early in the bid to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom when term-limits force him out in 2026. Unless he becomes president or vice president before then—which actually could happen. I’m crafting Part Two of this two-part series on that possibility. Even though President Joe Biden on April 25 announced his re-election bid and Vice President Kamala Harris will be on the ticket.
Two candidates have jumped in early to replace Newsom. They see what’s happening and want to get into the action right away, just short of five months into his new four-year term. Let’s look at them and some other possibilities.
Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis
Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis announced Monday on Twitter:
“Today I’m launching my campaign to become the next Governor of the great state of CA. My family & I owe everything to our state. I will fight fiercely to make sure EVERY Californian has the chance to walk the path of the CA dream just like I have. Join us http://eleniforca.com.”
Lt. Gov. of California Eleni Kounalakis speaks onstage during EMILYs List's 2023 Pre-Oscars Breakfast at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., on March 7, 2023. Araya Doheny/Getty Images for EMILYs List
She has to be the odds-on favorite to win in 2026. (If Newsom is promoted to the White House or Number One Observatory Circle, of course, she would become governor immediately and would be running for re-election in 2026.) The Democratic Party, especially in California, is exceedingly hierarchal. If you play the game, and it’s your turn, you get promoted. Except for Jerry Brown, who had been governor in the 1970s, the other two recent Democratic governors first were lieutenant governors: Gray Davis and Newsom.
Like Newsom and Brown (not Davis), Kounalakis comes from a prominent California political family. Her father is Angelo Tsakopoulos, a major business developer in Sacramento, the founder and owner of AKT Development, and an immigrant from Greece. Elena was an executive at AKT.
Sacramento’s Greek developers play a large role in this state’s Democratic politics. The party’s 2006 nominee for governor was then-Treasurer Phil Angelides, who had been president of AKT, then started his own firm, River West. He lost that election to incumbent Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Kounalakis hits all the right notes for a Democrat on her campaign website:
“As the proud daughter of a Greek immigrant and a native Californian, Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis has a deep-rooted love for her home state that began when her father came to California as a refugee from Greece. Her passion and gratitude for California led her to devote her life to public service.
“A proud mother, daughter, advocate, and leader, Eleni knows the struggles Californians face and has the experience and grit to bring meaningful change to her home state. She is a fierce fighter and strives to build a future where everyone — regardless of race, class, or immigration status — has the same chance and opportunity that she and her family did.”
This is a pro site and I expect she will run a professional, careful campaign.
Betty Yee attends the 33rd Annual Women's Campaign Fund Parties of Your Choice Gala at Christie's Auction House in New York City on April 22, 2013. Thos Robinson/Getty Images for Women's Campaign Fund
Former Controller Betty Yee
Betty Yee is also expected to announce soon. According to Fox 40 KTXL, “[S]he is not ready to make a formal announcement but that she is mounting a campaign.” The former state controller currently is Vice Chair of the California Democratic Party.
Her big problem is she was a disaster as controller. Former state Sen. John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa), whom I served as press secretary, wrote about it in The Epoch Times earlier this month. He detailed how the state’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report finally was issued for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021 under new Controller Malia Cohen, “months after” Yee “left the building. This is supposed to be issued within 180 days, not 21 months. ... This is the latest that California has ever issued its annual audited financial statements. Sacramento has a billion dollar accounting software system and it is a national joke—but in the accounting world it is an amazing embarrassment.”
It seems unlikely Yee could gain traction.
Schiff? Porter? Lee?
Who else might run? Well, currently we have a race to replace retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein among three ambitious U.S. Members of Congress: Adam Schiff of Burbank, Katie Porter of Irvine, and Barbara Lee of Oakland. One will win. The other two, after having campaigned up and down this gigantic state, and with campaigns still staffed and fundraising mechanisms churning, will be primed for a race for governor.
Schiff and Porter, in particular, have national fundraising clout and, if not sent to the Senate, will be out of office and have nothing else to do but run for governor. Schiff is tied more into California’s political establishment and already has been endorsed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and 14 other Democratic members of the House from California.
Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) speaks at Irvine Valley College in Irvine, Calif., on Oct. 14, 2022. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
Porter also has fundraising clout and has been backed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren. She has a national following among feminist groups that have helped fund her campaigns.
A likely scenario for the Senate race next year is both Porter and Schiff, under the Top Two system, advance to the November runoff, with no Republican making the cut. That would bring both even more exposure around the state, with the loser holding that advantage in a potential governor’s race.
State Treasurer Fiona Ma
Fiona Ma was just re-elected as state Treasurer. In 2019, just after Newsom moved into the governor’s chair, Politico reported:
“The 2026 California governor’s race is on — and it could be an all-women contest.
“That’s the takeaway now that three of the state’s top constitutional officers — Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, Treasurer Fiona Ma, and Controller Betty Yee — told a Sacramento Press Club audience Tuesday that they’d throw their hats in the ring.
“‘I’m in!’ said Yee, the first to answer a forum question about whether the Democratic leaders would run for governor.
“Both Ma and Kounalakis, to the delight of about 150 in the Press Club audience, also raised their hands and said, ‘I’m in!’ as the crowd erupted in applause.”
So far in 2023, nothing has been posted on Ma’s Twitter account. But it’s interesting she links to a Forbes article touting entrepreneur Wes Edens’s high-speed rail line from L.A. to Las Vegas (not the state’s disastrous bullet train boondoggle, which she supported while in the Assembly). She also has supported the single-payer socialized medicine scheme.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Sacramento on Feb. 1, 2023. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Conclusion: Look to the Unions
Of course, and unfortunately, the only real contest will be in the primary among Democrats. The Republicans are unlikely to do well. We even could have a Top Two final contest between two Democrats, as we did in the 2016 and 2018 U.S. senatorial races.
The key will be who gets the most support from the state’s public-employee unions, especially the ultra-powerful California Teachers Association. All these candidates have been endorsed by the unions for current and past offices and will be courting that support again.
My guess is Kounalakis will get it. The unions want someone safe and reliable. She’s been a loyal soldier for them, and for Newsom.
Finally, it’s worth remembering a California governor automatically becomes a presidential candidate. Even Schwarzenegger, according to biographer Ian Halperin, though born in Austria, was at one point looking to amend the U.S. Constitution to allow the office to be held by foreign-born candidates. Dreams of Oval Office power make anyone giddy.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
John Seiler
Author
John Seiler is a veteran California opinion writer. Mr. Seiler has written editorials for The Orange County Register for almost 30 years. He is a U.S. Army veteran and former press secretary for California state Sen. John Moorlach. He blogs at JohnSeiler.Substack.com and his email is [email protected]
