California Senate Leader Toni Atkins Announces 2026 Governorship Bid
Atkins, First Woman and Openly LGBTQ+ Person to Hold Top Legislative Posts, Joins Crowded Race to Succeed Gov. Newsom
- Toni Atkins, the current leader of the California Senate, has announced her candidacy for the California governorship in 2026.
- Atkins, a Democrat from San Diego, has made history as the first woman and first openly LGBTQ+ person to hold both of the state Legislature’s top jobs — speaker of the Assembly and president pro tempore of the Senate.
- Other announced candidates for governor include fellow Democrats Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and State Superintendent of Instruction Tony Thurmond, with Attorney General Rob Bonta also considering a run.
- Atkins has emphasized her experience in the Legislature and her personal story of growing up in a house with no running water in rural Virginia before becoming one of the most powerful elected officials in the state.
- If elected, Atkins would be California’s first LGBTQ governor and the first woman to hold the position.