California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis launched her campaign to become the state's first woman governor, pushing out ahead of what’s expected to be a sprawling field in 2026.
Eleni Kounalakis will open a campaign committee for governor and immediately start raising money and building her nascent public profile for the distant election. | Steve Yeater/AP PhotoSACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis on Monday launched her campaign to become the first woman governor of the nation’s most populous state, pushing out ahead of what’s expected to be a sprawling field in 2026.
Her formal entry jumpstarts the race and puts pressure on other would-be contenders to announce gubernatorial bids of their own, perhaps sooner than they otherwise planned. California statewide campaigns are among the most expensive in the country, with TV ads in major markets costing millions each week and politicians taking years and even decades to establish their brands.
In her current role, Kounalakis, 57, presented herself as a seasoned operator focused on the cost of higher education and efforts to combat climate change. She pushed back on tuition and fee hikes at universities and state institutions and fought to add more slots for resident students as a member on governing boards of the UC and CSU systems. As the state’s representative for international affairs and trade, she represented California abroad at the United Nations Climate Summit.
Kounalakis referenced her immigrant family’s roots and connected her work for their housing development company with the need to build more dwellings in the state. She also touched on the historic implications of her run. “It is not only strategic for them, but it is essential for women who are running for statewide office to really get their campaigns moving and get them moving early,” Butler said in an interview. “It is how they are able to elevate their campaigns and spark fundraising. And as the data notes, women have always had to prove more relative to fundraising and competitiveness.”
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