Fil-Am leader pulls name from California governor race, backs Kamala Harris
California Attorney General Rob Bonta at TOFA Los Angeles, where he hinted about his plans to run for governor. FILE PHOTO (Photo by Sthanlee Mirador)
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has announced he won’t run to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom and will instead back former Vice President Kamala Harris if she decides to run.
Newsom’s second and final term in office is ending early January 2027 and several California Democrats, including Bonta and Harris, have been floated as Democratic candidates for governor in the 2026 elections.
Harris has evaded questions about her political plans, but has been visible in her home state lately, posing for photos with Los Angeles firefighters after the devastating wildfires and appearing at the FireAid benefit concert.
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The Filipino American attorney general and former assemblyman told Politico Wednesday he would support Harris if she decides to run for governor.
“Kamala Harris would be a great governor,” Bonta said. “I would support her if she ran, I’ve always supported her in everything she’s done. She would be field-clearing.”
Bonta confirmed he considered running for governor but changed his mind after President Donald Trump won a second term and felt a calling to lead California’s legal resistance to Trump’s executive orders on immigration, gender, education and climate change.
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Bonta became the first Fil-Am member of the California State Assembly in 2012 and the first Fil-Am to serve as attorney general in 2021.
Bonta was born in Quezon City. His parents migrated to the US after President Marcos declared martial law in 1972. They became activists of the United Farm Workers, co-founded by Fil-Am labor leader and civic rights icon Larry Itliong.
