2026 VOTER GUIDE | PART 2 of 8
STATEWIDE
CONSTITUTIONAL
OFFICES
STATEWIDE OFFICES
ENDORSEMENTS & RECOMMENDATIONS
QUICK GUIDE
Scroll down for detailed information on each candidate.
*Endorsed by La Defensa
- Governor | Xavier Becerra
- Lt. Governor | Fiona Ma
- Secretary of State | Dr. Shirley Weber
- Attorney General | Rob Bonta
- State Controller | Malia Cohen
- State Treasurer | Eleni Kounalakis
- Insurance Commissioner | Jane Kim*
- Board of Equalization, District 3 | Sam Sukaton*
- Superintendent of Public Instruction | Richard Barrera
Our Vetting Criteria
Our questionnaire and research criteria asked how statewide candidates would use the executive or administrative authority of their office to reduce California’s reliance on incarceration and criminalization, strengthen sanctuary protections for immigrant communities, and advance racial and economic justice.
Stay connected for election updates!
Subscribe to our mailing list for post election analysis and updates on La Defensa projects!
STATEWIDE CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES
CANDIDATE
PROFILES
XAVIER BECERRA
GOVERNOR
👍 Recommended
The Governor is the state’s chief executive: they oversee all state departments and agencies, propose and enforce state laws, manage the largest state budget in the country, and hold clemency power over every person incarcerated in California’s prisons. Pardons, commutations, and reprieves are the Governor’s alone to grant. In a state that incarcerates more than 90,000 people, that power is not symbolic.
D
Voting Rights Attorney
Becerra is endorsed by Dolores Huerta, environmental justice organizations, and elected officials at the city, county, state, and federal levels. He also has the support of Latino groups, including the California Latino Legislative Caucus and CHIRLA Action Fund. He has also accepted endorsements from law enforcement groups, including the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association. This election cycle, Becerra has accepted over $100,000 in contributions from law enforcement groups, including the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, Los Angeles Police Protective League, California Statewide Law Enforcement Association, Oakland Police Officers Association, Richmond Police Officers Association, and San Mateo County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association.
Xavier Becerra has spent 35 years in public office. He served in the California State Assembly from 1990 to 1992 and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992. Becerra chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus from 1997 to 1999 and the House Democratic Caucus from 2013 to 2017. In 2017, Governor Jerry Brown appointed Becerra Attorney General to replace Kamala Harris after she was elected to the U.S. Senate. He was elected to a full term in 2018 and served until 2021, when he joined the Biden cabinet as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
As Attorney General, Becerra filed lawsuits against the federal government to preserve DACA and the Affordable Care Act. He also refused to conduct an independent investigation into the police killing of Sean Monterrosa by a Vallejo police officer. When the Solano County District Attorney’s Office asked Becerra to investigate independently, his office declined, stating that it would not investigate what it considered a local matter. He later opposed legislation designed to hold law enforcement accountable, such as AB 1506 (2020), which created an office within the California DOJ to investigate use-of-force cases when law enforcement or district attorneys request support. His office also threatened legal action against reporters who had received public records of California law enforcement officers convicted of crimes in the past decade.
La Defensa recommends Xavier Becerra for Governor over his opponent, Republican Steve Hilton. In an ACLU candidate questionnaire, Becerra made four commitments. He agreed to publicly advocate for greater investment in community-based programs and services and to reject legislation that lengthens sentences and increases penalties. He agreed to support efforts to staff and fund public defender offices so that a Californian’s right to counsel and a fair trial do not depend on wealth. He also committed to publicly supporting greater public access to law enforcement records and strong local civilian oversight of law enforcement practices, as well as policies that shift responsibility for homelessness and mental health responses away from law enforcement and toward trained social service providers. In 2017, he joined attorneys general from 13 other states in calling on U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to rescind harsh new instructions for Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors that would make communities less, not more, safe.
