By CapRadio staff, the Associated Press
California’s current Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis announced Monday that she plans to run for governor in 2026.
Kounalakis, a Democrat with roots in Sacramento, is the first major candidate to announce a bid for the state’s gubernatorial race nearly four years away. If elected, she would be the first woman elected governor in state history.
She’s already the first woman to be elected to the state’s second highest job. And last year, she made history as the first woman to sign a law in California when she filled in for Governor Gavin Newsom while he was traveling out of state. Term limits will prevent Newsom from running again in 2026.
After having first been elected as lieutenant governor in 2018, Kounalakis — alongside running mate Newsom, a fellow Democrat — easily won reelection to a second term in November. Before running for office, she served as an ambassador to Hungary under former President Barack Obama.
Kounalakis is the daughter of Angelo Tsakopoulos, a Greek immigrant who moved to Sacramento in the 1950s and built a largely successful real estate company, AKT Development Corporation. Kounalakis also served as president of the company before running for public office.
“I will fight fiercely to build a future where everyone — regardless of race, class, or immigration status — has the same opportunity that my family and I had,” she wrote in a Facebook post on Monday.
Newsom is only four months into his second four-year term as governor. It's somewhat rare for major candidates to announce their candidacies so early in an election cycle. But it does have some advantages.
California is one of the most costly places to run a statewide political campaign because it is home to some of the nation's largest and most expensive media markets. By announcing her candidacy this early, it gives Kounalakis a head start on raising the massive amount of cash it takes to run an effective campaign.
In an interview with Politico, Kounalakis said she wants to focus on addressing state problems like homelessness and housing, mental health, the fentanyl crisis and the high cost to live in California.
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