California Attorney General Rob Bonta has put an end to years of speculation that he would run for California governor in 2026.
The Bay Area Democrat told supporters in an email Wednesday that he will run for reelection to attorney general in two years — instead of trying to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose term expires in January 2027. Dan Newman, a political consultant who is advising Bonta’s reelection bid, confirmed the announcement to the Bay Area News Group. It first was reported by Politico.
“While I appreciate all the people and organizations who have urged me to run for governor, I am staying in the fight and plan on serving as attorney general for the next 6 years,” Bonta wrote in the email. “This work is simply too important and there are too many important fights ahead.”
Those fights? Legal battles with President Donald Trump’s new administration, which are already ongoing, and others, he wrote.
Bonta never officially entered the race for governor. But he said two years ago that he was “seriously considering” a gubernatorial campaign. Former California governors Jerry Brown and George Deukmejian had both served previously as attorney general.
Bonta is bowing out of a crowded field in the wide-open race to replace Newsom. With 21 months until Election Day in 2026, the race is already filled with prominent Democrats who hold, or held, statewide offices.
Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond have both declared their candidacies, as have former California Senate President Toni Atkins, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former state Controller Betty Yee.
Former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter is laying the groundwork for a gubernatorial campaign but hasn’t officially announced her plans. An early poll by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies in November suggested that Porter was the initial front-runner.
Possible Republican candidates include Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, political commentator Steve Hilton and Caitlyn Jenner, a well-known transgender actress and former athlete.
Meanwhile, speculation is swirling that former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris may jump into the race — a decision that would instantly freeze the crowded Democratic field and make her the front-runner, political insiders say. In an interview with Politico, Bonta said he would support Harris if she ran. Though she has dodged questions about her political future, Harris posed for photo ops with firefighters in her adopted hometown of Los Angeles after the devastating firestorm last month and then appeared at the FireAid benefit concert.
Bonta has a much better chance of winning another four-year term as attorney general than securing the governor’s office, said David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University.
And as attorney general, Bonta has been thrust into a high-profile post leading Democrats’ efforts to monkey-wrench policies by the Trump administration, McCuan said.
“It makes a great deal of sense for him to just hit pause,” McCuan said.
In his email, Bonta blasted Trump’s plans to “shut down everything from Medicaid to Meals on Wheels to birthright citizenship.” Bonta has already joined at least two multi-state legal challenges to stall Trump’s actions revoking birthright citizenship and potentially freezing trillions in federal spending.
“To be clear, serving as attorney general of California is, without question, one of the most impactful jobs in the country right now,” Bonta wrote in the email to supporters.
Early this week, the state Legislature approved an additional $25 million for Bonta’s state Department of Justice to pay for more lawsuits against the federal government. During Trump’s first term, California sued his administration 123 times and helped recover billions of dollars in federal assistance nationally. Newsom is expected to sign the legislation.
Alongside the prestige of helping lead the Democratic resistance, Bonta has been dogged by recent campaign finance and corruption probes.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported last week that had Bonta accepted $16,000 in campaign contributions from a casino that was being investigated by his own office in 2021.
Bonta’s name has also surfaced in documents related to the recent indictments of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and her associates, who were indicted by federal authorities last month.
He’s been linked to Oakland businessmen David and Andy Duong and received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from them over the years. In January, federal authorities indicted the father-son duo on bribery, wire fraud and other charges as part of an alleged conspiracy to support Thao in exchange for kickbacks.
While under suspicion by ethics investigators, Andy Duong posted pictures of himself and Bonta, whom he called his “brother.” Their relationship was such that Andy Duong once recommended his father give money to Bonta, stressing that he was someone who would “deliver whatever we ask for.”
In July, Bonta said he would give more than $150,000 in campaign contributions he received from the Duongs to charities, “out of an abundance of caution.” He did so shortly after Federal Bureau of Investigation agents raided the business-duo’s homes.
McCuan said Bonta’s proximity to the corruption scandal is a political liability that opponents will probably seize upon when he runs for reelection in 2026.
The political attack ad against him will “write itself,” McCuan said.