Overview
- Gates announced his candidacy at a pier rally alongside Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton and lieutenant governor hopeful Gloria Romero, who presented him as part of an informal slate.
- He is centering his message on local control, parents’ rights, public safety, and lowering taxes, casting Sacramento leaders as out of touch with residents.
- His tenure in Huntington Beach featured frequent clashes with state law, including a voter ID measure struck down by an appeals court and housing mandates upheld after the state Supreme Court declined review.
- Gates spent about 10 months in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division before leaving; an initial federal record listed a termination for cause that DOJ later rescinded in favor of accepting his voluntary resignation.
- Incumbent Attorney General Rob Bonta is seeking another term, and Gates enters a statewide landscape where Democrats hold a large registration advantage and Republicans have not won statewide office since 2006, with his DOJ push for voter data also likely to face scrutiny.