Front row: Antonio Villaraigosa, Toni Atkins, Kamala Harris, Eleni Kounalakis. Back Row: Betty Yee, Tony Thurmond, Xavier Becerra, Katie Porter. | Illustration by Claudine Hellmuth/POLITICO (source images via AP and Getty)
THE BUZZ: KAMALA QUAKE — Kamala Harris’ latest indication that she may run for California governor threatens a complete makeover of the 2026 field.
Several 2026 hopefuls are expected to drop out if she enters the race and scramble for other statewide offices, triggering a domino effect down the ballot.
No candidate has publicly conceded they’d drop out or seek another statewide office. But the mere prospect of a Harris candidacy — she plans to make a decision by the end of the summer — brings to the fore such strong name recognition and fundraising firepower that prospective candidate Katie Porterpredicted it would have a “near field-clearing effect on the Democratic side.”
The races for lieutenant governor, treasurer and other offices down the ballot are only becoming more tightly packed. Still, each could provide a landing spot for seasoned California officials who might struggle against Harris.
“Obviously, I think all of us will reassess if she makes the decision to run,” former Controller Betty Yee, who is running, told Playbook.
But how exactly would the candidates — prospective and declared — respond?
KATIE PORTER: Porter’s campaign was pointed in saying the former representative isn’t considering any other statewide office. “She’s 100 percent focused on a potential run for governor,” spokesperson Nathan Click told Playbook.
But there have long been rumors that Porter could be interested in other gigs, including state attorney general. She couldn’t run for that office right now because she isn’t registered with the state bar.
ELENI KOUNALAKIS: The lieutenant governor is a longtime friend and ally of Harris, and helped raise millions to boost her presidential campaign. It’s a given that Kounalakis would back her.
There have been loud rumblings in recent weeks that Kounalakis is considering running for state treasurer as a fall-back option. But her campaign declined to comment. If Kounalakis pivots to the treasurer’s race, it could complicate the path for the candidates already in that race: former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and Board of Equalization member Tony Vazquez.
ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA: The former LA mayor is running to the political right of where Harris likely would, and he has not yet shown public signs of backing out if the former vice president enters. He was also seen taking meetings in downtown Sacramento Wednesday and Thursday in a sign that he’s still actively campaigning. A spokesperson for him did not comment by deadline.
TONY THURMOND: State Superintendent Tony Thurmond told Playbook he has “only heard rumor and speculation about what she might do, and I'm not making any decisions based on rumor and speculation.”
He said only “we’ll see” about his own plans if Harris gets in the race, but made one thing clear.
“I'm not running for any other office,” Thurmond said. “I'm running for governor and nothing else.”
TONI ATKINS: Ex-Senate and Assembly leader Toni Atkins’ campaign did not entertain the possibility that she could drop out and move into another race, such as the one for lieutenant governor, as we’ve heard recently. If Atkins jumps into the LG race, it would upend a contest that already includes state Treasurer Fiona Ma, former Navy JAG officer Josh Fryday, former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs and former state Sen. Steven Bradford.
“Right now, Toni is focused on the race she’s running, not on other offices or other potential candidates,” Evan Westrup, a spokesperson for her campaign, said in a statement.
BETTY YEE: Yee also told Playbook last week she hasn’t decided what she would do if Harris got in, and that she is not considering gunning for another statewide office “at this time.”
XAVIER BECERRA: The former Health and Human Services secretary had been considering a run even before the November election, but a representative for him did not comment by deadline.
GOOD MORNING. Happy Monday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook.
DON'T MISS: REPUBLICAN LOOK AHEAD — Blake will moderate a panel on the future of the California GOP on Tuesday at the UC Student and Policy Center in Sacramento. He’ll be joined by Assemblymembers Carl DeMaio, Josh Hoover, David Tangipa and state Sens. Suzette Martinez Valladares and Roger Niello. Register here for the Sac Press Club luncheon, which will run from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
CALIFORNIA DECODED: The technology industry and its key characters are driving the national political narrative right now, but it is also a uniquely California story. To understand how the Golden State is defining tech policy and politics within its borders and beyond, we’ve launched POLITICO Pro Technology: California Decoded. This new daily newsletter will track how industry players in Silicon Valley are trying to influence state and national lawmakers – and how government officials are encouraging or foiling those figures. Sign up now to get a limited, free trial of this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox.
