Insurance Commissioner
✦ AI Race Summary
Open seat as Ricardo Lara terms out. The single most important down-ballot race of the cycle: California's homeowners' insurance market is in actuarial crisis, multiple major carriers have stopped writing new policies, and the regulatory framework (built around 1988's Prop 103) is widely seen as broken. Seven candidates filed.
Candidates · sorted by endorsements
Two-time U.S. Chess Champion turned financial analyst. Spent four years building Capital One's insurance business and 25 years analyzing insurance companies and markets. The only candidate in the field with a California insurance license. Founded Families for San Francisco, which drove the 2022 SFUSD school board recall. Endorsed by the SF Chronicle.
United Democratic Club · Endorsed
Govern For California · Endorsed
State Senator since 2014 (SD-24, Santa Monica / Westside); chairs the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. Authored Proposition 4 (the $10B climate bond approved in 2024). Represents communities devastated by the Palisades Fire.
BAJC-Action · Endorsed
Hindu United Vote · Endorsed
Former San Francisco Supervisor (D6, 2011–2019) and former Board of Education member; now leads the California chapter of the Working Families Party. Platform: a "Disaster Insurance for All" public-option proposal.
Former state senator (SD-35, Los Angeles, 2016–2024) and Assemblymember; chair of the California Reparations Task Force. Worked at Southern California Edison before politics.
Licensed California insurance agent; ran for Insurance Commissioner in 2022.
Cybersecurity company CEO; first-time statewide candidate.
Former technology executive; first-time candidate running on regulatory streamlining.