Becerra frames Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity primarily as a jurisdictional and legal boundary issue, emphasizing the limits of federal authority. His approach focuses on ensuring ICE operates within its legal scope and on coordinating with law enforcement leadership when those boundaries are crossed. On enforcement and accountability, he emphasizes using existing legal mechanisms, arguing that state law enforcement has the authority to investigate, prosecute, and respond when ICE agents violate state law. He has also pledged to oppose private, for-profit immigration detention centers.
Becerra emphasizes defending and enforcing existing protections for transgender, gender-diverse, and intersex (TGI) people, focusing on upholding anti-discrimination laws and maintaining access to services and legal protections. On transgender participation in sports, he has stated that governing bodies should determine policies, noting that participation in sports is not a constitutional right.
FIONA MA
LT. GOVERNOR
👍 Recommended
The Lieutenant Governor steps in for the Governor in case of vacancy or absence and sits on the UC Board of Regents and several other state boards — including the Commission for Economic Development, which shapes investment priorities across the state.
D
State Treasurer/CPA
Ma has accepted endorsements from various law enforcement groups, including the State Coalition of Probation Organizations, Peace Officers Research Association of California, Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, California Association of Highway Patrolmen, and Los Angeles Police Protective League. She has also been endorsed by San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto, Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton, Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho, and San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. This election cycle, Ma has received over $24,000 in contributions from various law enforcement groups, including the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, Californians for Safer Neighborhoods (sponsored by the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs), the Los Angeles Police Protective League, and the Peace Officers Research Association of California.
Fiona Ma is a Certified Public Accountant with a long history in government. She has served as State Treasurer since 2019, and previously served on the California Board of Equalization (2015 to 2019), in the California State Assembly (2006 to 2012), and on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (2002 to 2006). As a Supervisor and Assemblymember, she focused on safety in children’s toys, authoring legislation that banned certain chemicals in children’s products. As State Treasurer, she has focused on moving pension funds into socially responsible and climate-smart investments.
La Defensa recommends Fiona Ma for Lieutenant Governor. Ma’s platform focuses on her tenure as State Treasurer and her desire to grow the economy, create high-quality jobs, and fight for healthcare access for all. As the spouse of a firefighter, she describes herself as a champion for first responders and public safety personnel, with the goal of helping people feel safer in their cities. In the Assembly, she authored AB 593 (2012), which expanded the rights of incarcerated domestic violence survivors by allowing them to petition the court to recall and resentence their convictions if their conviction involved limited or no expert testimony on domestic violence in a way that reasonably could have changed the outcome.
Dr. Shirley Weber
Secretary of State
👍 Recommended
The Secretary of State manages California’s elections, oversees business filings, and is responsible for ensuring the integrity and transparency of campaign finance.
D
California Secretary of State
Dr. Weber is endorsed by Attorney General Rob Bonta and other notable city and state elected officials. She is also widely endorsed by climate, labor, education, and reproductive rights organizations, as well as identity-based PACs (California Black Women’s Collective PAC, California Women’s List, and the Armenian National Committee of America). She has received contributions from Smart Justice CA and numerous political organizations supporting women in politics and Indigenous communities in California. She has also accepted a contribution from the California Correctional Peace Officers Association this election cycle.
Before entering politics, Dr. Weber taught as a professor of African American Studies at San Diego State University. In 2012, she was elected to the California State Assembly, where she represented the 79th District and chaired various committees, including the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Public Safety. She authored AB 953 (2015), which established the Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA), requiring California law enforcement agencies to report demographic data on both traffic and pedestrian stops. She also authored AB 392 (2019), which modernized standards for law enforcement use of deadly force. In 2020, Governor Newsom appointed Dr. Weber Secretary of State to replace Alex Padilla, whom he had just appointed to the U.S. Senate, and she won a full term in the 2022 election. As Secretary of State, she has worked to make California a permanent, universal vote-by-mail state and is committed to expanding Californians’ right to vote.
La Defensa recommends Dr. Shirley Weber for Secretary of State. Dr. Weber has committed to revamping voter education outreach for formerly incarcerated people, especially in light of the passage of Proposition 17, which restored the right to vote to Californians on parole, enabling all Californians to have a voice in upcoming elections. During her time in the Assembly, her legislation addressed law enforcement use-of-force and body camera practices, reparations, the CalGang database, affirmative action, inclusive jury selection and instruction, predatory lending, resources for exonerees, restorative justice, and racial profiling.