SILICON VALLEY
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. | AP
STARTUPLAND— San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan wants to bring more lean startup energy to the capital of Silicon Valley, at least when it comes to who gets a juicy pay bump at City Hall. Mahan told POLITICO he will use his annual budget unveiling to announce a plan inspired by his startup days to tie the pay of senior city staff — himself included — to improvements in areas like unsheltered homelessness.
The San Jose City Council has yet to have its say on the proposal, and voters would have to approve it at the ballot box next year. — Chase DiFeliciantonio
A message from Uber:
California riders foot the bill for rising insurance costs. Rideshare fares are climbing in California as excessive insurance laws and frivolous lawsuits drive up costs."Everything has gotten more expensive. Rent, groceries, insurance. I would urge legislators to think about how this affects drivers and passengers," says Uber Driver, JC Taylor. As of December 2024, on average 32% of the customers' fare goes toward required rideshare/TNC insurance costs.Learn more.
OAKLAND
MONEY MOVES — Loren Taylor has a slight fundraising lead over former Rep. Barbara Lee in the race for Oakland mayor. Taylor, a former city councilmember, has raised nearly $311,000 total, compared with Lee’s sum of $293,000.
That said, Taylor's total includes $57,000 he raised in December and November while Lee didn’t launch her campaign until early January.
But Taylor’s haul suggests that Lee, who represented Oakland in Congress for nearly three decades, could face a serious challenge from him in the April 15 special election to replace recalled former Mayor Sheng Thao.
Lee, a progressive with strong name ID, is polling ahead of Taylor in the race. But she has never been a prolific fundraiser (case in point: her unsuccessful Senate campaign last year, which brought in little money compared to fundraising machines Adam Schiff and Porter).
LOS ANGELES
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
COME ON BOARD — After being stuck in neutral for months, the effort to overhaul the Los Angeles charter, effectively the city’s constitution, is showing signs of life. Mayor Karen Bass launched an online portal for interested residents to throw their hat in the ring to serve on the commission, which was set up in the wake of a series of embarrassing City Hall scandals.
As POLITICO recently reported, the reform effort sputtered after Bass failed to appoint four commissioners, which is necessary for the panel to begin the politically-fraught process of reviewing the city’s main governing document. A spokesperson for Bass said it is a “high priority” to get the commission going so that it can propose reforms for the voters to consider in 2026. Bass has still not announced her picks for the panel, which will be a crucial step for filling out the 13-member commission. Her eventual appointees, along with four commissioners who have already been chosen by City Council leaders, will choose five members of the public to serve. The deadline to apply is March 28. — Melanie Mason
CLIMATE AND ENERGY
A MIXED DRINK — Stuart Woolf, the chair of Western Growers Association, likes the extra water President Donald Trump is promising Central Valley farmers — but he doesn’t think it’ll be enough to change their fate. Woolf is still betting on agave, the drought-tolerant crop used in mezcal, to keep his acres under production. Read California Climate’s interview for more of his thoughts on tariffs, grants and water.
A message from Uber:
TOP TALKERS
Steve Hilton. | Damian Dovarganes/AP
OPENING SEIZED — Conservative media personality Steve Hilton wasted no time jumping on Newsom’s comments objecting to transgender women competing in women’s college and youth sports. Hilton, in an interview with Fox Business over the weekend, said Newsom’s stance was a “fake pivot, let’s call it a ‘fivot.’”
He argued that if the Democratic governor really believes it’s unfair to allow trans girls to compete on sports teams he would support bills from Assemblymembers Bill Essayli and Kate Sanchez that would roll back a 2013 law that guarantees trans students can have access to sports in public schools.
“There’s nothing new about this, he’s always saying what he thinks is politically expedient,” Hilton said of Newsom, a likely 2028 presidential hopeful. Hilton, a former Fox News host and policy adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron, is running for governor in 2026, to succeed Newsom when he’s termed out.
