California’s lieutenant governor race is set for November after Democrat Fiona Ma and former Democrat Gloria Romero were declared the top two winners of a crowded primary election, positioning them for the general election under the state’s top-two system.
When California election officials declared the results, the path to November narrowed fast: State Treasurer Fiona Ma and former California Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero will face off for lieutenant governor after being named the two top finishers in a crowded primary.
Ma is a Democrat. Romero is a former Democrat who said she registered as a Republican after splitting with Democrats over the push to oust President Biden as the party’s presidential nominee in 2024. Both were declared the top-two winners by the Associated Press. Under California’s primary system. the first and second place finisher advances to the November general election. regardless of their political affiliation.
Ma brings a long record in public finance. She is a certified public accountant serving as state treasurer. Before that, she previously sat on the California Board of Equalization and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and she served three terms in the California Assembly.
Romero is known in state politics for her leadership history and her academic role. She is an adjunct professor at Pepperdine School of Public Policy. She served as a Democrat in the Assembly and state Senate, becoming the Senate’s first woman majority leader in 2005.
The primary drew other prominent contenders as well, including former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs and Josh Fryday, a member of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s cabinet. Tubbs and Fryday were both Democrats.
The lieutenant governor’s job is often described as largely ceremonial. but it still carries real duties that can matter suddenly. The lieutenant governor serves on various boards overseeing the University of California. California State University. and community college systems. and the office can be called upon to break a tie in the state Senate. If the sitting governor dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the lieutenant governor would assume the role.
Ma and Romero have also lined up on some issues. Both candidates previously expressed support for the death penalty and opposition to the state’s plan to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. Neither candidate supports the controversial Billionaire’s Tax Act. Romero, however, has vowed to shun all potential tax increases.
In November, Ma and Romero will take their contrast from party label to ballot box as they compete to replace Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis. Kounalakis is finishing her second term and could not seek reelection. Instead, she ran for state treasurer.
In the end, California’s top-two system has made this race less about ideological sorting and more about who can win a general election alongside a former party shift, setting the stage for a matchup defined as much by personal political history as by the policies they share.
California lieutenant governor Fiona Ma Gloria Romero primary election top-two system Eleni Kounalakis Biden nominee death penalty gas-powered cars ban Billionaire’s Tax Act