Rob Bonta
Attorney General
👍 Recommended
The Attorney General is the state’s top lawyer and law enforcement official: they represent California in court, enforce state law, oversee the Department of Justice’s law enforcement and consumer protection functions, and have independent authority to investigate and hold law enforcement agencies accountable for misconduct, excessive force, and civil rights violations.
D
California Attorney General
Bonta is endorsed by Smart Justice CA, Courage California, and Dolores Huerta. He is also extensively endorsed by law enforcement and prosecutors across the state, including San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton, Ventura District Attorney Erik Nasarenko, San Diego Sheriff Kellie Williams, the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association, and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. Bonta has not accepted any contributions from law enforcement organizations this election cycle.
Rob Bonta is the current Attorney General (AG) and is running for reelection after being appointed by the Governor in 2021 and elected to a full term in 2022. The child of immigrant parents, Bonta was raised in California. Before entering public office, he worked as a private attorney and collaborated with the ACLU to create protocols to prevent racial profiling by the California Highway Patrol. He then served as a Deputy City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco before serving eight years in the State Assembly.
La Defensa recommends Rob Bonta for Attorney General. He strongly believes our justice system should be free from bias and treat everyone fairly. As the Attorney General he has increased transparency within the Department of Justice and sought to make our justice system more accountable to the people it serves.
Before becoming AG, Bonta served as a state Assemblymember for nearly a decade, authoring key pieces of justice reform legislation. In the Assembly, he led efforts to abolish private prisons and end cash bail in California, and he was an active co-author of ACA 6 (2019), which ultimately restored the right to vote to people on parole through Proposition 17. He also authored AB 767 (2016), which gave families of people killed by police access to the same victims’ services as other survivors whose family members have died through violent crime.
As AG, he established the Post-Conviction Justice Unit, which provides independent review of convictions and sentences to exonerate innocent people and resentence eligible individuals. He has sued the Trump administration more than 50 times, fighting to protect critical healthcare funding and suing to stop ICE raids in the state. He has also fought to protect Californians’ rights to reproductive care, marriage equality, and gender-affirming care.
MALIA COHEN
STATE CONTROLLER
👍 Recommended
The Controller is the state’s chief fiscal officer: they monitor state spending, conduct financial audits of all state agencies, manage the state payroll, and sit on key state boards that make decisions about pension investments and state financial policy.
D (Incumbent)
State Controller / Mother
Cohen is endorsed by Governor Gavin Newsom, State Senator María Elena Durazo, and other state and local elected officials. She is also endorsed by the California Democratic Party, the California Legislative Women’s Caucus, and identity-based groups (BWOPA, Vote Mama, Fund Her, and others). This election cycle, she has accepted more than $26,000 in law enforcement contributions from the California Correctional Peace Officers Association and the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association.
Malia Cohen, born and raised in San Francisco, is the incumbent State Controller. She previously served on the California State Board of Equalization (BOE), which administers the state’s $100 billion tax system, and chaired the Board from 2019 to 2022. As Chair, she led efforts to modernize the state’s property tax system and used property tax abatements to stimulate affordable housing, among other accomplishments. Before that, she served as President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, where she chaired the Budget and Finance Committee and the Audit and Oversight Committee, and she led efforts to divest the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System from fossil fuel and thermal coal investments into fossil-free index funds.
La Defensa recommends Malia Cohen for State Controller. Her platform focuses on addressing California’s housing crisis, ensuring retirement security, expanding affordable health care, protecting reproductive access, and building an economy that works for all Californians. Cohen is committed to holding polluters accountable and fighting for diversity and equal rights for all. Cohen has opposed harsh criminalization measures like Proposition 36, which increased sentences for certain crimes. As State Controller, she has put political weight behind pay equity through California’s Commission on the Status of Women and Girls Pay Equity Task Force, worked on audits that support higher standards for affordable, quality health care, and worked to ensure that affordable housing programs actually house people.
