Ro Khanna delivers real influence for Silicon Valley — a five-term congressman who won reelection comfortably in 2024, sits on key committees including the China competition select committee, and brings a national platform and clout to CA-17.

He fights for a fairer economy — he's championed a billionaire wealth tax alongside Bernie Sanders and built a progressive economic record, while staying engaged with the industry that drives the district.

The questions about his family's stock trading are fair — reporting has documented heavy trading and potential conflicts, and that scrutiny is legitimate. But weigh it against a decade of effective representation versus a first-time challenger who was running for governor until a few months ago. On balance, experience and a clear economic vision win out.

Xavier Becerra brings rare depth of experience to the top job — a Sacramento native who's served as California Attorney General, a U.S. House member, and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, where he helped lead the national COVID response and defended the Affordable Care Act.

He's running on competence and affordability — his closing message centers on steady, experienced crisis management, with a focus on the housing, healthcare, and childcare costs squeezing working families. As he puts it, "competence is cool."

The "career politician" knock is fair — and beside the point. Critics note he's spent decades in government rather than the private sector, and that's a legitimate preference to weigh. But in a turbulent moment, that same long record is exactly the experience navigating crises that the governor's office demands — and it's why he currently leads the primary field.

• Fiona Ma knows how California actually works — as State Treasurer she ran the state’s banking, financing, and bond programs, after serving in the Assembly and on the Board of Equalization.
• The job draws on exactly that experience — breaking ties in the state Senate, sitting on the UC and CSU boards, and standing ready to step in for the Governor.
• The Mercury News endorsed her as the candidate who “understands the levers of power.” In a crowded field, she’s the one who already knows the machinery.

Bonta is the proven shield for California — 50+ lawsuits defending us against federal overreach on immigration, healthcare, and reproductive rights, plus real enforcement of housing laws and protections against fraud and Big Tech.
Gates would flip the office — a former Trump DOJ official who built his career suing California over its own policies.

It’s a clear choice: an AG who fights for Californians, not one who imports a national culture war.

Shirley Weber knows how to run California’s elections — she oversaw the rollout of permanent universal mail-in voting and administered high-stakes elections including the Newsom recall, and she’s pledged to expand voting access and strengthen election cybersecurity in a second term.

Is California’s ballot-counting slow? Yes — and that’s a fair criticism. But speed isn’t the only thing that matters. Access means eligible voters can actually cast a ballot without hurdles; security means those votes are protected and accurately counted. A rushed count that disenfranchises voters or cuts corners on verification isn’t a fix — getting it right matters more than getting it fast, and that’s the tradeoff Weber prioritizes.

Her opponent would take the office the other direction — Don Wagner runs on a Trump-aligned “election integrity” platform and, as an Orange County supervisor, pushed to hand sensitive voter data to Trump’s DOJ. This is the office that decides how we vote.

Malia Cohen has the experience to run a $350B operation — she’s served as Controller since 2023, overseeing audits and spending for one of the world’s largest economies, after years on the Board of Equalization and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

She’s pitching fiscal discipline at the right moment — campaigning on transparency, efficiency, and fairness, and pushing the Legislature to spend cautiously amid tight budget negotiations.

The Controller job is about competence, not slogans. Her opponent’s “expose fraud” pitch echoes national talking points; Cohen offers a proven hand on the state’s books. Vote Malia Cohen for Controller.

• Eleni Kounalakis brings statewide executive experience and a finance background — she’s served as Lieutenant Governor since 2019 (winning reelection with nearly 60%), sat on UC and CSU governing boards, and was U.S. Ambassador to Hungary before that.
• She’s running on fiscal responsibility and strategic investment — pitching herself as a detail-oriented former diplomat focused on California’s financial future, with a vision (echoed by endorser Libby Schaaf) of using the Treasurer’s financing powers for housing and climate.
• In a two-Democrat race, she’s a proven statewide name.

Ben Allen offers the most realistic fix for California's insurance crisis — the core problem is that people can't get policies at all, and his plan targets that directly: speeding rate-hike review from a year-plus down to months to rebuild insurer confidence and get carriers writing in California again, using powers the commissioner actually holds.

He attacks the root cause, not just the price — as author of Prop 4, the voter-approved $10B climate-resiliency bond, he's focused on reducing the underlying wildfire risk driving insurers out, with home-hardening grants for high-risk areas and more claims handlers during emergencies. The Mercury News endorsed him as the one candidate who grasps the over-regulate/under-regulate tightrope.

His approach is more incremental than bold — and that's the point. Critics, including Jane Kim's supporters, argue a state-run insurance fund or public option would do more. That's a fair preference, and Kim essentially tied Allen for grassroots support. But those structural fixes largely require new legislation and funding the commissioner can't deliver alone; Allen's bet is on what the office can actually execute now. If you want achievable over ambitious, he's the choice.

Richard Barrera brings real classroom-district results — as president of the San Diego Unified school board, he helped guide one of California's largest districts to strong student-success outcomes, the kind of on-the-ground record this job calls for rather than a legislative résumé.
He's the rare consensus pick — he earned both the California Teachers Association endorsement and the SF Chronicle's, which praised his ability to both stand up to and collaborate with teachers unions. In a fractured field where Democratic votes risk splitting, backing the candidate the major education and editorial voices have coalesced around helps keep a strong contender in the November runoff.
He's been outraised and lacks statewide name recognition — but that's the weakness to weigh, not a dealbreaker. Rendon and others have more money and legislative titles. Still, the CTA has historically been the decisive force in this race, and with its resources potentially flowing to Barrera, his ground game and union backing matter more than his current poll number. If you want an educator-practitioner over a career legislator, he's the choice.

Patrick Ahrens is a local who's lived the issues he legislates on — a Silicon Valley native who faced housing insecurity and homelessness as a college student and was the first in his family to attend college. As a Foothill-De Anza trustee he led efforts to build affordable housing for students, faculty, and staff, and he carries that focus on housing and education equity into the Assembly seat he's held since 2024.
He's already delivering concrete legislation — he authored AB 461 to decriminalize truancy, introduced AB 1831 to cap excessive CSU administrator salaries, and co-chairs the Legislature's Technology & Innovation Caucus, a natural fit for representing the heart of Silicon Valley.
His criminal-justice positioning is more centrist than some progressives want — and that's a fair thing to weigh. Justice-reform advocates note he's taken law-enforcement campaign contributions and leans into "support both police and reform" framing, giving him a "B" rather than top marks on their scorecard. But they also credit his actual voting record and bills as solid — so the knock is about emphasis, not substance, and the balance may suit a district that wants both safety and reform.

John Pimentel is the only candidate willing to say the obvious: this board shouldn't exist — California already moved its real tax work to other agencies in 2017, leaving the Board of Equalization a costly relic that mostly serves as a launching pad for political careers. Pimentel wants to reform or wind it down, which is why the SF Chronicle endorsed him.

He brings real credentials beyond the reform pitch — a former state deputy secretary of transportation, current San Mateo County Community College District trustee, with private-sector experience in clean energy. He's also drawn backing from Bay Area Democratic leaders including Treasurer Fiona Ma and San José Mayor Matt Mahan.

The honest limits are worth naming — he can't single-handedly abolish a constitutionally created board, and he lacks deep tax-administration experience, which is the strongest case for the incumbent. But for an office whose own value is in question, a member committed to restraint and reform beats one committed to preserving the status quo. A vote for Pimentel is a vote to stop treating this board as a career steppingstone.