BROMANCE — Meanwhile, HBO “Real Time” host Bill Maher praised Newsom’s comments on trans people and framed his pivot as a sensible shift to the center. Maher said Newsom’s comments made him “very happy,” and compared the governor’s political instincts to that of former President Bill Clinton.
“He’s a great politician, he’s really smart, he can talk great, chicks dig him,” Maher said as his panel snickered. “I’ve always been saying, ‘If he would just tack to the center.’ Well, it happened this week.”
Maher also took a moment to bask in the revelation that Newsom considers the HBO host the “creative inspiration” for his new podcast (noting he read the news in POLITICO). Then, Maher proceeded to read our description of him as a “host who leans Democratic but has increasingly taken flak from progressives in recent years over his eagerness to criticize the party’s 'woke' left flank.”
“That’s true,” Maher chuckled. “Hey, they wrote a sentence about me in the press and got it completely right.” Oh STOP, Bill!
GRUESOME TWOSOME — Democratic Reps. Derek Tran and Adam Gray are expected to face two of the most competitive House races in the country next election cycle. Inside Elections listed their Central Valley and Orange County districts, respectively, as two of the 10 most crucial tossup races in the country.
Democrats flipped those seats in 2024, a bright spot for the party in an otherwise bruising cycle. And the party likely can’t afford to lose that ground if it hopes to retake the House in 2028 and put an end to President Donald Trump and Republicans’ trifecta in Washington.
FUNDING THREAT — Three California campuses are reportedly on a list of schools that President Donald Trump’s administration could target to remove federal funding: UCLA, Berkeley and USC. As The New York Times reports, the administration contends the schools may not have done enough to protect Jewish students and faculty from antisemitism on campus amid protests over the war in Gaza.
On Friday, the administration abruptly yanked $400 million in funding from Columbia University. At least nine other colleges, including the California universities, could also have funds clawed back.
TAX CHARGE — Freshman Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom bemoaned the expected shuttering of seven IRS offices in California — including one in Stockton, which she represents — and pushed the Trump administration to abandon its cost-cutting plan.
“The closure of these IRS offices will force constituents to travel over 50 miles to the nearest location—an undue burden for working families and elderly taxpayers who depend on local assistance,” she wrote in a letter to Donald Trump.
A message from Uber:
Rideshare fares climb due to California insurance requirements.
California rideshare users are footing the bill for disproportionate state-mandated insurance requirements.
"Everybody's using Uber. But because insurance keeps going up it's hard for them to afford it. That wasn't really an issue before. Definitely lawmakers need to do something about it," says Uber Driver Withman Santiagos.
The $1 million on-trip UM/UIM insurance coverage imposed on Uber is not required of any other vehicle on the road in California, even taxis.
PEOPLE MOVES — Julissa Gomez has been promoted to partner at Street Level Strategy. Gomez joined Street Level in 2021 and previously served as a vice president.
— Dilpreet Sidhu is starting as deputy mayor for international relations for the City of Los Angeles, where she leads a team that advances LA’s international relations, trade and foreign investment, and preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. She is a Biden NSC and DOD alum.
BELATED B-DAY WISHES — (was Sunday): Manhattan Beach Councilmember Joe Franklin (favorite cocktail: wife Nancy's famous block party margarita) … David Hume Kennerly … Meta’s David Ginsberg … Rachel Rosner …
(was Saturday): former Rep. Alan Lowenthal … (was Friday): Michael Eisner ... Rachel Weisz ... David Baltimore ...
WANT A SHOUT-OUT FEATURED? — Send us a birthday, career move or another special occasion to include in POLITICO’s California Playbook. You can now submit a shout-out using this Google form.
CALIFORNIA POLICY IS ALWAYS CHANGING: Know your next move. From Sacramento to Silicon Valley, POLITICO California Pro provides policy professionals with the in-depth reporting and tools they need to get ahead of policy trends and political developments shaping the Golden State. To learn more about the exclusive insight and analysis this subscriber-only service offers, click here.
Want to make an impact? POLITICO California has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Golden State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Lynn Fine to find out how: lfine@politico.com.