Eleni Kounalakis
STATE TREASURER
👍 Recommended
The Treasurer manages California’s investment portfolio and oversees state debt through the issuance of bonds.
D
Lieutenant Governor of California
Kounalakis is endorsed by Governor Newsom, Hillary Clinton, and several federal and state legislators. She has also received endorsements from labor groups, Democratic clubs, and various nonprofit organizations. She does not have any law enforcement endorsements, but she has accepted a campaign contribution from the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association this election cycle.
Before her career in public service, Eleni Kounalakis worked in real estate development for almost 20 years. Since 1996, she has served seven times as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention and as an at-large member of the California State Democratic Central Committee. She has also served on the First 5 California Commission and the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism. From 2010 to 2013, she served as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary, appointed by President Barack Obama. In 2018, she was elected Lieutenant Governor of California and was re-elected in 2022. As Lieutenant Governor, she established a Transgender Advisory Council to advise on policies that promote inclusivity and equity.
La Defensa recommends Eleni Kounalakis for State Treasurer. Her campaign website does not list her policy priorities, including those related to public safety. Instead, she explains her efforts as Lieutenant Governor to protect the state’s economic strength and expand opportunity for all Californians. She has focused on responsible investment in education, climate resilience, and infrastructure. In her roles as chair of the State Lands Commission and a voting member of the University of California Board of Regents and California State University Board of Trustees, she has helped oversee billions in public assets.
Jane Kim
Insurance Commissioner
✅ Endorsed
The Insurance Commissioner regulates the insurance industry in California, enforces insurance law, and has broad authority over consumer protection and industry practices — including authority over insurance coverage for low-income communities, redlining, and access to healthcare.
Democrat
Attorney/Consumer Advocate
Kim is endorsed by the California Working Families Party, Senator Bernie Sanders, Dolores Huerta, SEIU California, the California Teachers Association, the National Union of Healthcare Workers, and over 100 state and local elected officials. She is also endorsed by identity-based groups (for example, CA Black Power Network Action Fund, CAIR Action, and the National Women’s Political Caucus) and Democratic clubs (for example, California Young Democrats and California High School Democrats). She does not accept donations from the insurance industry, corporate PACs, fossil fuel companies, or AIPAC, and she has not accepted any contributions from law enforcement groups.
Jane Kim is a civil rights attorney, a former elected San Francisco official, and the former California Director of the Working Families Party. She served on the San Francisco Board of Education from 2007 to 2011 and on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2011 to 2019, where she compiled a notable progressive record. She taxed corporate landlords to fund universal early childhood education, made San Francisco the first city in the nation to offer tuition-free community college to all residents, passed what she describes as the strongest tenant protection ordinance in the nation, and created the first transgender cultural district in the country. She served as California Political Director for Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign and has spent the years since identifying and electing progressive candidates across California through the Working Families Party.
La Defensa is proud to endorse Jane Kim for Insurance Commissioner. Although the office’s direct jurisdiction over criminal justice issues is limited, her record and platform reflect consistent alignment with our values. Most directly relevant to our priorities, she championed the ban-the-box ordinance as a San Francisco Supervisor, ending employment discrimination against formerly incarcerated people in city hiring processes.
She has a long record of opposing ICE collaboration. As a Supervisor, she supported a 2013 ordinance prohibiting local law enforcement from honoring civil immigration detainers except for people with prior convictions for specific violent felonies. She championed the California Values Act in 2017 to limit state and local entanglement with federal immigration enforcement, and she backed a 2018 resolution condemning the treatment of detainees held by CBP at SFO. She supported San Francisco’s first LGBTQ+-specific shelter for unhoused residents and secured dedicated funding for health, housing, and employment services for LGBTQ+ communities. On homelessness, she is unambiguous: “The solution to homelessness is housing, not criminalization.” She supports harm reduction as a proven, life-saving strategy.
Within the scope of the Insurance Commissioner’s role, Kim frames affordability and insurance access as civil rights issues, citing the industry’s long history of redlining and its use of proxies like zip code and credit score to penalize low-income consumers and communities of color. She has pledged to use the office as a civil rights watchdog.
