| Elections in California |
|---|
 |
The 2026 California elections will take place on November 3, 2026. The statewide direct primary election will be held on June 2.
California voters will elect all of California’s seats to the United States House of Representatives, all of the seats of the California State Assembly, all even-numbered seats of the California State Senate, and the Governor of California and various statewide offices.
Pursuant to Proposition 14 passed in 2010, California uses a nonpartisan blanket primary for its races. All the candidates for the same elected office, regardless of respective political party, run against each other at once during the primary. The candidates receiving the most and second-most votes in the primary election then become the contestants in the general election.
United States Congress
House
All of California’s 52 seats to the United States House of Representatives will be up for election to two-year terms. They will use the redrawn district maps under the voter-approved 2025 California Proposition 50.
Statewide constitutional offices
Governor
Incumbent Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom is term-limited and ineligible to seek reelection.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Akinyemi Agbede | |||
| Democratic | Mohammad Arif | |||
| Democratic | Larry Azevedo | |||
| Democratic | Xavier Becerra | |||
| Democratic | Carolina Buhler | |||
| Democratic | Louis A. De Barraicua | |||
| Democratic | Sophia Edum-a-Sam | |||
| Democratic | Derek Grasty | |||
| Democratic | Joel E. Jacob | |||
| Democratic | Gary Howard Kidgell | |||
| Democratic | Matthew C. Levy | |||
| Democratic | Matt Mahan | |||
| Democratic | Barack D. Obama Shaw | |||
| Democratic | Thunder Parley | |||
| Democratic | Katie Porter | |||
| Democratic | Raji Rab | |||
| Democratic | Satish Rao | |||
| Democratic | Scott P. Shields | |||
| Democratic | Tom Steyer | |||
| Democratic | Eric Swalwell | |||
| Democratic | Tony Thurmond | |||
| Democratic | Antonio Villaraigosa | |||
| Democratic | Betty Yee | |||
| Democratic | Erin “Zez” Zezulak | |||
| Republican | James Athans Jr. | |||
| Republican | Chad Bianco | |||
| Republican | Patricia De Luca Basualdo | |||
| Republican | Randeep S. Dhillon | |||
| Republican | Rafael M. Hernandez | |||
| Republican | Steve Hilton | |||
| Republican | Alicia Olivia Lapp | |||
| Republican | Leo Naranjo IV | |||
| Republican | Tim Nelson | |||
| Republican | Gretha Solórzano | |||
| Republican | Ebony Taylor | |||
| Republican | Leo Zacky | |||
| Republican | David Zickefoose | |||
| Libertarian | Tom Woodard | |||
| Peace and Freedom | Ramsey Robinson | |||
| No party preference | Naomi Bar-Lev | |||
| No party preference | Joseph Cabrera | |||
| No party preference | Elaine Culotti | |||
| No party preference | LivingForGod AndCountry DeMott | |||
| No party preference | Serge Fiankan | |||
| No party preference | Lukasz Adam Filinski | |||
| No party preference | Max Fomin | |||
| No party preference | Don J. Grundmann | |||
| No party preference | Jon Henderson | |||
| No party preference | Lewis Herms | |||
| No party preference | Dawit Kellel | |||
| No party preference | Anne Komarovsk | |||
| No party preference | Duane Terrence Loynes Jr. | |||
| No party preference | Amanda Martin | |||
| No party preference | Brent Maupin | |||
| No party preference | Daniel Mercuri | |||
| No party preference | Mauro Alberto Orozco | |||
| No party preference | Reza Safarnejad | |||
| No party preference | Sam Sandak | |||
| No party preference | Christine R. Sarmiento | |||
| No party preference | Frederic C. Schultz | |||
| No party preference | Margaret Trowe | |||
| No party preference | Nancy D. Young | |||
| Total votes | ||||
Lieutenant governor
Incumbent Democratic Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis is term-limited and ineligible to seek re-election; she is instead running for state treasurer.[2]
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Josh Fryday | |||
| Democratic | Janelle Kellman | |||
| Democratic | Jeyson Lopez | |||
| Democratic | Fiona Ma | |||
| Democratic | Oliver Ma | |||
| Democratic | Tim Myers | |||
| Democratic | Abdul Sikder | |||
| Democratic | Michael Tubbs | |||
| Republican | David Collenberg | |||
| Republican | David Fennell | |||
| Republican | Ebie Lynch | |||
| Republican | Gloria Romero | |||
| Republican | Skip Shelton | |||
| Peace and Freedom | Alice Stek | |||
| No party preference | Rakesh Christian | |||
| No party preference | Sean Collinson | |||
| Total votes | ||||
Attorney general
Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta is running for re-election.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Rob Bonta (incumbent) | |||
| Republican | Michael Gates | |||
| Green | Marjorie Mikels | |||
| Total votes | ||||
Secretary of state
Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Shirley Weber is running for re-election.[3]
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Shirley Weber (incumbent) | |||
| Republican | Donald P. Wagner | |||
| Green | Gary N. Blenner | |||
| Green | Mike Feinstein | |||
| Total votes | ||||
Treasurer
Incumbent Democratic Treasurer Fiona Ma is term-limited and ineligible to seek re-election; she is instead running for lieutenant governor.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Anna Caballero | |||
| Democratic | Eleni Kounalakis | |||
