Earlier today the 2026 California gubernatorial race started to take shape with the announcement from former Democratic congresswoman Katie Porter that she was throwing her hat in the ring. That entry, plus swirling rumors that former Vice President Kamala Harris is mulling a run to replace termed-out Governor Gavin Newsom, indicate that it’s high time we start gabbing about this. 

We’ve gathered together a list of potential candidates below who’ve either declared their interest or hinted at it. We’ve also thrown in a couple folks with local ties… for fun!

Who would you like to see rise to govern the fifth-largest economy in the world? Amazingly, they still let us decide this so let’s gooo!