Sam Sukaton
Board of Equalization, District 3
✅ Endorsed
The California State Board of Equalization oversees property tax administration by monitoring the 58 county assessors to ensure consistency and uniformity statewide. The Board of Equalization is responsible for reviewing, equalizing, or adjusting property tax assessments, assessing taxes on insurers, and assessing/collecting excise taxes on alcoholic beverages. It also acts as the appellate body for corporate franchise and personal income tax appeals.
D
Labor Union Organizer
Sukaton is endorsed by AFT 1521, the Working Families Party, and Our Revolution. He does not have any law enforcement endorsements or campaign contributions, and he has stated that he refuses to accept money from AIPAC.
Sam Sukaton is an experienced organizer who grew up in the Inland Empire, raised by working-class parents. While studying at UCLA, he learned about the loopholes in Proposition 13 that drastically shifted funding for public schools in California. Sukaton has spent 15 years as a volunteer and staff organizer with groups including the Sierra Club, UNITE HERE, SEIU-UHW, California Environmental Voters, and AFT 1521. He is a former member organizer with Working Families Party Los Angeles. Sukaton worked on Senator Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign as a director for the Inland Empire and also led climate campaigns with California Environmental Voters. He has also worked with the California Public Utilities Commission, the Energy Commission, the Air Resources Board, and the Natural Resources Agency.
La Defensa is proud to endorse Sam Sukaton for the Board of Equalization, District 3. If elected, Sukaton plans to prioritize fair and uniform assessments for both homeowners and small businesses. He is committed to bringing transparency and modernization to the Board of Equalization by upgrading systems so taxpayers can see where every dollar goes. He also recognizes that the property tax system is the backbone of funding for schools and local governments, and he plans to ensure they receive their fair share of revenue.
RICHARD BARRERA
SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
👍 Recommended
The Superintendent of Public Instruction oversees the California Department of Education and shapes policy for the schools attended by millions of California children, including decisions about school safety, discipline, curriculum, and resource allocation.
D (nonpartisan office)
State Superintendent Advisor
Barrera has accepted notable endorsements from the California Teachers Association and other educator labor groups, trade unions, and healthcare workers. He is also endorsed by political groups including the California Democratic Party, PowerPAC, and Democrats of the Desert, as well as Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, ACCE Action, and a multitude of education leaders from across the state. Barrera is also endorsed by the Peace Officers Research Association of California and the San Diego Police Officers Association. Additionally, this election cycle, he has accepted nearly $20,000 in contributions from two law enforcement groups: the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association and the Peace Officers Research Association of California.
Richard Barrera is the child of an immigrant and grew up in San Diego. He attended the University of California, San Diego, for his undergraduate degree and Harvard for a Master’s in Public Policy. Before running for Superintendent of Public Instruction, he served on the San Diego Unified School Board from 2008 to 2024, including as board president. In this role, he made San Diego the first district in California to guarantee transitional kindergarten for all four-year-olds, spearheaded an affordable housing initiative for educators, and transformed the district into one of the highest-performing districts in the nation. He also expanded arts resources at schools, ensuring music and arts education was fully funded. Before his role with the school district, he worked as a labor organizer on behalf of domestic workers, healthcare workers, and nurses to ensure that staff received fair wages, better working conditions, and respect in their roles.
La Defensa recommends Richard Barrera for Superintendent of Public Instruction. His platform includes a statewide effort to increase education funding by reinvesting California’s wealth into its public schools, expanding universal transitional kindergarten, investing in our educators, prioritizing students’ physical and mental safety, and more.
Barrera does not have a public safety platform, but his broader platform would support the health and safety of our communities, as education is a strong protective factor against crime and violence. Similarly, by prioritizing student mental and physical health, Barrera would help interrupt cycles that contribute to school disengagement, economic insecurity, violence, and crime. By investing more deeply in youth, educators, and schools, Barrera supports a safer and healthier California in alignment with our values.
While we are cautiously optimistic about his platform, we are concerned by his endorsements and campaign contributions from a few law enforcement groups.