| Democratic | Tony Vazquez | |||
| Republican | Jennifer Hawks | |||
| Republican | David Serpa | |||
| Green | Glenn Turner | |||
| Total votes | ||||
Controller
Incumbent Democratic Controller Malia Cohen is running for re-election.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Malia Cohen (incumbent) | |||
| Republican | Herb Morgan | |||
| Peace and Freedom | Meghann Adams | |||
| Total votes | ||||
Insurance Commissioner
Incumbent Democratic Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is term-limited and ineligible to seek re-election. State Senator Ben Allen, former state Senator Steven Bradford and former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim are running as Democrats, while former San Luis Obispo County supervisor candidate Stacy Korsgaden is running as a Republican.[4]
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Ben Allen | |||
| Democratic | Steven Bradford | |||
| Democratic | Jane Kim | |||
| Democratic | Patrick Wolff | |||
| Republican | Eric Thor Aarnio | |||
| Republican | Merritt Farren | |||
| Republican | Robert Howell | |||
| Republican | Stacy Korsgaden | |||
| Republican | Sean Lee | |||
| American Independent | Keith Davis | |||
| Peace and Freedom | Eduardo “Lalo” Vargas | |||
| Total votes | ||||
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent Democratic Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond is term-limited and ineligible to seek re-election; he is instead running for governor.
| Primary election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Richard Barrera | |||
| Nichelle Henderson | |||
| Frank Lara | |||
| Wendy Castaneda Leal | |||
| Ainye Long | |||
| Gus Mattammal | |||
| Al Muratsuchi | |||
| Josh Newman | |||
| Anthony Rendon | |||
| Sonja Shaw | |||
| Total votes | |||
Board of Equalization
All four seats on the California State Board of Equalization are up for election, with three of four incumbents term-limited and ineligible for re-election.
District 1
Incumbent Republican Ted Gaines is term-limited and ineligible to seek re-election; he is instead running for the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors.[5]
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Dusty Beach | |||
| Republican | Shannon Grove | |||
| Republican | Nader F. Shahatit | |||
| Democratic | Nelson Esparza | |||
| Democratic | Donald E. Williamson | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 2
Incumbent Democrat Sally Lieber is running for re-election.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Sally Lieber (incumbent) | |||
| Democratic | John Pimentel | |||
| Republican | J. Brett Marymee | |||
| Republican | Mark McComas | |||
| Republican | Bill Shireman | |||
| Republican | John W. Zaruka | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 3
Incumbent Democrat Tony Vazquez is term-limited and ineligible to seek re-election; he is instead running for state treasurer.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Rudy Bermudez | |||
| Democratic | Mike Gipson | |||
| Democratic | Zhijing Liu | |||
| Democratic | Baru Alejandro Sanchez | |||
| Democratic | Samuel P. Sukaton | |||
| Democratic | Yvonne Yiu | |||
| Republican | Carlo Basail | |||
| Republican | Stephan Hohil | |||
| Republican | Rey Portela | |||
| No party preference | Marie Manvel | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 4
Incumbent Democrat Mike Schaefer is term-limited and ineligible to seek re-election; he is instead running for congress.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Martín Arias | |||
| Democratic | Cody Petterson | |||
| Democratic | Tom Umberg | |||
| Republican | Denis Bilodeau | |||
| Libertarian | Gardner C. Osborne | |||
| Total votes | ||||
State legislature
State senate
Twenty seats from all even-numbered districts in the California State Senate are up for election.
State Assembly
All eighty seats of the California State Assembly are up for election.
State propositions
Since the enactment of Senate Bill 202 in 2011, only state propositions placed on the ballot by the state legislature may appear in the June primary election. Any proposition placed on the ballot via a petition signed by registered voters may only appear in the November general election.[6][7]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l “CERTIFIED LIST OF CANDIDATES FOR THE JUNE 2, 2026, PRIMARY ELECTION” (PDF). Retrieved April 11, 2026.
- ^ “Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis announces early bid in 2026 California governor’s race”. Los Angeles Times. April 24, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- ^ Nixon, Nicole (May 22, 2025). “Shirley Weber to seek reelection as California Secretary of State”. The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ Lynch, Joan (August 5, 2025). “Former SLO County supervisor candidate announces run for statewide office”. The Tribune. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
- ^ Alarcon, Cris (February 27, 2026). “Ted Gaines Enters Race for El Dorado County Supervisor in District 4”. Placerville NewsWire. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
- ^ “Senate Bill No. 202”. California State Legislature. October 7, 2011. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ^ Siders, David (October 8, 2011). “Gov. Jerry Brown signs bill restricting ballot initiative to November elections”. Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on February 12, 2013.